I drop the tangerine peel into the bin and wash my hands. As I stand at the sink, Toby comes up and puts his arms around me, kissing my neck. I turn and kiss him back, properly. And run a hand down his cheek.

‘Hey!’ he jerks back. ‘Wet hands.’

‘Sorry.’ I grin.

‘No you’re not.’

I put both my hands on his face. ‘No, I’m not.’ I giggle.

He shakes his head, smiling at my childishness. I take a clean tea towel from the drawer and pass it to him.

‘Thanks.’ He wipes his wet cheeks and puts the tea towel on the counter. ‘How was your day?’

My good mood instantly evaporates when I remember what happened with Madeline. ‘It was… weird. How was Nick today?’ I turn on the grill and open the freezer door.

‘Nick? Fine. Why?’ Toby sits at the table, running his fingers absently over its scrubbed pine surface.

‘So he didn’t mention anything about their girls not coming over this weekend?’

‘What do you mean?’

I try not to get short-tempered with my husband. He’s obviously forgotten that Beth and Freya were supposed to be staying. ‘You remember, Nick and Madeline are going to London for her birthday.’

‘Oh, yes. That’s this weekend?’

‘Not anymore.’ I explain the change in plans while cursing the fact we’ve run out of oven chips. I can’t face peeling potatoes; I’ll do pasta instead.

‘To be honest, it’ll be nice to have a weekend to ourselves,’ Toby says, oblivious to my mood.

‘Well, yes, but that’s not the point. The point is that she’s asked someone else to look after them, and she was funny with me on the phone. I’ve called her back and asked her to ring me, but she hasn’t replied.’

‘Maybe she’s busy and she’ll call later.’

‘I know, I thought that. But then, when I picked up the kids, Kim Lewis came in and more or less blanked me.’

‘Really? Are you sure?’

‘I’m not a hundred per cent sure, but it’s made me feel really crap and insecure. I don’t know what I’m supposed to have done!’ My voice cracks.

‘Hey, hey, it’ll be all right.’ Toby stands and takes the packet of fish fingers out of my hand, laying it on the counter. He puts his arms around me and kisses my cheek. ‘We’ll sort this out, okay? I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding and everything will be back to normal before you know it. How about I call Nick now? Find out if he can shed some light?’

‘Would you? Sorry, I feel like such a drama queen.’

‘You’re definitely not one of those.’ Toby smiles. ‘Just maybe overtired?’

I nod and try not to cry. I love my in-laws – if I’ve done anything to offend them I’ll feel awful.