“No. I just . . .” Annie paused. I don’t want any part of my new life sullied. The flat was un-Maxed, and she wanted it to remain that way. “I just don’t think exes need to come round for cups of tea. Part of being exes is that you chose to be separated.”

“I didn’t choose to be separated, you did.”

“You made that decision when you chose to start fucking a woman more than twenty years younger than me!”

“How many times do I have to say I’m sorry for you to believe me?” he asked.

“It’s not about saying you’re sorry, Max; you didn’t spill coffee on the rug. What you did was bigger than something that requires a quick sorry.”

Max held his hands up. “I know, you’re right, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of it. But can’t you see how much I want you back?”

“You get an A for effort. You are excellent at wooing. It’s the after-woo that lets us down.”

“I’ll keep it up then, I’ll never stop the wooing. I’ll be Prince Charming forever.”

“No. I’m not saying I need a lifetime of romance; truth be told, I’m all wooed out. But . . .” She struggled to find the right words. “This is the part where you shine, Max; no one does romantic gestures like you do. But your attention span is short. As soon as you’ve won the prize, you start looking for the next challenge. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that you win me over; how long will it be before my shine wears off and you’re looking for another shiny young thing to win?”

“Never again. I know I’ve said this before, but that was before you’d left me. This has been my wake-up call. For the first time in my life I truly know what I want, and it’s you, Annie. It’s always been you. You’re all I want.”

Annie sighed.

“It’s a strange word, isn’t it,” she said. “Want. What you want has always been the problem because want wears off. Want is craving a biscuit; you want a biscuit but then you eat the biscuit, and it was just a biscuit. It’s a feeling that passes, and this desperation you think you feel for me, this is going to pass.”

“Want was a poor choice of word,” said Max; his expression was pained. “I need you, Annie. I love you, I love you like I’m crazy with it.”

“But I don’t love you anymore. And if you loved me you wouldn’t have slept with Ellie.”

Max’s eyes welled with tears. “Don’t say that!” he pleaded. “I can make you love me again.”

“I don’t want to love you again!” Annie shouted in exasperation. “Loving you is exhausting. It’s too hard.”