He looks taken aback, then realizes I’m not expecting him to dash off to his first lecture right now. He puts the folder he’s holding down on the table, opens it and checks the printouts – eTickets, car hire confirmation, hotel confirmation.

‘Yep. All set.’

We’re packed and waiting for our cab. Toffee has gone to Cassie’s, where he’ll be spoilt rotten. Lottie is sitting on the floor at the bottom of the stairs cramming last-minute necessities into her carry-on luggage. It’s time to draw some kind of line. It won’t be perfect, it will have gaps in it, but it’ll exist, nonetheless.

Even before Nick told me what he was planning, I had already decided that Burnside Road had to go; I was already building up to suggesting he didn’t re-enter the world of banking. He’s not hungry enough and I am not banker’s wife material, and nor will I ever be. This gorgeous house, with its prestigious address and conservation status, has always felt like someone else’s clothes. That woman isn’t me and, above all else, I want to be me; I owe it to the people I love.

I would like a modest thirties semi like Cassie and Evan have; a bright, laughter-filled home with room enough for one more child, the kind of house my grandmother aspired to; a house that will suit Toffee, my scar-faced mongrel, down to the ground. Nothing is going to take away Nick’s pain, but we’ll do this together. We will move forward and make a good life. It’s my mission.

THE END

Acknowledgements

This is my third novel and I’m still pinching myself. So the first thank you goes to Transworld Publishers for continuing to believe in me. I am so grateful.