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to him in French so that I don’t know what you’re saying –’
    â€˜I don’t –’
    â€˜You don’t even realise you’re doing it half the time – it’s so frickin’ annoying.’
    Taken aback by the anger in Nick’s voice, I said, ‘If it’s such a big deal, I’ll make sure I only speak to him in English when you’re around.’
    â€˜I want you to ask him to leave.’
    â€˜I can’t – I won’t do that.’
    â€˜So what I want doesn’t matter to you?’
    â€˜Of course it does, but right now you’re being totally unreasonable.’
    â€˜We’re a couple. I should come first with you.’
    â€˜You do.’ I put my hand on Nick’s arm but he shook it off. ‘Let’s not fight. Please.’
    â€˜Oh, whatever.’ Nick switched off the lamp. The mattress creaked as he lay down and rolled onto his side with his back to me.
    I said, ‘Nick?’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜When I said Alex could stay on in my flat, it honestly never occurred to me that you’d mind.’
    â€˜Just leave it, Anna. I’ve got a long drive ahead of me in the morning. I need to get some sleep.’
    I turned away from him and lay still, staring at the dark. My thoughts tumbled over one another. Should I have checked with Nick before I invited Alex to stay on in my flat? I didn’t see why. If he was still jealous of Alex, then it was his problem, not mine. Yes, I thought Alex was an attractive guy, but so what? Nick was my boyfriend, but that didn’t mean he could tell me how to run my life.
    It was a long time before I finally fell asleep.

Eight
    Beth answered her front door with one hand, holding Jonah on her hip with the other. Dressed in jeans and a loose shirt, and wearing no make-up, her hair caught up in a ponytail, she didn’t look nearly old enough to be the mother of two children. In the red shift dress and heels I’d worn to the office, I felt very over-dressed for a quiet supper with friends.
    â€˜Anna.’ Beth’s face lit up in a brilliant smile. ‘It’s so good to see you.’
    â€˜You too.’ I smiled at Beth’s little son. ‘Hello, Jonah.’
    Jonah smiled shyly back at me.
    Alex had been standing a little way behind me, but now he stepped forward into the light spilling out from the hall.
    â€˜Alexandre?’ Beth’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘ C’est toi? You’re so tall …’
    â€˜Oui, c’est moi,’ Alex said, amused. ‘It’s really me. Hello, Beth.’
    â€˜Bonsoir ,’Beth said. ‘See, Anna, I haven’t forgotten all my schoolgirl French.’
    â€˜These are for you.’ Alex handed Beth the flowers he’d bought for her.
    â€˜Ooh, merci , Alexandre,’ Beth said. ‘They’re lovely.’
    Rob, Beth’s husband, appeared from the direction of the kitchen, and I introduced him to Alex. While Beth went off to put her flowers in water, and to get Jonah into bed, Rob led us into the living room, and poured us each a glass of wine. I sat down next to Alex on the sofa, only to yelp and jump up again as something hard dug into my rear. I looked down to see a plastic tyrannosaurus staring back up at me.
    â€˜Did it bite you?’ Alex said.
    I grinned. ‘I’m sure I’ll survive.’
    â€˜Sorry, Anna.’ Rob tossed the offending dinosaur into a brightly coloured toybox. ‘We do try and tidy up after Jonah, but he only gets his toys out again.’ He turned to Alex. ‘Beth tells me that you’re a photographer.’
    â€˜Yes,’ Alex said. ‘I’ve been based in Paris, working freelance, travelling wherever the job takes me, but now I’m in London on a six-month contract.’
    â€˜Are you a famous photographer? Should I have heard of you?’
    â€˜No, you really shouldn’t. I’m well enough known