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didn’t. He couldn’t tell her that, to be honest, he was embarrassed, although he knew that she sensed his reluctance. He was a straightforward, uncomplicated bloke. He wanted a life that conformed to the norm, which he took to mean mirror the life ofhis stockbroker father and housewife mother. When he married his first wife, Annabel, a fellow solicitor at his law firm, Clifford Chance, he had thought his life would mirror Connie and Julian’s with a large family and a nice house in one of the Home Counties.
    The group would know Katherine had put Matt up to it. It could never have been his idea. Connie would disapprove. Worse would be Julian’s vocal disbelief and Sara and Lizzie’s concern about poor Mattie beholden to his East Coast princess.
    He sighed. He didn’t want to ruin the start of his first holiday with his oldest friends for decades. The last few months had been stressful. Katherine was exhausted by it. She was highly emotional and complained of constant headaches.
    All he wanted to do was enjoy his friends against this stunning backdrop. Forget the drama for one night.
    What could he say to stop her? Why had he never been able to stop her?
    A number of lawyers from his solicitor’s firm were downtown at the end of a week of team bonding in New York. One of the partners’ PA had got them a dinner reservation at Minetta Tavern in Greenwich Village for their last night. They had had dinner and were revving up to cocktails, when Katherine appeared, like a modern-day mermaid. Her eyes matched her gleaming green chiffon dress with its tiny waist. Long glittering earrings set her red straight hair on fire.
    â€˜Hi, I am Katherine,’ She gently handed him her white slim hand.
    Unbelievably, she seemed to have singled him out from the dozens of suits out of sync with the lush setting, the red velvet curtains, flamboyant customers and dark Prohibition-style bar. Matt believed he was averagely attractive – a full head of hairand good skin – but he wasn’t remotely like the body-beautiful men you saw in London and New York. Men appreciated him for that; women didn’t tend to fancy him.
    He offered her a drink, yet imagined she must be waiting for some handsome buck. She ordered a rhubarb martini. Even her choice of drink made him feel like an aged brown bear beside a young magpie. All paws.
    â€˜I’m Matt, by the way.’
    â€˜Hi, Matt.’ She was glistening.
    â€˜Do you live in New York, Katherine?’ Christ, was that the best he could do.
    â€˜Yeah, for now. Where do you live, Matt?’
    â€˜Accent’s a bit of a giveaway, I’m afraid.’ What was he saying? ‘London.’
    â€˜Great.’ She looked him directly in the eye. For a moment, he wondered if she was keen, but immediately dismissed the idea.
    â€˜Do you need to talk to your co-workers? Feel free.’
    â€˜No, it’s okay. We’ve been living in each other’s pockets all week.’
    â€˜Are you married, Matt?’
    Matt ruffled his hair nervously. He was unused to such a direct question and the answer was too complicated to share with a complete stranger. ‘Errr…I was. Divorced.’
    She gently combed her hair with her fingers. ‘I’m dealing with this situation with my long-term ex-boyfriend. He didn’t want to get married and have a family. And I do. I want to have children. It is the only thing that will complete me.’
    Katherine sighed in a way that was familiar to Matt. The outward sound of a broken heart.
    â€˜I’m sorry, Katherine. Sounds shit,’ he paused. ‘He’s a fool. He’ll realise that and come back begging.’
    She looked up at him with a slight smile. ‘No, he won’t. But thank you.’
    There was a stillness between them, broken by Katherine turning to wave at a petite blonde girl, who stood looking lost in front of the curtained doorway. She turned back to Matt.