‘I don’t know. I just get a bad feeling about him. Almost like he’s too good to be true.’

‘Well, it’s very kind of you to look out for me,’ I tell her sarcastically. ‘However, you’ll forgive me if I hesitate to take relationship advice from someone who, by their own admission, has no qualms about leaping into bed with married men.’

To my surprise, she grins. ‘That’s fair enough, I suppose. Just be careful though. You’re one of the good people, Tilly. I’d hate for you to get hurt.’

I can’t decide if I feel touched that she cares or incredibly patronised. What I do know is that I have to find a way to get her out of the way if she’s still here the next time I have an opportunity to bring Luke back. I’m not having a repeat of this afternoon.

9

‘You look very pleased with yourself,’ Tash remarks as I settle myself into the seat opposite her a few weeks later. We’re taking advantage of the fact that we’re both off shift at the same time to meet for coffee. Tash, typically, is nursing some kind of skinny oat-milk coffee, while I’ve gone all out on a large latte with a slice of carrot cake.

‘Life is good at the moment,’ I tell her as I take a sip, enjoying the richness of the frothy milk and the underlying hit of bitterness.

‘Mm-hm. I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but I’m going to guess this is Luke related?’

I smile at her. I’m aiming for an enigmatic, Mona Lisa-type smile, but I’m so happy that it comes off as a full-on beam. Lena thankfully disappeared off to some new war zone after a couple of weeks, leaving the flat free for Luke and me to enjoy a number of very pleasant afternoons together. He generally pitches up at around lunchtime, and I’ll make him a sandwich or something before we move things to the bedroom. To be fair, we haven’t always made it as far as the bedroom, but that’s the joy of having the flat to ourselves. The sofa, the shower and even (briefly, and very uncomfortably) the kitchen worktop have found themselves acting as impromptu props to our sex life.

‘It is,’ I agree. ‘Things are going well.’

‘And the mother?’

‘It sounds like she’s obviously quite confused, poor thing, and she does take up a lot of his time, but it’s fine. We’re working round it.’

She looks unconvinced. ‘But this can’t carry on forever, can it? I mean, what happens if the two of you want to move things to the next level?’

‘I don’t know. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, I guess. Lots of other people have to balance their relationships around vulnerable parents, don’t they?’