‘Hey, you,’ she said grabbing him before he toppled over as he hopped onto the icy path in front of her. ‘I thought you’d be far too busy making things up with Anya tonight?’

‘Why on earth would you think that? I’ve only just managed to get her out of the apartment. Actually, I think that’s all sorted. I’ve loaned her a down payment on a new flat. She’ll be renting over the café and she’s going to talk to the bank about taking over the lease on the business.’ He looked relieved.

‘How did you manage all that?’ And she could almost imagine him, sitting there, hammering things out and cajoling Anya, keeping everything upbeat, while beneath she knew he was a man who’d always known what he wanted and he’d negotiated deals with much higher stakes than just the cost of a deposit on a flat for two.

‘Oh, I knew Anya always liked up-front money and since she and Eddie hadn’t anywhere to stay, my offer was probably the only one they were going to get.’ He smiled then.

‘What?’

‘Well, I think the gloss might be wearing off for both of them already. He’s been getting on her nerves and she rolls her eyes every time he mentions his mother. He’s completely unaware, of course.’

‘You know what they say, love goes out the door when poverty comes in the window.’ Anya and Eddie would both feel the pinch of having to stand on their own two feet financially from here on in. Funny, she should have taken some pleasure in knowing that they were stuck with each other now, but instead, she just felt mad at Anya for tricking her into believing that Pete had taken her back. It had made her completely miserable every time she thought about it during the day.

‘Well, maybe it’ll work out for them. God knows they deserve each other.’ He was holding on to her arm now and Liv wasn’t sure if it was to keep her safe or keep himself upright. ‘Come on, I managed to get parking quite close.’ He flicked the fob on his keys and she spotted his car lit up just a couple of metres away.

‘Wow, it looks like the universe is certainly looking after you with the best parking spots tonight.’ She was making fun of him, but it was true: he deserved all the luck in the world, just for being the sort of guy he was.

‘No, actually, I’ve been here a while. I didn’t want to miss you,’ he said opening the door for her gallantly. ‘If you hadn’t come out soon, I planned to text you, just to let you know I would be here waiting for you.’ He sat into the driver’s seat.

‘That’s so nice of you, Pete, really,’ she said.