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kitchen, grinning guiltily as Grace raised one eyebrow from behind a mug of tea .
    ‘Sorry. I thought you were on nights.’
    ‘I swapped. As it would appear you have.’ Grace pushed a chair out from underneath the table with her foot, and Sarah sat down obediently. ‘Not seeing David any more, then?’
    Sarah felt herself start to redden. ‘Not necessarily.’
    ‘Well, it looked like you were giving . . .’ Grace took a sip of tea, then put her mug down. ‘What was his name again?’
    ‘Evan.’
    ‘. . . Evan a pretty good stamp of approval last night, seeing as how he was naked in the kitchen, and you and David haven’t even . . .’ She frowned. ‘What is it in American – got to third base ?’
    Sarah stretched one leg out under the table and prodded Grace affectionately on the shin. She’d responded to her ad for a roommate while she was still in New York, and had known they’d become best friends the moment Grace – still in her pyjamas on a Sunday afternoon – had begun giving her a guided tour of the flat via Skype. ‘It’s not that simple. Besides, I have no idea whether we’re compatible.’
    ‘You sounded pretty compatible to me last night. Twice.’
    ‘Sorry.’ Sarah blushed again as she recalled the events of the previous evening. ‘Like I said, I thought you were at work. But last night was, well . . . I only met Evan last night.’
    Grace raised both eyebrows this time. ‘I’m confused.’
    ‘ You’re confused?’ Sarah got up and walked over to the coffee machine, chose the strongest pod from the rack, and slotted it into the front – having had so little sleep last night she could do with the caffeine hit. ‘I’d just about decided to make a go of things with David, and then I chanced upon this little jazz club . . . Maybe I was feeling emotional, maybe a little drunk, but I tell you, the moment Evan appeared on stage . . .’ She shuddered with pleasure at the memory. ‘There was just something about him.’
    ‘So what’s the problem?’
    Sarah retrieved a mug from the cupboard and placed it on the drip tray, then stabbed at the button on the front of the machine, and the aroma of fresh coffee filled the kitchen. ‘Well, for one thing, he’s a musician.’
    ‘So?’
    ‘The life. The hours. The uncertainty. The lack of money. I went through it all as a kid, Grace, and I’m not sure I want to again. I know I don’t want my kids to.’
    ‘Kids? You’ve only just met him!’
    ‘Yeah, but you’ve got to think about those things, haven’t you?’ Sarah waited until the machine had finished, then picked up her cup, blew across the top of her coffee, and took a sip.
    ‘After one night?’
    ‘Of course. Especially at, you know . . .’
    Grace widened her eyes. ‘Our age?’
    ‘Exactly. You can’t tell me that you don’t?’
    ‘Maybe. Which is probably why I’m still single.’ Grace stared wistfully into her mug. ‘Still, you can always just write it off as a one-night stand.’
    ‘I could. If . . .’
    ‘What?’
    Sarah made a face. ‘If I wasn’t desperate to see him again.’ She helped herself to a muffin from the packet on top of the bread bin. ‘So, what should I do?’
    As Sarah sat back down, Grace reached over and broke herself off a piece of muffin. ‘I don’t know – maybe have a bit of fun with him?’ she said, popping it into her mouth. ‘See how it goes. You can always talk about kids once . . .’
    ‘About David .’
    ‘Oh.’ Grace chewed thoughtfully. ‘Do you want to keep seeing him ?’
    Sarah stuck her bottom lip out. ‘I don’t know. He kind of wore me down into going out to dinner with him, but once I was there . . . I mean, I am attracted to him. He’s got this charm about him, and self-confidence, and we had, well, not fun, exactly, but there’s something about David that’s . . . reassuring.’
    ‘Reassuring?’
    ‘Yeah. And in a strange country . . .’
    ‘You mean “strange” as in