Rupert takes a moment before he answers. I suppose I should have given him a chance to get his coat off and pour a drink before I bundled him back out into the cold. ‘Wow,’ he says eventually, before slinging an arm over my shoulder.

‘Do you like it?’ A grin bursts across my face and I squeeze his waist tightly. ‘I’ve still got more to do, but just think once the summer comes…’

‘I love it,’ he interrupts, leaning down and smashing his lips against mine, his teeth bruising against my top lip. ‘You don’t need to do any more, this is perfect. I had forgotten how good it could look.’ A look I can’t read drifts across his face, and I frown up at him.

‘Are you sure you like it?’

‘I love it, Em. You’ve done a brilliant job.’ He kisses me again, gently this time, his tongue flicking against mine as his hand moves to my breast. I sigh, relaxing against him for a moment before I pull away.

‘There’s more, though,’ I say, excitement fizzing in my veins. ‘I was thinking, what if we put a pool in?’ Stepping away from him, I mark out the position of where I imagine the pool to go. ‘We could put it here. Just think, when it’s hot and you’ve been in the office all day you can come home and we can jump in the water together.’ Waggling my eyebrows at him, I step closer, reaching out to pull him back into my arms.

‘No,’ he says shortly, turning away and walking back into the kitchen, leaving me standing open-mouthed for a moment before I follow him.

‘What do you mean, no?’ I can’t understand why he’s being like this. ‘It would finish the garden off perfectly, and we have the space.’

‘I don’t want a pool, Emily.’ His voice is cold, and he keeps his back to me as he wrenches the lid from a bottle of whisky, before pouring himself a generous measure. ‘Don’t even think about discussing it any further, I don’t want a pool out there.’

‘But Sadie said…’ Hot tears spring to my eyes, tears of frustration and anger.

‘Sadie? Since when does Sadie live here? Since when does Sadie pay the bills? It’s a waste of money, Emily – my money. I don’t want a pool – I don’t need a pool. If I want to swim, I’ll go over to Miles’s and use the pool, or I’ll go to the gym. The garden is fine as it is.’

‘OK,’ I say quietly, ‘I just thought…’ I swallow down the thick lump in my throat. ‘I just thought it would be nice, that’s all. I saw your swimming trophies at your parents’ house and I… oh, I don’t know.’