‘Bloody frustrated,’ April said, swiping away a tear with the back of her hand. ‘His mum says he was excited for the future, our future, but what if that was just words? It doesn’t exactly match his actions, does it? I need Jason to tell me how he felt. He’s the only one who can convince me that we had something worth breaking my heart over.’

‘Your love for him was real whether he deserved it or not. Your pain is real.’

April shook her head, but when she pressed her lips tightly together, a tiny sob escaped. She pushed crumbs of cake into her mouth to muffle the sound, but to no avail. The sobs grew louder, and other than pressing a piece of kitchen towel into her hand, Tara left her friend to weep uninterrupted, but not alone. By the time Tara had sent a message to Iain to collect the orders, April had cried herself dry.

‘Thank you,’ she said, wiping buttercream from her face.

‘Feeling better?’

‘I think so,’ she said with a hiccup. ‘It’s a relief knowing that today’s almost over. Now I can start focusing on what I want to do with the rest of my life.’

‘And what will you do?’

‘I can’t stay at Mum and Dad’s for much longer, it would drive us all insane.’

‘There’s an empty flat upstairs if you’re interested,’ Tara said before she could stop herself.

She had been wondering about April’s current living arrangements since Faith’s girls’ night, although her first preference was that April replace Nick as Faith’s lodger, assuming they could persuade the current tenant to leave. Realistically, that wasn’t going to happen. Faith was enjoying more than Nick’s money, which left April in need of a place of her own and Tara with an empty flat.

‘The plan was always to rent it out and I don’t know why I’ve been holding off,’ Tara said. ‘Actually I do. I liked the idea of having a bolt hole.’

‘You can’t be frightened off by an eight-year-old.’

Tara laughed. ‘Oh, I can.’ More seriously, she added, ‘But we are making progress. I’ve been checking Lily’s bedding and her night clothes, and there have been no more accidents. And yesterday she dropped a hint that she’s making a Valentine’s Day card in school for me and her dad. We can be happy.’ After a pause and a deep breath she added, ‘We will be happy.’

‘And if it helps, you could tell Molly that she can give me a hand looking after Dexter whenever my parents go on holiday,’ April said. She glanced up at the ceiling. ‘Would I be allowed pets?’

‘Are you seriously considering taking the flat?’