‘And my God, Stina. The sex. I’ve never known anything like it …’

I grinned. ‘I see your priorities haven’t changed! Come on, I’ll get the kettle on.’

I made tea and we went through to the living room. Reggie took off the bandana and ran her fingers through her hair, then flopped back onto the settee.

‘Oh God, that feels better. It’s Gucci – cost a packet but it’s got an itchy label and it makes me sweat. It was starting to get on my bloody nerves.’

She kicked off her shoes and swept up her legs. Her eyes panned round the room, the slight disappointment in her expression betraying her thoughts, but she nodded in polite approval. ‘This is really lovely. Very …’

‘Rustic?’

We both laughed.

‘Probably not to your taste, I know, but we love it. It’s so quiet here and it’ll be a fantastic place to bring up a child. Still, there’s a lot of work to be done before we get it how we want it.’

‘I know I always go for more modern stuff, but this house has certainly got bags of character. It’ll be fab once you’ve done it all up. It’s very you.’

‘What – dishevelled and in dire need of attention?’

‘Don’t be daft. You know what I mean. Oh, I almost forgot.’ She reached down and passed me the gift bag. ‘Belated house-warming pressie.’

Peering into the bag, I found two rectangular packages encased in bubble wrap. Eagerly, I peeled off the plastic, revealing two beautiful carved olive-wood bookends in the shape of owls. They were polished to a sheen, with huge amber glass eyes.

‘Oh, they’re gorgeous! Thank you so much.’

She smiled, pleased by my reaction. ‘I remembered how much you loved that big old carved “mummy and baby” elephant I brought back from Thailand, and I know you and all your books. Thought these might appeal to you.’

‘They can go in the alcove next to the fireplace – once I get Jack to put my shelves up. I’ll sit them on the hearth for now. There are so many jobs to do, unfortunately.’

‘How is Mr Wonderful? Still putting in the hours, I imagine.’ There was an undisguised whiff of sarcasm in her tone. I didn’t rise to it. ‘Yes, he works hard.’

‘Any more unwanted admirers at this new surgery?’

I grimaced at the memory of the annoying veterinary nurse. ‘Thankfully not. All the female staff are older ladies with grown-up families, as far as I know. And that’s just how I like it.’

She nodded, pursing her lips. ‘Luc was asking after you, by the way.’