She shook her head. ‘I’ve brought this on myself. We’ve been talking about our options ever since we found out that we had less chance of conceiving naturally than we had of winning the lottery. He refused point-blank to adopt, so I thought fostering might suit us: less of a commitment because if it didn’t work out, we could stop at any time. He said no to that too. But I was convinced I could talk him round. I thought I’d call his bluff by telling him I was going ahead with fostering with or without him. I thought …’ Her voice wavered and her blue eyes swam behind a layer of tears. ‘I thought if he knew how much it meant to me, he’d cave in and agree. Turns out he’d prefer the “without” option too.’

I handed her a sheet of kitchen paper and she blotted her eyes. ‘And now you’re having doubts about fostering on your own?’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘A bit. But I think it’s the only way. Darren’s made his feelings very clear. I want to comfort a child, read them bedtime stories, be waiting for them at the school gates to hear their news. I’m just going to have to accept that, to do that, I’ll have to be a single mum. Do you think I’m being selfish?’

‘Of course not.’ I wrapped my arms around her thin shoulders. Although secretly I did think she needed to let the dust settle on their separation before she made any major new plans. ‘I’m just so sad for you. And Darren.’

Motherhood, for me, felt like a long way off. I was an old-fashioned romantic. I wanted the full works: the big romance, the down-on-one knee proposal and then, once we were married, I assumed we’d start thinking about a future that had children in it. I’d thought Harvey was my big romance; turned out he was my big mistake. Still, it was over now. It would take me a while to get over him and in the meantime, I could be here for Evie.

‘It’s great having you back,’ she said, as if reading my thoughts. She rested her head against me. ‘It’s distracted me from missing him.’

‘Well, I’m not going anywhere for a while and I’m going to look after you,’ I said, pressing a kiss to her hair and releasing her. ‘Starting with breakfast. You only had coffee when Dad and I ate. You’ll need your strength if you’re going to take on some foster kids. I can’t imagine it’ll be the easiest thing in the world.’

I slotted bread into the toaster for her and guided her to a chair. She took out her phone and scrolled through her emails while I laid out the butter and jam.