And what was wrong with the photographs anyway? Eva nursed fantasies of her own wall of pictures, posing barefoot with a handsome husband and their gorgeous children. Recently, she had allowed Callum’s image to slot into her fantasy – how well they would look together, how cute their kids would be! When she’d told her best friend, Alicia, about her crush, Alicia’s reaction had been instant and emphatic: ‘Oh my God, how perfect you guys would be together! You’re like made for each other!’

Eva focused on that thought now as she approached Callum, touched his shoulder and said ‘Hey,’ and then he kissed her.

She tasted the warmth of the wine on his mouth, his lips soft against hers, the pleasing strength of his hand pressing into her lower back. They paused briefly so he could take the glass from her hand, and then he was back with her, his face on hers, his fingers plucking the blouse loose from the waistband of her jeans, exploring beneath it. She liked the sensation, the loose swimmy feeling in her tummy as instinct began to take over.

The guest bedroom was upstairs at the back of the house and it was to this room that they retired, shedding their clothes quickly and coming together under the feather duvet. It was not quite dark outside, the evening light falling through a gap in the curtains, magpies clacking in the trees beyond. Eva could hardly believe this was finally about to happen, her heart beating fast, feeling the weight of his body on hers, his face rearranged into an expression of fierce concentration. She steeled herself, willing her body to relax, to thaw, and it was at that precise moment when the door behind them opened.

Light from the hall shone off Ross Campbell’s bald head. He didn’t say anything, just stood there for a few seconds, long enough to survey what was happening, the brief scuffle under the duvet as the two lovers hastily came apart.

‘I thought you said they’d be gone for hours?’ Callum hissed, after Ross had closed the door and thumped back down the stairs.

He was already pulling on his boxers, his jeans. The room was suddenly filled with his panic, Eva’s heart giving out its own unsteady beat.

‘I thought they were. Something must have happened.’ She was leaning over the mattress, hunting for her underwear while trying to conceal her nakedness. Embarrassment was crashing over her. Ross Campbell, whom she hardly knew, barely ever thought of – and he’d caught her like this!

‘Do you think he’s down there waiting?’ she asked as Callum hopped on one foot, trying to get the other into his sneaker.