Together we looked at the details. There was a flight leaving at 6 p.m. and there were still seats free. Evie ran out to get her bag from the car and I stood up to put our tea mugs in the sink.

‘Got it,’ said Evie, dashing back in brandishing her credit card. ‘I’ll read the number out to you.’

I picked up my phone from the sofa to complete the transaction, but a new message pinged through.

Your dad’s health is very important, but so is yours and the baby’s. Whatever you do, please be careful and remember Friday, Jensen x

I was still mooning over the kiss at the end of the message when Evie peered over my shoulder.

‘Lottie, what’s happening on Friday?’

I snapped back to the moment. ‘I’ve got my first scan. But it doesn’t matter; I can be back by then, Dad needs both of us in Germany right now.’

She wagged a finger. ‘Oh no. I’ll look after Dad, you look after yourself and—’ Her voice faltered. ‘Your baby.’

I bit my lip. ‘I feel so bad about being pregnant after all you’ve been through.’

She looked appalled. ‘You don’t mean that.’

‘Sometimes I do. And then at other times I get this happy fluttering in my stomach when I think about what he or she might look like and how it will feel to hold a baby in my arms.’ I groaned, raking my fingers through my hair. ‘My brain’s all over the place. I don’t have two consistent thoughts in my head.’

‘This is my fault.’ Evie moved closer to me. ‘I’m ashamed of myself. My little sister is having a baby, no mum, no dad around, an absolute knobhead for an ex, and the one person you should have been able to rely on to be there for you – me – turned her back on you. I feel so guilty.’

‘So do I!’ I said, meeting her eye. ‘I keep thinking, Why me? Why not you? You’d have made such a good job of it; you even have a bedroom to put a baby in.’

‘Because life’s not always fair. It’s messy and complicated so it’s no wonder your brain can’t cope. Neither can mine some of the time.’ She gave me a sad smile. ‘Have you thought about what you’re going to do?’

I shook my head. ‘No. Not really beyond knowing I couldn’t have a termination.’

Evie squeezed her eyes tight. ‘Oh Lottie, I thought, with what’s happened between you and Harvey, that you might be considering it.’

I pulled her close and hugged her.

‘That’s been the thing that I was most upset about; the thought that I wanted a baby so much and you didn’t,’ she went on.