While she had been busy, so had Zak. There were baguettes warming in the oven and the scent of fresh bread made the small kitchen feel homely. Her friend was stirring the chicken soup on the hob.

‘That smells delicious.’

‘When did you last use your oven?’

Lauren looked sheepish. ‘I don’t think I ever have.’

‘You don’t look after yourself properly, woman,’ Zak scolded.

‘I know.’ She was embarrassed to admit it, but her friend was right. ‘But I will do from now on, I promise.’

She risked turning on her mobile phone. It rang immediately. Lauren clicked it off. ‘Jude,’ she said.

‘You’re going to have to face him,’ Zak pointed out as he poured the soup into two bowls. ‘Be firm with him.’

‘I have,’ she said. ‘He’s trying to wear me down. Whenever I’ve tried to break away from him in the past, he just keeps pursuing me until I give in.’

‘Except this time his wife knows about it.’

Lauren nodded.

There was a small bistro-style table in the kitchen with two chairs opposite each other. She sat down and Zak put a bowl of soup in front of her. Lauren’s taste buds tingled for the first time in as long as she could remember.

He then took the bread out of the oven and laid that before her too. ‘There is butter,’ he said, getting it out of the fridge. ‘It looks like it’s been there a while, but I think it’s one step short of botulism.’

‘It’ll be fine,’ Lauren said, waving away his concerns. ‘I’ve eaten a lot worse.’

The soup was delicious and she ate ravenously, like a woman who hadn’t seen food for days. Which, come to think of it, she hadn’t.

‘Good?’ Zak wanted to know.

‘Delicious.’ She put her hand on his arm and their eyes met. ‘Thanks. Thanks for this.’

‘It’s what friends are for.’

She wondered why Jude hadn’t turned up with groceries or trashy self-help books or some hideous vitamin concoction. She wondered why he hadn’t bullied her into the shower or cajoled her to eat.

‘I need to get away from here,’ Lauren said. ‘For a few days, at least. I want it to be over this time, and I want to be strong enough to stick to my resolution. I’m sure Annie would be glad to have me.’

Zak looked bashful. ‘I’ve got a place in the Cotswolds. It’s small, nothing fancy. I could take you up there for a long weekend?’

Lauren looked up from her soup, spoon paused. ‘Why don’t I know about this?’