I put a hand to my ear. ‘I think I can hear a certain little someone stirring!’ I stood up and left the room. It was the only way to shut her up.

I hated waking Elodie but there was no choice. I opened the blackout curtains and unzipped her sleeping bag, shaking her gently as I did so. Her eyes popped open in surprise, before she stretched out her arms and legs and gave a huge yawn. I watched her, smiling to myself. She was so beautiful it was impossible not to fall in love with her all over again.

I scooped her up, drinking in the sweet smell of sleep that still clung to her and carried her back into the kitchen where Peter and Jo were waiting with bated breath.

‘Here she is!’

‘Oh my word, she’s just perfect!’ Jo cooed, as they stood either side of me. ‘Isn’t she, Peter?’

I looked up at Peter, who was gazing at Elodie with undisguised awe. ‘She certainly is,’ he breathed. ‘Can I hold her?’ He looked up and met my eye with an expression that said so much.

‘Of course,’ I replied, after a moment. I lowered Elodie into his arms, watching him closely as I did so. It felt as though all my senses were heightened, I was so aware of his smell, his touch and the sound of his voice.

‘What do you think then, Dad? Do you think she looks like me?’ Ben came over and tickled Elodie’s stomach, causing her to squirm and smile at the same time. I thought of all the terrible things I could say that would smash his world to smithereens.

‘Not really, son,’ Peter said carefully, causing my stomach to drop with fear. Was he about to blab everything in a moment of madness? I held my breath until he finished. ‘She’s far more beautiful than you.’

We all burst into peals of exaggerated, relieved laughter and I caught Peter’s eye. He gave the tiniest of smiles. So this was how it was going to be: like a continuous jousting session, with one or other of us scoring points against the other. Well, that was fine by me.

Later, when the dishes had been cleared and we were finishing our coffee, I stood up and hoisted Elodie over my shoulder. ‘I think someone needs changing,’ I said by way of explanation as I turned to leave the room.

‘I’ll come and help,’ said Peter, giving a warning look to Jo, to stop her following. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement, and before I could object, we were alone together in Elodie’s room.

‘What do you think of your daughter, then?’ I asked in a low voice, careful to make sure my words didn’t carry through the flat.

Peter swallowed hard and fixed me with a fierce stare. ‘I should have been able to see her before now.’

‘Really?’ I pretended to consider his words. ‘Only, I seem to remember that you were rather keen for me to abort her. I didn’t think you’d be too bothered about seeing her.’