He realized as soon as he got to The Willows and saw Clara that it had been a mistake to go there. She looked incredible. He wasn’t even sure what it was about her that pulled her to him so. She was nowhere near as beautiful as Hannah, yet she was everything. When she saw him she gave a cry of delight and went to hug him, her familiar scent filling his nostrils, the feel of her small, compact body in his arms. It was agony. He’d hoped that the short time away from her would have helped, but he realized he loved her more than ever.

Towards the end of the evening he’d stood at the edge of the party, drinking solidly, morosely, by himself. When Luke bowled over to him, bright-eyed and flushed with drink, enthusiastically slapping him on the back, he had looked at him and said quietly, ‘What’s happening with that girl from work? Sadie? Did you really finish it with her?’

Luke’s eyes had widened. ‘Yes! Of course I bloody did! Jesus, Mac, I told you that. It was one night, months ago, the worst mistake I’ve ever made. I just want to forget it ever happened.’ He’d glanced around uneasily.

Mac had nodded. ‘Yeah. OK, I just wanted to make sure.’

But still, anger had burned inside him as he’d watched Luke wander off to where Clara was talking to his mother, draping his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulder with casual propriety. When an extremely drunk Oliver had approached Mac a few minutes later, wine bottle proffered to top up his glass, Mac had said, raising his voice over the music and voices, ‘Oliver, do you know anyone named Nadia Freeman?’

And the expression in Oliver’s eyes had told him all he needed to know. ‘What?’ he said, the colour instantly draining from his face. ‘What did you say?’

‘Natalia,’ he had almost shouted. ‘Natalia Fellum. Just a girl I met in London the other day, said she used to live locally. Oliver? Are you OK?’

‘Yes, yes, sorry, I thought …’ he took a large gulp of wine. ‘Um, Natalia? No, doesn’t ring a bell I’m afraid.’ And with that he’d patted Mac on the shoulder and staggered drunkenly off. But Mac had seen it: that initial reaction of pure, unbridled fear. He had seen it, and he had known.