Gabi thrust a cake tin into Anna’s hands. ‘I was missing my mother’s carrot cake, but I made far too much.’

‘Thank you,’ Anna said, receiving the tin and hugging it into herself. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’ Her friend’s bright-orange Brazilian version of the cake, slathered in chocolate sauce, was amazing.

Gabi’s eyes held a mixture of worry and hope. ‘Will you?’

This was more than cake. Gabi had always moaned that her curves were a result of her mother equating loving people with feeding them, but it seemed she was more like her mother than she realized.

Anna nodded awkwardly. ‘Of course.’ And then she went and placed the cake tin in the kitchen, out of sight, hoping it would curb any further discussion.

She appreciated that her friends and family cared about her, but she was sick of being watched, of every word that left her mouth, of every gesture, being judged and weighed and measured so they could compare notes, so they could encourage each other with the tiny pieces of evidence they collected that she was finally ‘getting over it’.

When Anna returned to the hall, Gabi squinted at her. ‘What have you done to your hair?’

Anna reached up and discovered that her shoulder-length brown hair was all fluffed up at the back. She smoothed it down with her hand, trying not to make it obvious. She didn’t dare glance in the mirror by the front door. She hadn’t left the house since Christmas Day, and she feared she’d see someone scruffy and pasty-looking. In comparison, Gabi looked immaculate. Her hair fell in dark, silky spirals around her shoulders and the cobalt-blue dress she wore complemented her warmer skin tone perfectly.

‘You are ready for the party, aren’t you?’ Gabi’s gaze travelled downwards to the crumpled little black dress Anna was wearing and to her stockinged feet. ‘It’s only a few hours until we will all shout “Happy New Year” and I don’t want to be late!’

Happy New Year…

Oh, how Anna would like to do a little bit of surgery on that phrase. The first word should be chopped off and discarded, for a start. However, ‘new year’ was a fact. Nothing she could do about that. Time was going to march on whether she wanted it to or not, but ‘happy’ just seemed ridiculous, maybe even a little insulting.

A rush of emotion hit her, engulfing her so completely that she briefly considered sprinting up the stairs and diving back under her duvet. She turned to Gabi, ready to make her excuses, but the look in her friend’s eyes silenced her. Although she was clearly perplexed at Anna’s dishevelled state and more than a little concerned, there was something else shimmering under the surface, a look Anna recognized.

‘There’s someone you like at this party, isn’t there?’ she asked, because that sparkle behind Gabi’s eyes only ever appeared when romance was on the cards.

Gabi blinked at her innocently. ‘No.’

Hmm. Anna wasn’t so sure she believed that.