“You’ll be surprised to hear the answer is no. In fact, I’m currently going for a promotion which will mean longer hours at a job I hate.” When she put it like that, she made herself question her life. “I wanted to be a golfer in my teens, but I left it a little late to start. Tiger Woods started playing aged one. So my second choice was to work for a charity, achieve big things, and save the world.”

Jordan nodded. “Start small.”

“That’s what I thought. I went to Oxford University because I read that’s where all the big decision-makers in life went. I wanted to be on their team. However, I didn’t really like many of them. The only one I did like was Marcus. He was kind and considerate.”

“Wow, you’ve been together for a while.”

Abby shook her head. “No, we never got together at uni. Our paths crossed, we had mutual friends, but we never got romantically involved. That didn’t happen until just over 18 months ago, when I met him again at a work function. We had a drink to chat about old times, then he asked me to dinner. The rest is history.”

Jordan smiled. “A classic second-chance romance.”

Clouds formed on Abby’s brain, but she nodded anyway. She and Marcus were no love’s young dream, she knew that. Perhaps that was truer for Marcus than for her. But she did love him. And she knew that Marcus would always be there for her, no matter what.

“Something like that,” she replied.

“And when you’re married, do you think you’re going to take up those childhood dreams of saving the world?”

Was she? Abby hadn’t really thought about it. Marrying Marcus and moving in with him had been consuming all her thoughts of late. She hadn’t thought much about anything past the wedding.

Not even the honeymoon.

Getting married, changing her name, moving house.

One step at a time.

“I live on Charity Street. I thought that was a good start.”

Jordan tilted her head. “But you always said you wanted to save the world when we were eight. You wanted to be a name on everyone’s lips. Someone who really made a difference, and did it for reasons known only to herself. You also wanted to be the sixth member of the Spice Girls, and I applauded such lofty ambition.”

For a moment, Abby thought she was telling the truth. “You’re good.” She stared at Jordan. A good actress. Silver-screen smile to match. Firm arms which she’d held earlier.

She shook herself.