‘—and she’s a nice person. Honestly. She’s lovely.’

‘I don’t doubt it,’ he said. ‘But I don’t want a baby with her.’

‘I know,’ Tessa said. ‘It’s such a huge thing. I’ve kind of been in shock these past few days. It’s been so hard to say nothing. I tried to tell her it might not be a great idea, but she’s made up her mind. It’s her right to do that, Matt.’

‘I know. But she needs to unmake it.’

‘I don’t think she will.’

‘You’re her friend now. Tell her this is a big mistake.’

Tessa sighed. ‘I told you: I tried. This isn’t good, Matt, but she’s going to do it, and you have to face up to that.’

‘Jesus,’ Matt said. ‘This is a fucking nightmare.’

‘There’s one other thing,’ Tessa said. ‘Lindsey wanted me to mention this, too. She thinks you might listen to me.’

‘What now?’ he said. ‘Is it twins?’

‘That’s not funny. And no, it isn’t.’ She paused. ‘As I said earlier, I’ve got to know her and I like her a lot. She’s a great person, Matt. She knows she got it wrong with you, but she’s learned from it. She loves you, and she knows that you love her too, deep down.’

‘I don’t, Tessa.’

‘Maybe. But you should give her a chance. You should consider it.’

‘Consider what?’

‘Getting back together with her.’

There was no possibility of that. None. All he could think of was trying to persuade her not to go through with it.

‘I don’t think that’s on the cards, Tess,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t working out.’

‘I know,’ Tessa said. ‘But I promised Linz I’d talk to you about it. At least ask you to think about it.

‘There’s nothing to think about. We weren’t right for each other.’

‘She’s changed.’

‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘And anyway, there’s someone else.’

His sister did not reply for a few seconds. ‘Annabelle?’

‘Yes. How do you know?’

‘That’s the name you called her.’

‘I see. Well, we’re kind of together now.’

‘Yeah,’ his sister said. ‘But is that only because you and Linz parted on bad terms? If it wasn’t for that, you might never have fallen for her.’

‘The thing is, Tessa, I like her. We’ve only been on one date but we clicked. I didn’t feel that way about Lindsey.’

‘You’ve been on one date, Matt. That’s nothing.’

‘I know. But … we clicked, that’s all I can say. Look,’ he said. ‘I can see why she wanted you to talk to me, but it makes no difference. We’re not getting back together. And Lindsey needs to talk to me herself. You have no idea how serious this is.’