‘It’s fine,’ I said, thinking about her question and experiencing something painfully close to regret, as an image of Cameron – his hair damp and standing on end, his smile broad and unselfconscious – came to mind. I blinked and took a steadying breath. ‘Ecstatically single would be pushing it, but, you know, I love my job, and that’s where my focus is for the moment. I’m at a crossroads career-wise and it’s such a busy time that I just couldn’t commit to anything or anyone else right now.’

Nicky sighed. ‘I’ve been there with work. But, you know,’ she sipped her water, ‘if things change, I have a friend I think you’d get on really well with.’

I smiled. ‘Are you the avenue match.com?’

‘Yep, that’s me,’ she said, a mischievous glint in her eye. ‘Sad, stay-at-home mum, craving romance and so seeking it out for others. And talking of romance,’ she added dryly, nodding over my shoulder, ‘here comes my husband: Mr Romance himself. Ooh, but look who he’s bringing with him!’ she exclaimed, her face lighting up as she stepped past me and embraced Cameron, kissing him on both cheeks. ‘I didn’t know you were coming, Ron.’

Chapter 37

‘I wasn’t sure I was going to be allowed in,’ said Cameron, his relaxed manner in complete contrast to the head-to-toe tension I was suddenly experiencing. ‘Some guy in the hallway is checking postcodes. Hi, Edie,’ he added, turning and extending his neck as if about to kiss me, only to then adjust his shirt collar and nod towards the kitchen counter. ‘So, do you think you’ve got enough glasses to last the evening?’

I stared at him, trying to decide how I felt about his arrival, a quick analysis of my feelings identifying a heady mix of irritation, surprise, anxiety and – standing ashamed and trying to go unnoticed at the very back of the queue – pleasure.

‘It’s touch and go,’ I said. ‘So let me fill one up for you while I can. What would you like? There are lots of reds here, or whites and beers in the fridge.’

‘Some of that would be great,’ he said, pointing to the bottle next to me.

I filled a glass and handed it to him.

‘Thanks,’ he said, saluting me with it. ‘And for letting me stay.’

I took a breath and then a sip of my wine, alternately wishing that either he would leave, or that everybody else would.

Andy clapped Cameron on the shoulder. ‘It was Patrick who checked Ron’s address,’ he said amiably, with no hint of the tension he had exhibited at June’s party. I wondered if his alcohol intake alone was responsible for his more relaxed mood this evening, or whether his wife’s lack of it might be a contributing factor.