It was good to be reminded that I had chosen Will. That he was the only one I ever decided I could have a future with. I thought of the early days when I realised he was different. That we were different. Things might get ropey now and again. And there were days when it was hard to remember that he wasn’t just a co-parent, a housemate. That we were more than that. There was us, too, in there. Among all the other stuff. He was in this with me. We were a family before Gigi came along. We chose each other.

Johnnie was staring at me, waiting for a reply.

‘It just works, Johnnie. We just work. And that’s all I can tell you.’

He pondered this.

‘It’s OK. I get it. My therapist believes I’ve had trouble letting you go because I’m so successful and talented and sexually attractive I’ve never had anyone not do what I want.’

‘It sounds like your therapist fancies you.’

‘Let’s be friends. Can you at least give me that? To have someone I can talk to about being a Wolf?’ He lowered his voice as he said ‘Wolf’ and cast a glance at the oblivious driver behind the screen. ‘It’s tough having to keep a part of what I do secret. I’m getting written off as just a spoiled rockstar. No one knows what I do for my country.’ He looked down and shook his head.

Johnnie seemed to have convinced himself he was a patriotic James Bond-type figure. Not just a former boyband singer we’d coerced into a deal to do our bidding with some light low-risk tasks in exchange for making his solo career.

‘Friends. Yes. That’d be great.’ What else could I say? If we could at least get on it would take the inevitable dread out of having to see him every time our paths crossed at work. But, I mean friends? It’s not like we’d be meeting up for drinks and discussing life. And I certainly couldn’t ever introduce him to Will.

I looked out the window – we’d finally reached the Hogarth Roundabout. The driver pulled off at the Chiswick turn and was making his way down Chiswick Lane.

I leaned over and knocked on the partition at the driver. ‘Just drop me here.’

‘Is this where you live?’ asked Johnnie.

‘No but it’s close.’

‘You don’t trust me to know your address?’

‘Goodbye, Johnnie.’ I got out of the car and headed down the road. I heard the car door slam and felt his arm on mine.

‘That’s not a proper goodbye. Can’t I at least meet him? This man who managed to change your life? Seeing as we’re going to be friends and all.’