Liv had known immediately what it was. Anya and Pete had been over a few weeks earlier. They’d had dinner, takeaway, because Liv had ended up working late and there just hadn’t been time to cook. They’d drunk wine, probably too much, and sat talking into the early hours. Just before they left, Anya mentioned that she knew a girl who might be interested in getting some jewellery made. She’d made a big show of writing down the girl’s details and handing them to Eddie. Eddie had stuffed the envelope into his pocket and, truly, Liv had forgotten about it after that.

Until now.

Now, she was sure this was the same note. But it wasn’t a name and address or a phone number or an email contact for some potential customer who would keep Eddie busy for the New Year. It was something else entirely. A cruel game they were playing behind Liv’s back and behind Pete’s back. Pete had somehow seen through Anya, but of course, Liv had been completely blind to it all.

What had Pete said? It wasn’t serious; Anya had only been fooling around. Pete had suspected it was with a married man – married? Hah! That was a joke.

True, Liv knew, she was the queen of burying her head in the sand when it came to Eddie. At about three o’clock in the morning, it dawned on her that she’d been doing just that for their whole relationship. Relationship? Had there ever even been a proper relationship there beyond what was convenient for Eddie? She had to think about that long and hard. The way they’d gotten together, the way they lived their lives – they were just flatmates, not even good friends. They were flatmates with benefits, and if Liv was being completely honest with herself, and why not at this point? The benefits weren’t even all that spectacular. Sex with Eddie was just about going through the motions. Had it ever been any more than that? No.