I take a sip of the hot drink, tasting the rich cream, and sigh contentedly. I nod. “A lot. I miss sharing the flat with him and so does Charlie. But he’s happy and that’s the most important thing. I can’t see that ever changing. He and Gideon go together like toast and marmalade.”

“Can you imagine doing that?”

I flick a look at him. “Of course,” I say simply. “I want that. Not all of it,” I add quickly. “I mean, Gideon and Eli want kids. That’s not me.”

“Really?” He sounds startled. “You don’t want children?”

I shudder. “Never. No, thank you. I grew up in a family with children seeming to come out of the fucking walls. My sisters spent five years dressing me up like a goblin and pushing me around in a fucking toy pram. My brothers meanwhile either sat on me, locked me in wardrobes to see if Narnia was real, or dobbed me in.”

“It’s like The Lord of the Flies,” he says wonderingly. “Do you still speak to each other as adults?”

“Of course. I speak to a member of my family every day. It’s a red-letter day when I manage five minutes on the loo without a phone call interrupting me and giving me bossy instructions about what to do with my life.” I shrug. “I’m the youngest. They all think they know better than me.”

He looks almost wistful and I remember that he was an only child. “Do you wish you’d had brothers or sisters?” I ask abruptly.

He shakes his head, looking thoughtful. “No, never. It would have just meant another person who…”

He trails off. “Who what?” I ask.

He smiles almost sadly. “Another person I’d have had to be responsible for,” he finally answers, tapping his fingers restlessly. I reach over and stay his fingers by squeezing his hand, and he looks surprised and grateful. It makes my throat tighten.

“So, do you want kids?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No. Don’t get me wrong, if my partner has nieces and nephews, I’d love to spoil them. But I don’t want any myself.”

“What do you want?” I ask impulsively.

He smiles in a soft way. “I’d like to travel. Go to all the places I’ve heard about.” He pauses. “I’d like to do that with someone. Being on your own isn’t much fun when there’s so much to share.”

I nod enthusiastically. “That sounds amazing. That’s me too. I want to travel the world, not be tied by kids. The only person I want to be tied by is the man I end up with.” I pause. “Obviously by tied I don’t mean in a restrictive fashion,” I say quickly. “I’m not into that. I whinge if I get a paper cut.”