My stomach clenched in protest. Whatever flimsy excuse Mum might have concocted, we all knew the reason he was here.

One summer when Henry and I were about six, our two families had gone camping. Jed, twelve at the time, had spent most of the holiday mooning after teenage girls in the park. Henry’s sister had been a baby, and therefore of limited interest to both of us. Through lack of alternative options, Henry and I had ended up spending the two weeks playing together. One evening, no doubt fuelled by one too many glasses of rosé, our mothers had declared how excellent it would be if Henry and I ended up as a couple. For the remainder of our childhood, for some excruciating reason I had yet to fathom, they had refused to let the dream die.

Seemingly, being in the same year at school and both liking science was enough to ensure a perfect match.

The fact that by the time I’d reached secondary school I had decided Henry was a tedious, unbelievably annoying super-nerd with the worst haircut known to man was immaterial in their grand schemes.

As was how Henry regarded me with the general air of smug disdain he reserved for anyone who failed to understand the depths of particle physics or wear their perfectly ironed school tie a precise three centimetres above their elasticated trousers.

Henry cleared his throat. ‘I’m starting as a science teacher here next term. Mum and Dad are visiting Polly in Singapore, so your parents kindly invited me to join them for Christmas.’

‘Henry will be moving into the stable apartment,’ Mum said. ‘It needs a fresh coat of paint, so he’s staying with us until the decorators are finished.’ She paused, eyes gleaming. ‘He’s in the spare room.’

‘Right.’

‘So, how’s things with you?’ Henry asked, and when I turned to face him he was almost smiling. ‘Have you still got the garden flat in West Bridgford?’

Ugh. I hadn’t seen Henry in years, but thanks to the parental gossip-line he probably knew everything about me, including my latest break-up with Adam. I’d had to sit through enough of Mum’s ramblings about Henry’s amazingly successful career and how he was inexplicably still single.

‘Yes. I really like it there. And it’s so convenient for work.’

‘Ah, yes. You’re doing the main news now.’ Henry stopped, his eyes darting anywhere but at me. ‘Mum told me. Of course.’

‘Of course.’