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the duvet, and reached for the paperback on my bedside table. I knew from experience that any call from Nick’s mother was likely to last long enough for me to read several chapters. To be fair, it wasn’t entirely unknown for me to have hour-long conversations on the phone with my mother or my sister, Vicky, but not at a time that would irritate Nick.
    Nick said, ‘No … Well, yes … I’d like that too, but … Oh, well, if they’re going to be there … No. No, that’s not too soon … Yes, we’ll see you then.’ He ended the call.
    â€˜Nick,’ I said, ‘What have you just agreed to do for your mother?’
    And why didn’t you check with me first?
    â€˜Matt and Georgina and the boys are going to Mum and Dad’s for Sunday lunch. I’ve said we’ll join them, that’s all.’
    â€˜So what happened to us spending the day together, just the two of us? One phone call from your mother and we’re rushing off to eat lunch with your entire family.’
    â€˜Aw, don’t be like that, Anna. I’ve not seen the boys in weeks. I don’t want them to forget they have an uncle. It’s a good opportunity for us all to be together.’
    I felt bad when Nick said that, because I knew he was very fond of his elder brother’s five-year-old twins (who were, I had to admit, adorable).
    â€˜You’re right,’ I said. ‘I’m being selfish. It’s important that you spend time with your nephews.’ Even if it meant that I had to spend time with his mother – who had known me for over a year, and still expected me to call her Mrs Cooper. I pushed back the duvet. ‘So when is your mum expecting us?’
    â€˜I said we’d be there in an hour.’ Nick’s gaze strayed to my breasts. ‘There’s time for us to have sex. If you still want to.’
    So much for passion. Maybe I should start throwing the odd bit of china. Starting with Mrs Cooper’s dinner service.
    â€˜Oh, why not?’ I said.

Five
    Mrs Cooper said, ‘You’ll never guess who I ran into yesterday, Nicholas.’
    â€˜You’d better tell me, then,’ Nick said.
    â€˜Melissa.’
    â€˜Really?’ Nick said. ‘I haven’t seen her in years. I thought she relocated to New York.’
    â€˜She did,’ Mrs Cooper said. ‘But she’s back in England now.’
    â€˜Who’s Melissa?’ Matt said.
    â€˜Surely you remember Melissa,’ Mrs Cooper said. ‘Melissa Harrington.’
    â€˜Oh, you mean Nick’s ex,’ Matt said.
    â€˜Such a delightful girl,’ Mrs Cooper said. She looked directly at me. ‘There was a time when I hoped that Nicholas and Melissa would marry. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be.’ She sighed. ‘I was very fond of Melissa.’
    Unbelievable.I glanced round the dining table. Nick and Matt were systematically working their way through the port and the stilton. Matt’s wife, Georgina, was languidly sipping her coffee. Mr Cooper was leaning back in his chair, arms folded across his ample stomach, an expression of benign contentment on his face. I wondered if I was the only one who thought what Nick’s mother had just said was plain bad manners.
    Mrs Cooper continued. ‘It’s so hard to keep in touch with people who live in another country.’
    â€˜Not always,’ I said. ‘Alexandre, my French penfriend, has recently come to London and is staying with me for a few weeks. Alex and I have been writing to each other since we were eleven years old.’
    â€˜How charming,’ Mrs Cooper said. ‘Though it must be frightfully difficult having another person living in your tiny little flat. What with your having only one bathroom.’
    I thought of how hard I’d worked so I could afford to buy my little flat, and how much I loved it. In my lap, under the cover of the snowy white tablecloth, my