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reached the pavement and popped the last piece of croissant into his mouth.
    Connor told himself to hurry away; she wouldn’t evennotice he was there, a scrawny, damp rat in the gutter. But even as he was thinking this he had stepped forward and was standing before her.
    ‘Connor!’ she said. ‘I thought –’ she stopped. She wasn’t smiling, just looking at him.
    Connor stared into her face, into her large dark eyes, trying not to see the handsome, smiling face of her companion, or the third person who’d now emerged from the house. ‘The man died,’ he said. ‘I thought you’d want to know.’
    ‘I do know. He died on the way to the hospital. His name was Ethan and he was studying engineering. He was an only child. I met his mother.’
    ‘He was well over the limit,’ said Connor.
    ‘I know. I talked to the police. I went to see them,’ she added.
    ‘So you know that that was why he crashed.’
    ‘Maybe.’
    ‘It was,’ he insisted.
    ‘You’re very kind,’ she said formally.
    ‘Well, then –’
    ‘Well, then,’ she replied. She didn’t move and neither did he. Drops of rain trickled down his cheek.
    ‘And I’m no longer involved with anyone,’ he said, grinding out the futile words in spite of the man at Gaby’s side. ‘I wanted to tell you that as well.’
    ‘I see,’ said Gaby.
    ‘I shouldn’t have bothered you. It was ridiculous. Ludicrous!’ he added, with self-loathing.
    ‘We were just going to the laundrette,’ said Gaby, and Connor noticed the man beside her was carrying twolarge plastic bags, which, he could see now, were stuffed with sheets. Dirty sheets. He felt bile in his throat. ‘Do you want to come with us?’
    ‘No, thank you.’ He almost spat the words at her. ‘I don’t think I will.’
    ‘This is Stefan, by the way,’ said Gaby. ‘Stefan, Connor.’
    Stefan. Of course. Connor nodded brusquely, trying to snarl his lips in an approximation of a smile, although he knew he was fooling no one.
    ‘Stefan’s my youngest brother,’ said Gaby. ‘Well, he’s older than me, but he’s the youngest of my older brothers. He’s staying for the weekend.’
    ‘Your brother,’ said Connor. ‘Oh!’
    ‘Hello,’ said Stefan, shyly, putting the plastic bags on the pavement and holding out a large hand. Connor was suffused with a warm affection for him. He shook Stefan’s hand vigorously, for too long.
    ‘And this,’ Gaby added, as a young woman joined them on the pavement, ‘this is my dearest friend Nancy. She’s here with Stefan. Or, rather, Stefan is here with her.’
    ‘Nancy,’ said Connor. ‘Stefan and Nancy.’ He beamed at them both, his cheeks flushed with foolishness and joy, and they smiled kindly back at him, Stefan’s arm draped loosely round Nancy’s shoulders. ‘Gaby?’ Connor said, turning back to her.
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘Can I come to the laundrette after all?’
    ‘I don’t see why not. But you’re wet through – how long have you been out here?’
    Connor opened his mouth to say he’d been passingand happened to see her, then swallowed the words. He was sick of the subterfuge and the self-control of his life. He wanted to bare his soul before her, begin afresh. ‘Three and a half hours,’ he said.
    ‘Three and a half hours?’
    Connor felt utterly exhausted with desire, and could barely stand upright. His flesh ached and his heart was a violent bruise. All he wanted was to hold her and be held. Nothing else mattered any more.
    ‘A woman could fall in love with you,’ said Gaby. ‘Here, carry this bag.’
    ‘Gaby, I have to tell you that –’
    ‘Later. Tell me later.’ For one tormenting moment, she laid a hand softly against his hectic cheek and smiled at him at last. ‘We have lots of time.’

Two
    She found the A4, spiral-bound, lined notebook inside a sequined pink bag that Sonia had loved many years ago when she was little. It was pushed to the back of the wardrobe, along with neatly paired shoes, a coiled-up belt with