‘Malcolm!’ Si exclaims. ‘He puts full-fat cream in everything!’

‘It’s called the Relationship Stone,’ I tell him. ‘Everybody puts on weight when they fall in love.’

‘Thanks for confirming I’ve let myself go, Chloe.’

‘To be honest, hun, I think you look better than ever.’

Si blushes and his eyelashes genuinely flutter. It’s adorable to see him so happy. He digs into his pockets again and takes out his keys. He removes the keyring and holds it out for me to take. It’s a silver flip-flop with the Mamma Mia! logo printed on the sole.

‘A reminder of our first date which wasn’t a date,’ he grins. ‘And how far you’ve come.’

‘How far we’ve both come,’ I smile, dangling the flip-flop between our noses.

‘I better go. You know how I can’t abide being late.’

‘Give Malcolm me love. Enjoy the matinee.’

‘And you enjoy the party.’

I attach the flip-flop to my keys and toss them onto the king-size bed, waiting for the front door to slam shut. As it does, I release a sigh followed by taking an indulgent breath in through my nose, and out. The space is all mine to enjoy – and wow, there’s a lot of it.

I moved out of the Carmichaels’ basement flat this morning. I gave my official notice after Christmas, knowing wholeheartedly that in order to get on with my life, I needed to get out. Finding a new place that’s affordable but suitable has been a challenge. My mum tries to entice me back up north daily; this morning it was news of a fabulous new boutique opening on Bold Street, yesterday a photo of the sun setting on the Mersey. Tempting as it is, I’m officially a permanent member of staff at the school now. Plus I love the friends I’ve made in London. I’ll miss being so close to Giles and Ingrid, but they’ve put their flat on the market in the hope of finding a house in the area, and Neil travels so much, he’s never there anyway. We’re all going to a dim sum place in Soho next week, before he heads off to Brazil.