‘Girls, we should eat, shouldn’t we?’ she says. ‘I really do need to move on to solids or things are going to get messy. What do they have here?’

Obviously, at our age, crisps/nuts won’t suffice. We are relieved to find that they do tapas, and soon an array of tempting plates crowd our table.

‘Doesn’t Andy live around here?’ Shelley asks as we all dive in.

‘Yep, allegedly. I still don’t have his address, though. He’s incredibly cagey about it.’

‘Why is that?’ Isla asks, frowning.

‘Honestly, I have no idea.’

Penny turns to me. ‘You should find out. Why don’t you call him, make some excuse? We could pop round to see him en masse.’ She grins mischievously.

‘I imagine he’ll be on his way to Loch Fyne right now, or maybe he’s there already. And the signal’s terrible up there.’

‘Give it a try,’ Penny adds. ‘Say you need his address for something while he’s away.’

I laugh and sip my wine. It dawns on me how lucky I am really, having the freedom to be out on a glorious day with my friends, without having to rush home or be answerable to anyone. I know Izzy is having a wonderful time, as we have chatted and Jules has already sent me pictures of the girls playing at the lakeside. Although things feel uncertain at work – Rose still hasn’t even hinted at what she has in mind for me – I really don’t have too much to worry about. I make a mental note to appreciate what I have, instead of allowing dark thoughts about Andy and his new woman to infiltrate my brain.

‘I know,’ Shelley announces suddenly. ‘Tell him you want to forward some letters that look important. Say you want them out of your way, in case you lose them in the house.’

I frown, considering this. ‘That doesn’t sound feasible.’

‘Just give it a go,’ she cajoles me. ‘He can only say no, can’t he?’ And so I text him a rambling request, which obviously baffles him as he replies, almost immediately: Can this wait? Just arrived. Everyone says hi.

‘How long does it take to type an address?’ Shelley remarks.

‘He’s just palming you off,’ Penny adds. She snatches my phone from the table and jabs at it.

‘Penny! What are you doing?’

Beaming, she hands it back to me. To give her credit, her method turns out to be more effective than mine as, in response to her GIVE ME YOUR ADDRESS! command, he has replied, obediently: Flat 1/2 19 Kinnerton St.

‘So?’ Penny smirks as we divvy up our bill. ‘We’re so close, it seems silly not to check it out. Let’s go.’