‘Bella is pregnant!’ Ben reached out and took Bella’s hand in his, as they gazed at each other adoringly.

There was a beat of silence, before Matt spoke. ‘Wha—what?’ he spluttered. ‘Oh my God. That must have been a bit of a shock?’

Ben began to nod but Bella’s voice cut through firmly. ‘No, not at all. We’re delighted, aren’t we, darling?’

‘Of course!’ Ben agreed quickly but Matt could see in his eyes that delight wasn’t the only emotion he was feeling.

‘Congratulations!’ Freya’s voice sounded much higher than usual. ‘That’s lovely news. When are you due?’ Freya was a midwife, so knew all there was to know about pregnancy.

Matt glanced at Freya, curious at her tone, before turning back towards Bella and Ben expectantly.

‘The beginning of January.’ Bella gave a strange little smile. ‘There’s a possibility we might be spending New Year’s Eve in a maternity ward. Maybe it’ll be your ward, Freya!’

Matt watched Ben carefully, noticing that he blanched slightly at Bella’s words and wondered how he must really be feeling. If it was him, he knew he would have very mixed emotions. Yes, Bella was gorgeous and she certainly seemed like a funny, pleasant, intelligent woman. But to have a baby together after such a short period of time felt like an enormous leap of faith.

He and Freya had only recently started discussing whether they should think about starting a family, now that they had celebrated their second wedding anniversary. But they had been together for nine years, so it felt like a natural progression. It would have been the same if Ben had announced that Charlotte was pregnant. But this news was like a sledgehammer, coming out of nowhere.

As Bella looked at her watch and yawned, Ben took the hint and stood up. ‘I suppose we’d better be making a move.’

Matt nodded. ‘Fancy a quick stroll to clear your head first? To the end of the road and back?’ It was traditional with Matt and Ben that after every dinner party, they would take a quick walk to have a furtive smoke and a chat while Charlotte and Freya pretended not to know what they were up to.

Ben nodded enthusiastically. ‘Definitely!’ He looked at Bella. ‘I’ll just be five minutes, darling.’

Bella smiled pleasantly and stood up. ‘Sure. I’ll get my jacket.’

Ben and Matt exchanged confused glances. ‘Um, no need for you to come, too, darling.’ Ben nodded at her reassuringly. ‘We’ll only be a few minutes.’

Bella fixed Ben with a determined stare. ‘I’d like some air, too. Don’t worry, you won’t even know I’m there.’

There was an embarrassed pause, before Ben shrugged apologetically at Matt. The three of them let themselves out of the house and turned into the street. ‘You go on ahead,’ Bella said, hanging back.

‘OK.’ Ben and Matt walked briskly ahead, both of them painfully aware that they were being watched.

Matt took a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket and offered them to Ben. He looked back over his shoulder at Bella, who was walking about twenty paces behind them. ‘Nah, I’d better not,’ he muttered, gesturing backwards.