‘Hey, Lucas. Hello, everyone. Congratulations, Lily.’ The woman swung herself back astride the saddle as she talked, balancing easily on long, muscled legs, shown off to excellent effect in very short cut-off jeans. She folded her arms loosely across a tight vest under which there appeared to be nothing so dull as a bra. A helmet perched on top of the long, gleaming, dark-brown hair, slowing the dawning realisation that this racehorse of a creature, hitherto only ever glimpsed in a photo, was Heidi.

It was Lily’s day, Esther reminded herself weakly, suppressing a wave of visceral dismay. With the pavement so crowded, there was no easy escape. Lucas, meanwhile, ramrod straight, like the awkward host at an awkward party, stepped forward to deposit a kiss on Heidi’s cheek before using a sweep of his arm to introduce her to them all, galloping through Esther’s and her parents’ names and saying jokily that of course she knew the other three.

Astrid and Patrick quickly returned their attention to Patrick’s phone and the quest for their driver, while Heidi issued a volley of questions about the ceremony and the meal, addressing Lily, who answered sweetly but with sufficient brevity to suggest that she had no desire to prolong the encounter. Esther could have hugged her. Throughout the interrogation Lily hung on Matteo’s arm while Dylan stood a little behind, both hands rammed deep in the pockets of the loaned, too-baggy trousers. Only Lucas stayed close to the bicycle and its chattering owner, but with a look of such studied casualness that Esther was tempted to reach out and poke him in the ribs – anything to make the façade collapse.

‘There he is!’ Astrid cried, jabbing a finger across the road, saving them all. ‘The silver one behind the bus, Patrick, do you see?’

‘I do indeed. He’ll get a ticket there if he’s not careful.’

‘Well, it is time for me to go,’ Heidi announced with the ebullience of a chat-show host. ‘Nice to meet you, everybody.’ Her eyes moved over their faces, hovering briefly on Esther’s before dropping pointedly to the hand gripping the handlebar, her left hand, on the ring finger of which sat a sapphire the size of a gobstopper, circled by diamonds.

There was no time to consider who else had noticed. With the taxi located, they were a tableau coming to life: Heidi pushing off back onto the street, Matteo, Lily, and Dylan hugging hasty thank yous and goodbyes, Esther then escorting Patrick and Astrid over the road.

By the time she returned, only Lucas remained on the kerb, hands plugged into his pockets in a stance so strikingly reminiscent of Dylan’s that the clever quip she had planned flew from her mind. ‘Congratulations to you and Heidi are clearly in order.’

‘Esther, I was going to tell you…’