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almost everything else in my life.
    ‘So…’ he says, and I know exactly what he’s going to say.
    ‘No,’ I rebuke him. ‘I don’t want to go public yet.’
    He takes a deep breath and exhales loudly. ‘Then when?’
    ‘I don’t know. I can’t stand the thought of losing my privacy – my family’s privacy. Imagine how this will affect Mum and Dad?’
    ‘Don’t think I haven’t worried about that, too.’
    ‘And I have nightmares about your crazed fans hunting me down…’
    ‘We’d have to get you some security—’
    ‘You think I want to have bodyguards following me around?’ I interrupt, my voice rising.
    He stays silent, brooding.
    ‘And I still love my job,’ I add more calmly. ‘I don’t want to leave it.’
    He sighs before speaking. ‘I wish you didn’t have to go to work this week.’
    ‘Me too.’ I manage a laugh. ‘I don’t love it that much.’
    He smiles at me. ‘So what does Miss Simmons get for Christmas from her pupils?’
    I wince. He clearly doesn’t know I’m still using my married name at work. But he’s going to find out on Friday when I bring Christmas cards home from the children.
    ‘It’s still Mrs Heuber, I’m afraid,’ I tell Joe.
    ‘Oh.’ He looks away from me, distinctly unimpressed. ‘When are you planning on changing it?’
    I shift on my seat. ‘I don’t know. I’m not sure I want to confuse them all half-way through the school year.’
    ‘But you’re divorced,’ he points out. ‘Finally,’ he adds under his breath with a touch of sarcasm.
    ‘I’ll speak to the head teacher about it,’ I promise him.
    ‘What was he like?’ Joe swallows and turns to study my face. ‘When you saw him?’
    I know he’s not talking about the head teacher. We’re back on the subject of Lukas. ‘He was… detached.’
    ‘Did he try to convince you to go back to him?’
    ‘No, actually. No. I don’t think he’ll do that again.’
    God, it was awful. Lukas was so cold, so distant. He informed me very matter-of-factly that he’s seeing someone else, a fellow professor at the University of Munich. She’s German,
and also a physician.
    I tell Joe about her. ‘At least he’ll be able to discuss metaphysics and quark structures to his heart’s content. I could never understand what he was going on
about.’
    I try to brush it off, but the truth is it hurts to think about Lukas with someone else. Even though I know it shouldn’t. Deep down I’m glad he’s happy. The next morning I kiss Joe goodbye. I have to return to school for my last week before we break up for the Christmas holidays. I
promise him I’ll come home as soon as I can, but he assures me he’ll be happy just chilling out in our new home and maybe going for a walk.
    When I get home there’s a snowman on the front lawn. Joe comes out of the house and stands next to it with his arms crossed, looking very pleased and proud of himself. I crack up
laughing.
    ‘You doofus,’ I say.
    ‘Don’t you like it?’ he asks, pretending to be hurt.
    ‘I’ve seen better,’ I joke.
    He tuts at me and shakes his head. ‘Now you’ve done it.’
    ‘What?’
    He scoops up a handful of snow.
    ‘Don’t you dare!’ I warn as he packs it into the shape of a ball. ‘Right!’ I turn to scoop up a handful of my own, but his snowball hits me on my bum as I’m
bending over. ‘Oi!’ I shout, turning around and hurling a ball at him. He ducks and it flies straight past him. Another one comes my way. This time I block it. I chase him, laughing,
around the side of the house. But he stops suddenly and comes towards me.
    ‘How was your day?’ he asks, his eyes twinkling.
    I screw up my nose, but don’t let go of my snowball. ‘Actually, it was a bit rubbish.’
    His face falls. ‘Why?’
    ‘Roxy told me something.’
    He groans and rolls his eyes. ‘Not her again.’ He’s never met her, but he’s not her biggest fan. The feeling, however, is far from mutual. She’s a self-confessed
Strike