God, she was bossy. But to my amazement, Peter didn’t seem to notice and did as she told him without complaint. ‘Thank you,’ I breathed gratefully, smiling at Jo until I felt like my jaw might lock.

‘I’m not drinking either – I’m driving.’ Ben told his dad, as Peter went to fill his glass too.

Peter frowned, his irritation obvious. ‘Right,’ he said curtly, before turning to Jo. ‘Looks like it’s just you and me drinking this then, darling.’

Jo giggled girlishly. ‘You say that like it’s a bad thing!’ She held up her glass and took a huge slug of champagne. Once again, I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Or slap her.

The afternoon slipped by pleasantly enough. I had to hand it to Jo, she was an excellent cook and a very generous host. ‘Gosh, not more food!’ I groaned, as she brought out a huge cheese board and placed it on the table.

Ben helped himself to some biscuits and cut several large pieces of cheese. ‘That’s Mum all over, never knowingly under-catered!’ He grinned, before stuffing a whole biscuit into his mouth. ‘Aren’t you having any?’ he added, spraying crumbs as he did so.

I rubbed my flat stomach. ‘No, thank you. I’m stuffed! I don’t know where you put it all, Ben.’

‘He’s always been able to eat what he likes and never put on weight, just like his dad,’ Jo chipped in.

I turned towards Peter, who met my eye almost defiantly. ‘That’s right. He’s got good genes.’

‘He certainly has,’ I replied, eliciting another look from Peter.

I decided I needed to work a bit harder at charming everyone. So for the next hour, I asked lots of questions, listened to the rather long-winded answers and gazed dutifully and adoringly at Ben as much as possible.

‘So what about you, then, Bella?’ Jo asked, when there was a lull in the conversation. ‘What do you do?’

I shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Oh, nothing too exciting. I’m a PA for an executive at Norton Banking.’

Jo wagged her finger. ‘Now don’t go putting yourself down, Bella, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a PA.’

I could feel my hackles rising. I hadn’t said there was. But I gave what I hoped passed for a grateful smile.

Jo frowned. ‘I’m surprised that you’ve never met Peter before. You sometimes deal with Norton, don’t you, darling?’

Peter shot me a look before shrugging. ‘Sometimes, yes.’

I decided to have some fun. ‘Actually,’ I began, deliberately stringing out the word. ‘I think that maybe we have met before …’

Everyone turned towards Peter, who pursed his lips, as if in contemplation. ‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘Pretty sure we’ve never met …’

‘You do look familiar, though.’ I shook my head as if unable to figure it all out.

Jo gazed from me to Peter, perplexed. ‘Well, I suppose Ben does look like Peter, so maybe that’s why you think he seems familiar?’

‘Maybe,’ I agreed, although I maintained my frown.