He toyed with the dregs of a ginger-spice latte. ‘It seemed strange to me, yeah. And potentially, very dangerous for my career, if someone’s going around saying they’re me. I mean, I’m known in the field. I’m surprised no one questioned him, at the conference.’

‘It’s possible he didn’t go to any of it,’ I admitted. I hadn’t wanted to think it, but a conference was the perfect place to pick up women. Which meant, what – I wasn’t special? You’d done it before?

I didn’t want to think about that.

‘Oh?’ He cocked his head at me, his warm brown eyes fixed on mine, and I was drowned with shame again for what I’d done, the ease with which I’d jumped into bed with you. What had I been thinking? What blank misery had driven me to do it? ‘Suzi, listen – I’m not judging at all. You and him – you were close?’

I hesitated, then nodded.

‘But you’re married.’ His voice was gentle, glancing at my ring finger, the gold biting into the swollen flesh.

‘Yes.’

‘Alright. Do you know if . . . did you get the sense he regularly said he was me? It’s true I am a little scatty. It’s possible I just haven’t noticed before.’

‘Maybe. He was very keen to explain he was a doctor. Successful.’

‘Well, that was nice of him,’ muttered Dr Holt, frowning. ‘And – I’m sorry to ask you this, Suzi – do you know if he’d . . . had other friends before? Like you?’

Had you had affairs before, he meant. And I thought how good you had been at it, knowing all the tricks, the ways to get caught. ‘I think so,’ I said. Tears came to my eyes, and I felt a spurt of hot embarrassment. ‘I’m sorry.’ So stupid. How could I be upset, when you’d never been mine to begin with?

Some men panic when women cry. He wasn’t one of those. He took a packet of Kleenex from his jacket pocket, and passed me one, pressing my hand as he did. The gentleness made me cry even harder. ‘Poor you. What a thing to happen.’

‘It’s my own fault. I’m a cheater. A liar.’ I scrunched the tissue miserably in my fist. ‘I even lied about my name. You must think I’m awful.’ Was I just as bad as you?

He was quiet for a moment. ‘Suzi, you see all sorts in my job. I’ve kind of come to realise that we’re all just doing the best we can. No one really means to mess up, or hurt other people.’