The sound she makes in response is fairly noncommittal.

‘We only took an hour over lunch.’ This is a lie, but it came out before I could stop it.

She nods. She usually has many opinions and her silence is making me very uncomfortable.

‘Right. Well, I’ll see you back at the office.’

I turn on my heel, panicking as I reach for my throat to check the turtle-neck hasn’t slipped.

CHAPTER 21

Luckily Peter arrived five minutes late at my flat on Saturday morning, five minutes that were well spent trying on all of my scarves to find the one that would hide the tiger stripe most effectively. If anything, it has become even more visible since yesterday – the colour has deepened and it has spread out even further – and I haven’t had the chance to wash and dry my handy turtle-neck.

I open the door to see him wearing a huge grin.

‘Hey! I brought cookies.’ By the look of things, he also has his laptop and a load of print-outs.

I don’t know what vibes I’m giving off that say, ‘If you come to my abode, make sure you bring food,’ but I’m pretty happy about it.

We hug and I get out a guest plate for the cookies. My favourite triple-chocolate cookies. The ones I usually freeze so I don’t eat them all in one go. He knows me well.

Remembering why we are here, I feel a bit awkward in my own home once again. My flat normally feels like a sanctuary, but recently I feel as though it’s being opened up and left exposed. The exchange with Mia. Thursday night with Colin. And now with Peter. My business is my business; as dirty and badly set up as it is, it’s still mine, and I’m very protective of it.

I bite my nails. What if he thinks everything I’ve done is wrong?

But Peter has done what Peter does best, and has already made himself at home, which instantly puts me at ease. He’s sitting cross-legged on the floor, a pose that makes him seem both very young and too old, long limbs unable to position themselves quite right. I look at his kind face and big eyes, a face that has been my friend for many years, a face I know better than my own, and I realize something – not once has he ever made me doubt myself. I feel very, very slightly less anxious.

‘Thanks in advance for your help.’ I decide to jump. Just a little. ‘OK. So I thought I would give you a general overview, and then what I would really love to do is talk about my three main worries – production, marketing budget and what to do with it, and stock control.’

He looks happy enough, so I plough on.

It’s been a great morning. Peter has been his usual patient self, helping me to understand a whole load of things I’m pretty sure are quite simple, including a bunch of overly lengthy and unnecessarily convoluted terms.