The fears for this meeting gurgled away. Will’s blond hair was as neat and fashionable as always and in his work uniform of untucked shirt and black trousers he looked familiar yet undeniably different, especially as he was growing a beard that was so blond it put Clancy in mind of fuzz on a gooseberry. ‘How are you?’ she asked him politely rather than an acid: ‘So, how’s married life? Have you bought any baby clothes?’ Justified in jabbing at Will she might be but it wasn’t the best way to get what she wanted from him. Her stomach was harbouring the odd butterfly but she’d called this meeting so she was going to keep control of it.

‘Good,’ he answered, casting a glance at Harry and Rory, then flashing a smile at her. He wiped his palms down the legs of his trousers. ‘Good to see you.’

After a bolstering sip of wine she plunged straight in. ‘Is Renée still in a position to buy my half of the apartment?’

‘That is so what I was hoping you were here to ask!’ Relief swept over Will’s face. For the next hour they worked on the awkward business of easing apart the joint threads of their lives. Clancy began to relax. Now she was with Will she wasn’t aware of much between them but memories. What he’d done still hurt but the stark fact was that what she’d thought was a solid relationship hadn’t been enough for him. More to the point, it shouldn’t have been enough for her, just because they fit together well. Will had been right – he hadn’t been the love of her life.

When Aaron finally rang, Clancy easily put her conversation on pause while she talked to him. Then, while Harry borrowed her phone and went outside to make his calls, Rory in anxious attendance, it only remained for Clancy to wind things up with Will.

‘I don’t think we can plan any more until we meet with the others tomorrow afternoon,’ she said brightly. ‘Except one small thing. As I still own half of the apartment for now, I’d like Harry and Rory to have use of the second bedroom for a few days.’

Will’s eyes widened, then scrunched closed in a long-suffering expression. ‘Really?’

‘Really,’ she said firmly.

‘But why? It’s weird,’ he protested, and, ‘it’s an imposition. I’ll be uncomfortable.’

‘Because they need somewhere safe to stay for a few days and they’re good kids,’ she replied coolly. She added, ‘It was weird for me to see you having sex with Renée when I hooked up for a conference call. It was an imposition that you told me about your wedding in case I saw Mel’s Instagram. I was miles more than uncomfortable when you “accidentally” messaged me instead of Renée about your baby. I think you owe me.’

Will flushed so deeply scarlet that it made Clancy wonder whether Aaron could have been right and that Will could have done those things to avoid looking her in the eye and telling her. ‘Just for a few days, right?’ he mumbled. ‘It’s a good job Renée’s away.’