‘No, Tash. I mean it.’

‘OK. It’s your life. But you’re going there for lunch, you say? Great opportunity to find out more about him. You might want to pop him on the back burner for later.’

I’m starting to regret telling her about Jonathan and Will.

‘I’m not stringing him along either.’

‘I’m not suggesting you string him along. Just lay some foundations in case you want them later. Otherwise you’ll only have Mum on your case about the sperm bank thing again.’

‘Oh, God. Did she tell you about that?’

‘Of course she did. You know what Mum’s like when she gets an idea in her head. She was on the phone to Dad asking him to find out how much egg freezing costs when I called in there yesterday. Lord knows why she bothered to ring him when she could have just popped next door to talk to him. She couldn’t wait to tell me what a brilliant idea she thought it was.’

I sigh. ‘Great. That’s all I need.’

‘Don’t worry. She’ll find another project soon enough.’

‘Let’s hope so. Talking of babies, how are things going with you in that department?’

There’s a pause. ‘We may have started practising.’

I smile. ‘Have you, indeed? That’s a big step forward.’

‘Yes, well. Isaac’s still being kind of cute, so the idea of another one doesn’t seem quite so horrific. Plus, like you, I’m not getting any younger, so if I want to avoid going down Mum’s egg freezing route, I’d better get on with it.’

‘Oh, the romance,’ I laugh. ‘I bet Greg can’t get enough of it.’

‘Greg’s quite happy,’ she says archly, before giggling herself. ‘To be honest, baby sex isn’t very romantic, but I’m not sure he’s that bothered. I bought some lube so we could shortcut to the main event, which he seems to like.’

‘Hm. Doesn’t that affect your chances of getting pregnant though?’

‘Relax, nurse. I bought a fertility-friendly one. I do know a little bit about these things, you know. Anyway, sometimes the window for sex is surprisingly short, so we need all the help we can get. Isaac may be cute, but he’s no respecter of boundaries.’

‘I could take him out for the day one weekend if you like,’ I say impulsively. ‘Give you and Greg some “me” time.’

I can practically hear her brain whirring on the other end of the call.

‘Really? But you’ve never taken him out before. What would you do?’

‘There’s that soft-play centre in Tonbridge. We could get McDonald’s afterwards and then maybe go to a park or something.’

‘I dunno, Tills. What if you lost him or he hurt himself?’