‘It’s not straightforward,’ he replied, sitting up and taking a sip of wine.

‘I don’t understand. What have I done?’

‘It’s not you,’ he replied, his eyebrows raised in surprise. ‘This has nothing to do with you. With us. My feelings for you haven’t changed. You must know that. It’s important to me that you understand how much I respect you, and how deeply I care about you.’

Geraldine held her breath as Ian sat gazing gloomily into his glass, swishing the deep red wine around.

‘I sense a “but” is coming,’ she said at last, unnerved by his use of the word ‘respect’. She wanted so much more than that.

‘What?’

‘You said you respect me and care about me. Thank you very much,’ she said frostily. ‘So, what comes next?’

She paused, waiting for a response, but he just sat staring at her as though he was seeing a ghost. Despite her dismay, Geraldine felt sorry for him.

‘Ian, if you’re struggling to end this relationship we’ve started, please, just say whatever it is you need to say. There’s no point in procrastinating, that’s only going to make it harder for both of us. If you want to revert to how we were before we got together, just say so. Don’t worry about upsetting me. My feelings are my problem, not yours. We’ve been friends for a long time and we both agreed that neither of us wanted to spoil that. As long as we can still be friends, whatever happens I’ll cope with it. So please, speak to me.’ She paused but he didn’t reply. ‘Tell me you’re all right, please, because you’re starting to really worry me. What’s wrong? You know I’ll always be here for you if you want my help.’

Instead of answering, Ian placed his wine glass carefully on the table and dropped his head in his hands, covering his face. She waited, feeling helpless.

‘Please, Ian,’ she said at last, speaking very gently, ‘just tell me what you want to say. It’s all right. Everything’s going to be all right. Whatever it is, you don’t need to worry about me. We can work this out.’

‘But we can’t work it out,’ he burst out in an anguished tone, dropping his hands and staring wildly at her. ‘Geraldine, all I want is to be with you. These last few months have been… I never thought life could be so wonderful. You have to believe me. I’ve never been happier in my life.’

‘Nor have I. So what’s going on? You know I’ll be here for you –’

‘No,’ he interrupted roughly. ‘Please, stop it. I know you’re being kind but it’s not helping.’

‘You have to tell me. What’s wrong? Are you ill?’

‘No, I’m not ill. I wish it was as simple as that.’