We’re not a quarter of the way round and, already, I wonder why I’m doing this. My heart is banging against my chest so hard that I think it might burst out. Everything feels like it’s jiggling too much and I realise that I should have bought an industrial-strength sports bra. Everyone else shoots ahead, but Minny stays back, jogging along with me. This is the first time I’ve seen her without her high heels. She’s a tiny little thing, very pretty, very young, very girly.

‘I’m really pleased that you’re coming with us,’ she says as we run along together.

‘Thanks,’ I manage to pant. ‘That’s nice.’

‘We all are,’ she continues. ‘We think it’s great that you’re doing something like this at your age.’

Not quite so nice. I’m only thirty-nine, but maybe I do seem like the Old Woman of the Sea to these bright young things.

A moment later, Blake drops back to join us. ‘How are you doing, girls?’

‘Okay.’ Minny picks up her step and I do likewise.

‘One lap of the lake or two?’ BC asks.

‘One,’ Minny says. ‘I’m going out.’

‘Undoing all this hard work?’

‘If I’m lucky,’ she teases.

‘Angie?’

‘Annie,’ I puff. ‘I’ll try two.’ If I haven’t had a heart-attack by then.

‘Good girl.’ Then Blake sprints to the front again.

‘He’s well fit,’ Minny says approvingly, and I couldn’t possibly disagree with her.

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

By the time we start the second lap, I am beyond pain. My face is glowing like the setting sun. Everything hurts. All of it. I can’t even be specific.

I don’t notice until we start running again, but it seems to be just Blake Chadwick and my good self. Everyone else has faded away into the car park, even my companion, Minny.

‘Just the two of us,’ Blake says, noticing the absence of our colleagues at the same time as I do. ‘Lightweights.’

I laugh at that and we fall into step together. I might be imagining it, but I think he slows down to my pace. Well, put it this way, I’m damn sure that I’m not keeping up with him.

This may sound silly, but I think his easy style is helping me. I seem to pick up a rhythm that blocks out the pain and, this may be a shock, but I actually start to enjoy it. Well, that may be stretching it. I just don’t feel like I’m dying. Thankfully, BC doesn’t tempt fate by trying conversation as this might test my theory too far, but we jog along together quietly in pleasant harmony.

When we’ve finished our second lap, I stand in the car park wheezing like a forty-a-day smoker.