“It’s like a partnership,” Liv said. “Someone is there for you during the good times and bad, to support and love you. And you’re there for them. Of course, sometimes they drive you nuts...” She took a moment to consider her relationship with Jake. If she could score a line onto a wall for each argument they’d had recently, or the times he drove her crazy, the count would be much higher than the smiles and hugs column.

She supposed it wasn’t inconceivable that Johnny suspected an affair, on either her side or Jake’s. She currently devoted more time to Essie than she did to her husband, and Paperpress had felt like a mistress to him for a long time.

The trouble was, Liv was feeling more alive than she had done for years. Jake’s attention and affection toward her had been dwindling for a while, and she’d found an exciting replacement, with Essie, and her new role.

After she’d had Mack and Johnny, Liv had been full of happy hormones, like she was floating on a cloud when she pushed their prams. After that came the flurry of nursery runs, grazed knees, ironing small clothes, rushing off to work and back again. She’d enjoyed the hectic whirl of life, until it was gradually replaced with a creeping sensation of losing her identity and direction, as she neared her forties.

And now, she was embracing changes she’d always shied away from. Uncovering new confidence. Worries she’d had about trying new things were falling away from her, as if she was shedding heavy armor. Her body felt freer and lighter. It was something she didn’t want to stop. But she would have to be more careful.

Sometimes you had to make decisions and build them on whatever foundations you had closest to you. Even if you couldn’t tell if they were made of sand or concrete.

She turned and fixed her son with a reassuring smile. “Really, you’ve got nothing to worry about,” she said. “Me and your dad are doing just fine.”

22

STRAWBERRY TART

Liv and her mum met every so often on Sundays, at a local café or Italian chain restaurant.

Sorrento’s, a new upscale eatery, had opened on the outskirts of the city, and Liv booked a table for two. It was the kind of place Essie might have dined at once. Liv had been writing hard since returning from Croatia a couple of weeks ago, and welcomed the break from her work. She’d just been paid and wanted to do something nice with her mum before the money got swallowed up by bills and Paperpress again.

She took a taxi to her mum’s house and asked the driver to wait outside. She had her own door key and let herself inside the bungalow.