I retreated to one of the comfy leather chairs we’d invested in for the waiting room. Although I flicked through a magazine from the coffee table, none of the articles registered. I couldn’t think properly over the noise of my heart thumping in my ears—how could I possibly be so nervous about talking to my husband? The seconds seemed to take minutes and the minutes hours, but finally, Adrian’s door opened and he emerged with an elderly gentleman.

He looked so familiar in his black work trousers and pale blue striped Oxford shirt that I’d ironed numerous times, but it was the hot pink flamingo tie that Payton had given him for his last birthday that almost unravelled me. I remembered the horrified look on his face when he’d unwrapped it, but despite the fact it was something he’d never choose himself and there were plenty of men who wouldn’t be seen dead in it, he wore it proudly because his beloved daughter had given it to him.

Whatever was going on with him right now, I still believed he was a good man, and I missed him so much.

Adrian didn’t even spare a glance to the waiting room as he crossed to the reception to pick up the folder for his next patient. My heart froze when he looked down at the page, but he merely lifted his head and called ‘Louise Murphy’ as he would any other patient.

His gaze flitted over the people in the waiting room and came to rest on me. ‘Ashling?’

I jumped up, lifted the picnic basket that was at my feet and started towards him.

‘What are you doing here?’ It was clear from the expression on his face he couldn’t believe my chutzpah—him and me both—but he wouldn’t want to make a scene in the waiting room.

My nostalgia vanished as self-preservation kicked in.

‘It’s all right, I’ll pay my bill,’ I told him as I stalked past, although we both knew that would be futile as we hadn’t even spoken about dividing our finances yet. The fact Adrian hadn’t actually insisted on this gave me hope that this ‘phase’ would indeed pass, but the way he looked at me with such irritation did not.

I was already sitting in the chair opposite his desk when he closed the door behind us.

‘What are you playing at booking an appointment using a fake name?’ he asked as he sat down in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.