‘I always love chocolate, Marcus,’ she assured him dryly, taking a sip of the coffee and then another, feeling a lot calmer. ‘So, what was this word you wanted?’

‘Yes.’ He straightened into a stiff, weirdly awkward upright position, knotting his hands together on the tabletop. ‘Look, Esther, this is hard. I am sorry if this is a bad time for you, and you know I respect you and totally accept that so far everything between us has been going pretty well, and just as we agreed… but…’

Esther glazed her eyes, while her tummy performed a slow, painful contortion. Not wanting to be squeezed into a busy schedule did not mean wanting to get the boot. She was half tempted to put a hand over his mouth. She knew what was coming. She could have written him a better script. Instead, he was already losing his nerve and veering off on a tangent about deciding to live for a while in his aunt’s house. Esther could only nod, inwardly marvelling at the unfair, nonsensical business of feeling hurt by an arrangement designed, specifically, to prevent such an eventuality.

‘You probably noticed the for sale sign has gone. That’s because we’ve decided to put Carmela’s house into a family trust and I shall pay rent.’

‘I hadn’t. Fantastic. Good for you.’

‘So, here’s the thing.’

God, she hated that phrase. She sat back in her chair, pushing her empty mug away and folding her arms. Defensive, she could hear Viv say, raising them even higher across her chest, not caring.

‘You are such a strong woman, Esther, one of the most remarkable I have met, and I am totally aware that you never wanted anything heavy or long-term or…’

The need to speed him up became too much. If only to stop him saying totally again. How could he not know that the fall of an axe was best delivered quickly? ‘It’s all right, Marcus, I totally get it. It was only ever a stopgap, and of course you want someone who…’ She dried up at the dawning realisation that he almost certainly had found someone. Women walked out for all sorts of reasons, but men left only when they had the next partner lined up. Where had she read that?

‘Someone who?’

‘Who wants to settle and maybe have a family…’

‘A family?’ He seemed angry. ‘I’ve got Lola. Us a stopgap?’

Esther’s gaze unfroze. ‘Yes… at least… I thought you were saying…’