‘Fascinating,’ he said out of reflex. ‘Everybody loves a Royal headliner. If you need any help with the screenplay, shoot it across and we can take a look at it. The chance of getting from the page to the screen is pretty slim to none, nowadays. Unless it’s a pretty spectacular premise or you know somebody worth knowing.’

‘Wow,’ Ben said, smiling with his mouth but not his eyes. ‘Have you ever thought of going into motivational speaking? You’ve got a real knack of boosting morale.’

‘I have actually been approached by TED a couple of times, but I just can’t seem to find any wriggle room in my calendar. Writing and acting in a film is just insane.’

‘I can only imagine,’ Ben said.

‘All I can say is it’s a good thing I have Evie to keep me grounded,’ said Hugo, reaching for her hand across the table, which she reluctantly gave him.

Sensing Evie’s shift in mood in the way only best friends can, Ben changed the subject, asking Hugo what LA was like and leading him into a discussion about various films they’d both seen.

Ben and Sami bantered away about Ben’s not too secret obsession with Sex and the City, taking the piss out of each other in that dry British way. It made Evie a little sad to listen to them. Even at the peak of their love, Hugo had never been someone she could stir and banter with. Unlike Evie, he tended to feel under attack whenever she took the mickey out of him. She wondered if it was because the Hearst family were so arch with each other—even any familial teasing in their house had an undercurrent of malice.

Towards the end of dinner, despite the bonhomie of their departure, it felt like there’d been a subtle undercurrent of unease between the four of them, and Evie was glad to slide into a cab with Hugo while Ben and Sami set off for the station.

When they got home, Evie kicked off her heeled boots and put on the kettle. Her heart had started to race as soon as they walked into the house. She wanted to get this Chloe business out of the way, but she wasn’t sure how Hugo would react. He’d been acting strange during dinner. Almost defensive, territorial. Evie had had a bitter taste in her mouth the whole cab ride home. Something about the way he spoke to Ben made her feel agitated, and it didn’t help that Chloe’s words rang in her ears every time she looked at him. She needed to raise what Chloe had said to her. And she wanted to do it gently, so as not to spoil his entire weekend at home.

‘Come have a tea with me,’ Evie said.

‘I’m tired, Evie. It’s been a long day,’ he said, already walking towards the stairs.