‘Yes. I do.’ Chloe traced her finger round the rim of her wine glass. It was now or never. ‘You remember what you said to me the other night. Before I dropped the jug?’

‘That I fancied you, back at uni?’

Chloe nodded. ‘Did you mean it, or were you just trying to wind me up?’

‘Of course I meant it.’

Chloe forced herself to smile. ‘I want to tell you something. But I’m worried it will come out the wrong way. That it will sound awful.’

Max’s smile was easy as ever. ‘Try me.’

‘I feel’ – she sipped her wine – ‘I feel like things are different. Now that she’s gone. Is that terrible? You were always hers. But now that she isn’t here any more, I don’t feel like I have to fight my feelings. Like it wouldn’t be disloyal to act on them.’

‘Feelings?’

She held his gaze, then dropped her eyes down. ‘Feelings. For you.’

Max breathed out slowly. ‘I get it. And you know what, in some strange way I think she would get it, too. She knew there was chemistry between us. And you can say a lot about Zadie, but God knows she wasn’t a prude.’

The smile on Chloe’s lips was hurting her cheeks. ‘I think you’re right,’ she whispered. And then she leaned forward, brushing her lips softly against his.

He grasped the back of her neck and pulled her against him, deepening the kiss. ‘I’ve waited a long time to do that,’ he said in a low voice.

The back of Chloe’s throat was burning. She wanted a cigarette for the first time in about a decade. ‘I don’t think I can wait any more.’

‘Me neither.’ He took her by the hand and led her inside.

17

Then

The last week of the holidays dragged, but eventually Chloe was packing up her suitcase and taking another train, this time back to university. Greg’s offer of a lift only seemed to have applied to her first day. Her mother did a tearful, performative goodbye on the doorstep of the house, Greg said something about getting out of the car quickly so he didn’t get a fine for parking in the wrong place, and a few hours later she was standing back in her cold bedroom. To her surprise, there was a note on her pillow.

‘First party of the new term – see you at 9, Z xx.’

When Chloe arrived at Archer Crescent there was no one but Zadie in the house. She answered the door in a silk dressing gown, clearly already several drinks down. ‘Where’s Max?’ Chloe asked, following Zadie up the stairs to her bedroom. Every surface was strewn with make-up and products and the floor was covered in clothing.

‘On some rugby camp until next week, which is a blessing, because he’s pre-season.’

‘Pre-season?’