‘Oh, Al.’ Rav lifts my hand and kisses it. ‘You’ve not long had a baby; you need to make sure you get your rest. You can’t be sleeping down here, it’s freezing once the sun goes down. Your hands are cold.’ He rubs my hand briskly between his palms.

‘I didn’t do it intentionally.’ The thought crosses my mind that he could have got up with Leo, and I push it away.

‘No, I know.’ He looks at me oddly and drops my hand, moving past me to reach for his jacket that hangs on the back of the chair.

I feel horrid for snapping, but tiredness and that strange sensation of a dream that isn’t a dream makes me feel on edge. ‘Rav, I don’t know …’ I pause for a moment, my heart beating double time in my chest and reminding me of that feeling, standing on the stairs, peering into a room that felt both familiar and not, with my daughter sleeping soundly in the bed there. ‘I thought it was a dream, but now I’ve thought about it, I’m not sure that it was.’

‘What do you mean?’ He is fussing with his cuffs, not meeting my eyes. Not listening, I think.

‘I don’t know.’ My throat closes over, and I suddenly feel as though I might cry. ‘Just not like a dream.’

‘I think you’re just really, really tired, Al.’ He finishes fussing with his cuffs and pulls me towards him, wrapping his arms around me. ‘I wish I could stay home, but this case … I can’t. I would if I could.’ I lean into him, breathing in the fresh scent of his aftershave, but as he says the words his phone buzzes in his pocket and I can feel him fight to not pick it up, to not check the message. ‘Can we talk about it tonight?’

I pull away. ‘No, it’s OK. I’m fine, really. You need to go in, I know this case is important to you. Naomi is only around the corner if I need help, and your mum is at the other end of the phone.’ I’m lucky that both my closest friend and Rav’s mother are close at hand, not that I want to rely on them too much. ‘I’ve done this all before, remember? I just had a rough night, and I’ve got a busy day ahead today. I’m finally going to sort that stuff out in the attic.’ I smile, hoping that it stays fixed on my face and doesn’t wobble off.

Rav’s relief is evident as he smiles back and shrugs on his jacket, leaning down to kiss me hard on the mouth before pulling his phone out. ‘I have to go,’ he sighs. ‘You have a good day, OK? And be careful up in that attic.’