‘It’s bloody hard not to,’ admitted Tara. ‘Iain keeps telling me she was a stroppy madam when Joanna was alive, but at least her mum could push back when Lily tested the boundaries. I can’t and I don’t want to. Behind that moody exterior is a lost and frightened little girl and I wish I could reach her.’

‘Give it time.’

‘I don’t suppose I have any choice,’ Tara said, and before her mind could consider other options she added, ‘So how was your night? Quiet? Uneventful?’

As April launched into a blow by blow account of her confrontation with Bree, Tara was impressed. The vulnerable and broken widow Tara had met back in September was a pale reflection of the woman sitting before her.

‘I know I should feel angry,’ April said, ‘and don’t get me wrong, I aimed that bloody stone straight at Bree’s head, but I came away feeling relieved more than anything. Can you imagine how I would have felt if she’d given me some rational, non-adulterous explanation for what happened? At least now I have permission to hate Jason.’

‘And do you?’

April wiped flakes of pastry from her chin. ‘Not only did he cheat on me, he died thinking he’d wiped the slate clean. On that last night, there was no hint of a dirty secret eating away at his conscience. He didn’t think to ask for my forgiveness because he thought he’d got away with it.’

Tara blew the warm foam on her cappuccino before taking a sip. ‘And if he had told you, would you have forgiven him?’

‘In another reality where Jason hadn’t died, my guess is I would have ended up back at Mum and Dad’s one way or another, working out my options.’

‘And is that what you’re doing?’

‘I can’t switch off my emotions, but I’m not going to play the broken-hearted wife who lost her happily ever after. It was already slipping through my fingers and I have to let go of it.’

‘Easier said than done,’ Tara warned.

‘Just you watch,’ April said with unnerving confidence.

‘You’re beginning to sound a lot like Faith,’ Tara said.

‘I’d say I’m beginning to act a lot like her too, planning a future where I don’t need or want a man,’ April said, popping another long ribbon of puff pastry into her mouth. With her cheeks bulging, she raised an eyebrow, swallowed, and said, ‘Except, of course, that would make me more like Faith than Faith.’

‘I did invite her over, but she texted this morning to say she couldn’t make it.’

‘They’re flying off to Las Vegas tomorrow.’

‘Then you know more than I,’ Tara said. ‘She’s ignored my calls, and her messages have been short on content. She must realise I know about Nick, but she’s avoiding any discussion. That worries me.’