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‘Why do you look surprised?’ he asks.

‘I don’t think of professional athletes eating chocolate,’ I reply. ‘Then again, I don’t think of them baking cookies either, but yours were excellent.’

‘I’ve spent the last six days eating chicken, I’m allowed to have a bit of chocolate,’ he insists.

We sit near the window, me in the chair and Eddy on the edge of the bed, because for some reason hotels believe that only one chair will ever be required. This is the second time I’ve needed somewhere for a guest to sit now.

I pull my legs beneath me.

‘So, did you come here so I could smuggle you dessert?’ I ask.

‘No.’ He laughs. ‘Actually, I wanted to talk to you. It’s about the christening that Lauren invited you to…’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah, just to say that you don’t have to come – she’s asked me to confirm numbers, but I can just make an excuse for you?’

Truthfully, I have thought about it several times, since Lauren invited me.

‘I mean, I don’t mind going, if it’s helpful for you,’ I tell him.

I know that our fake relationship exists to protect him, protect my job and keep people from asking what really happened at Freddiez. It doesn’t really need to include christenings or family events of any kind… but I’d still go.

‘Would you like me to come?’ I ask.

Eddy looks at me as the question dangles between us for a moment.

It should be easy to answer. Yes or no. Instead, he thinks about it for so long that I start to wish I hadn’t asked, because what on earth is he thinking?

‘Company is always good at these things,’ he says eventually.

‘That’s true,’ I reply.

‘But… it means meeting more family members, more storytelling, and I don’t want you having to do that,’ he says.

‘I can handle that,’ I tell him. ‘And I love a good party, so count me in if you want me there.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah, it’ll be fun,’ I say. ‘I don’t have any siblings, so it’s the closest I’ll get to playing auntie.’

‘Okay, great,’ he replies. ‘If you’re sure.’

I want to see his family again – is that weird? I want to go back to the bakery, eat more of his mum’s food, see what else he can bake while his sister tells me stories about when he was a kid. Yeah, okay, maybe that is weird.

‘I understand wanting company,’ I tell him. ‘I’ve got a party coming up too, and the last time I saw my friends, I was bragging about my boyfriend – bloody Ron – except he didn’t want me telling anyone about him, and I think they thought I was making him up, so now they’re probably going to think I got dumped by my fake boyfriend, which is a special kind of tragic.’

He laughs.

‘What kind of party?’

‘An old school friend is having a house-warming, for her new house – and it sounds like it’s huge.’

‘Sounds fun,’ he replies.

‘You haven’t met Tina,’ I tell him. ‘She’s one of those people who only feels good by making other people feel bad.’

‘This is your friend?’ he checks, pulling a face.