‘Has he asked you to the pub recently?’ Caro asked, resting her hands on her bump. They were almost level with her chin.

‘Not for a week or so, but we’re all busy. You don’t think he’s gone off me, do you?’

Bella giggled. ‘Definitely not. Why would he?’

‘I don’t know. I told him about that time I ate ten hot dogs on holiday and was sick in the caravan. Maybe that put him off.’

‘Definitely, definitely not,’ Caro added, grinning. She rubbed her hand over the side of her stomach. ‘Ten hot dogs is far too impressive, even if you did bring them all up afterwards.’ She winced and moved her hand to her side.

‘Baby kicking?’

‘Violently. He or she’s going to be a football player. Or a thug. Maybe you should ask him out, Nina? You don’t have to wait for him to ask you.’

‘I know but it feels a bit weird, doesn’t it? I mean, I’m all for feminism, but it takes a whole lot of courage to ask a bloke out. I think blokes can shake off rejection easier than we can, and if he said no and I have to see him every single day at school … yuck.’

‘You don’t have to worry about rejection,’ Bella said and a sharp, stabbing pain shot into her chest. Everyone must have heard her voice catch as they all stared at her. She handed her mum a refilled glass and grabbed a mince pie from the plate on the hearth before sitting back down. ‘He’s clearly nuts about you. You’re not worried about Mrs White, are you?’

Nina shook her head. ‘I know she’d been fine about it as long as we remain professional at work. I don’t know. I just don’t know how much longer I’m supposed to hang around. Not that there’s any competition here. Eligible bachelors are a bit thin on the ground in Meadowbank.’

‘You’ve got to get in there pretty quick,’ said Caro, who had been at school with Luke and married him at the tender age of twenty-two. ‘That’s what I did. Snagged the best one before anyone else could get him.’ She waved her hand in the direction of the mince pies and Nina handed her the plate.

Bella’s eyes were drawn to the window. She hadn’t closed the curtains even though it was pitch black outside and bright stars dotted the sky. The wind was stronger tonight and though the branches swayed, the gate Nick had mended stayed firmly shut. For a second, she wondered what he and Freddie were up to right now but then drew her gaze back to the room.