‘No.’ I shake my head, still trying to take it all in. ‘Of course not. I had no idea.’

Ben’s expression is unreadable as he holds my gaze for a few moments.

‘It was always you,’ he says quietly.

His words unfold themselves and hang in the air between us. And for a few moments we both sit there, realizing how wrong we got it.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ I ask finally.

He shrugs and smiles. ‘Told you I used to be an idiot.’

Maya

‘Damn, my phone’s about to die and I’ve forgotten my charger.’

‘No way.’

‘Way.’

Stretched out on the sofa, Maya had spent the last hour FaceTiming with Will. Before that she’d been texting friends, scrolling through her socials and updating the rescue shelter’s Facebook page.

‘I’ve got less than five per cent.’

‘We can do a lot with five per cent,’ Will grinned flirtily.

‘Ha-ha.’ She rolled her eyes.

Maya was trying hard to play it cool, but Will was giving her all the feels. She tried angling the camera so it was more flattering. She’d turned off the overhead lighting, put on some lamps and a lit a candle, to try to give it some mood lighting, but her face still looked fat.

‘Stop moving the camera – you’re breaking up.’

‘Sorry, my arm’s going to sleep.’ She really wished she had cheekbones.

‘Yeah, me too.’ Will let out a wide yawn. ‘I didn’t get in until 3 a.m.’

Maya felt a twist of insecurity but tried to hide it. ‘Sounds like a good party.’

Will pulled a face. ‘It was OK. It would’ve been a lot better if you were there.’

A look passed between them and she glowed inside.

‘I gotta go too. I have to be up early to volunteer at the shelter. It’s my last weekend before I leave for uni.’

‘For real?’

‘Yep.’

‘Awesome.’

Breaking into a wide smile, Will shook his head, letting his hair flop into the camera. When Maya had told him about getting her place to study law at Manchester he’d been totally stoked for her, giving her lots of advice about the course, reassuring her that she’d love it. She looked at him now, peering up at her from underneath his fringe. She wondered if he knew how sexy he looked when he did that. Probably, but she didn’t care.

‘OK, it’s down to one per cent.’

‘Bye, one per cent.’

‘Call you tomorrow.’

Her phone died just as she was saying goodbye. She looked at her watch. Liv and Ben had said they’d be home by midnight at the latest. Yawning, Maya grabbed the remote and flicked through a few channels, but there was nothing interesting on. She was tired. She might take a snooze and, feeling her eyelids growing heavy, she closed her eyes.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

The dessert menu is impressive. Lots of exquisite-sounding cakes and flans, featuring intricate concoctions of puff pastry and exotic-sounding ingredients. And yet, to be honest, despite how wonderful they all sound, nothing takes my fancy.