“Of course not,” he says, but his voice is clipped and he doesn’t smile when he says it.

Later, when Catherine is moving around upstairs in her room and Ross and I are in the kitchen, I tackle him about it.

“Can’t you at least try to be a little friendlier?” I say, taking the lasagna I made earlier out of the oven. “It can’t be easy for her, having to move in with us like this, playing the gooseberry in another couple’s life.”

“That’s just it,” he says under his breath. “She didn’t have to move in with us, did she? She could have stayed with June, like she’d planned.”

“She’s allergic to cats,” I tell him.

Catherine suddenly appears in the doorway. Neither of us heard her come downstairs. I hope to God she didn’t hear our conversation.

“You made me jump,” I say, and she laughs.

“Sorry. At work they call me the Ninja Nurse.”

She takes the cutlery I pass over to her and sets it out on the table. “It’s so kind of you to make me supper, Lizzie,” she says. “I really didn’t expect it.”

“Well, I thought, seeing as it’s your first night…”

She smiles. “Thank you.” She flashes an awkward glance at Ross. “I promise that, most of the time, you won’t even know I’m here.”

Oh no. She must have heard us talking just now.

Ross helps himself to a beer, takes a long, greedy pull at it as soon as he’s cracked it open. I don’t expect him to offer me one, because he knows I won’t drink it, but surely he’s going to offer Catherine one. He must see how rude it will seem if he doesn’t.

I give him a pointed look and, finally, he gets the message.

“Thanks,” she says, taking the bottle Ross has just opened and handed to her. “If you’re sure you don’t mind. I don’t want to deprive a tired, thirsty doctor of his last beer.”

I laugh. “You won’t, don’t worry. He’s got a whole box of them in there.”

“You not having one, Lizzie?” she says, arching her eyebrows.

“No, I don’t drink much, to be honest. Never have, and…” I give Ross a sidelong glance and a little smile. “I guess there’s no point hiding it anymore?”

Ross opens his mouth as if he’s going to say something, then closes it again. I suppose I’ve already given the game away now.

Catherine’s about to bring the bottle of beer to her lips, but pauses midway. Her eyes widen. She looks from me to Ross and back to me again, her lips parting in surprise.

“You’re not…?”

I nod, beaming. “We are. We’re having a baby.”