The room felt suddenly hot, or was it the heat radiating from Nick’s body? She could smell his aftershave, an unknown scent that wasn’t Jason’s. Daring to lift her head, she looked around the room rather than returning Nick’s gaze, and spotted Jodie laughing at something Nadiya had said. Were they talking about Jodie’s date? Had she wanted it to go further? Was that what Nadiya was asking? Why was the room so warm?

‘It’s probably too late,’ she mumbled.

‘Too late for what?’ Faith asked, appearing at her side with two steaming mugs of coffee. Nick took one and Faith kept the other. ‘You’re not talking about the party, are you?’

‘As a matter of fact we were,’ said Nick. ‘Is it too late to add April to the booking?’

‘Ooh, have you changed your mind?’ Tara asked as she squeezed between Nick and April with two more coffees.

‘Well I … It doesn’t matter.’

‘Of course it matters,’ Tara said. ‘If you want to go then we’ll make it happen. Justine won’t mind.’

Faith snorted but said nothing.

‘Thank you,’ said April, hoping she wouldn’t regret it.

When she moved to take one of the mugs from Tara, her friend twisted away. ‘Eat your cake first. You’ll need to build up your strength if you’re going to keep up with me and Faith on the dance floor. The Macarena is our speciality.’

Nick laughed until Faith shot him a look. ‘She’s not joking, so you’d better brush up on your dance moves too.’

April scooped up a blob of buttercream from her plate and licked her finger. Her stomach was in knots and she could barely swallow, but was it due to fear or excitement? She looked over at Jodie again. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life knowing that the last man to taste her lips was Jason.

10

The Widows’ Club Christmas Party was a dinner-dance at the Hilton in Liverpool city centre, and April’s dad dropped her off as if she were a teenager at her school prom. In some ways she hadn’t moved forward in her life since then, except this evening she wouldn’t be stealing a kiss from Jason, and there was no curfew. As she got out of the car, her dad promised to pick her up at whatever time she liked, as long as it wasn’t too early.

Her parents were visibly relieved that their daughter was showing some interest in the festive season and life in general. They didn’t know that the spark in April’s eyes was consuming fire rather than returning light, and April wasn’t going to correct them. Her dad told her to have a good time and when he added awkwardly that she shouldn’t feel guilty, April had given him a dutiful smile.