‘Yes, I ate with Mina,’ I lie. I watched Mina eat a small bowl of spaghetti hoops, if that counts. ‘Sorry I didn’t save you anything.’

‘Oh, don’t worry. I grabbed something after the meeting.’ He walks towards the bathroom, snatching up a bath towel and I follow him, my skin prickling.

‘Did you? Where did you go?’ I wait expectantly, giving him the chance to redeem himself without knowing.

‘I stopped for a pint with Gareth, so we grabbed some chips while we were there.’ He turns the shower on, the pipes clanking.

‘Oh.’ My stomach drops away, as if on a rollercoaster and I tense as Rav turns and wraps his arms around my waist, his bare skin warm against my body. ‘Mina isn’t well, I think she’s got an ear infection.’

‘Really? Poor thing. Keep her home from nursery tomorrow.’ Rav kisses the top of my head and I bury my face against his chest, the hairs there tickling the end of my nose.

‘We had no Calpol. I had to take her out to buy some – I did call Naomi to ask if she could get me some because it was almost six, and I knew she would have been leaving work, but she didn’t reply.’

Rav stills, almost imperceptibly, before pulling away from me and yanking back the curtain to the shower. Steam fills the room and wraps around his body, creating a blanket between us.

‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so late. I wanted to miss the traffic back from Bromley, so I didn’t leave the pub till gone eight.’ He’s lying, and the ease with which he does it makes the blood in my veins run cold.