‘Look, the job’s yours if you want it,’ Samantha said, surprising her, as she shoved items into a large blush-leather tote. ‘Send me your rates and we’ll discuss. I can’t wait to tell Aki I’ve bagged her favourite designer for my revamp!’ Her face clouded over. ‘Actually, I’d better not. Ralph will kill me if I piss off his biggest client!’

‘Er, excellent,’ Alice said brightly, forgetting for a moment about Nina’s email. ‘Thank you.’ She could feel her eyes shining with tears embarrassingly as she gathered up her things.

‘Hold on, I’ll head out with you,’ Samantha said, wrapping a scarf around her neck. ‘Terrible business with Julia,’ she tutted as she set the alarm. ‘How’s she getting on?’

‘To be honest, I don’t know. We’ve not been in touch for a while,’ Alice said.

‘I thought she and Paul were rock solid,’ said Samantha, locking the door behind them.

‘Jules and Paul?’ Alice gasped.

Samantha’s head whipped back round. ‘They’re separated, Alice. Didn’t you know?’

Alice shook her head slowly, trying to process. Jules and Paul.

‘Goes to show, you never know what goes on behind closed doors. Poor Julia. And having to switch jobs like that. Anyway, gotta run. Send me that quote!’ she called, striding off to her date with Antonio and his famous highlighter brush.

*

‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost,’ Nate (formerly known as Mr Hough) said when she turned up.

‘I have,’ she joked weakly. ‘I’ve been visited by the ghosts of friendships past.’

Nate slid a wine glass in front of her and began to fill it. She noticed the bottle – one of her favourites – and smiled. Nate had suggested this pub in Notting Hill for lunch when she told him about her appointment.

‘I’m driving,’ she said, ‘so I can only have the one.’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll take the rest home. We can finish it when you stay over.’ He caught her eye meaningfully and she looked away. It had been three months since she had bumped into Nate in Hyde Park and they’d walked for an hour, as though they hadn’t spent any time apart, but it was more intense because he was no longer her daughter’s teacher and she was separated. This fantasy she’d harboured for so long was theirs for the taking, but it didn’t seem right to jump into something so soon, she didn’t feel ready. And Nate had his own reasons for holding back, thanks to Ted, but as time had moved on the connection between them was undeniable and they were finding it harder and harder to contain themselves in each other’s company. It was the headiest, most potent foreplay Alice had experienced, and it had lasted three months and counting.

‘I was going to ask, do we have something to celebrate, but instead I’ll say, do you want to talk about it first?’ His eyes were so clear and calm, his face open and kind. She wanted to reach over the table and kiss him, to act finally on the impulse they had both been repressing, but she knew she’d be doing it as a response to Nina’s news, and Nate deserved more than that.