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‘Then I was kayaking once, years ago in Nepal, and I was running a ledge over rapids. The kayak slapped down hard and wedged in a rock fissure at the bottom of the drop. I was pinned between two boulders, under the water for – well, it felt like ages but was probably less than a minute. I managed to break free and the other paddlers pulled me out.’

Ned actually applauded. ‘Oh my God, that sounds brilliant. I mean, it sounds absolutely terrifying. I’d have totally panicked. But you genuinely thought you wouldn’t come out of it? Did you have time to think?’

Ned was drinking Arlo’s blood, metaphorically, and Katie had to stop it.

Arlo’s voice was measured, almost detached. ‘No. I didn’t have time to think. I – can’t really remember anything. I was too focused on getting myself out of the situation. I guess my rescue training kicked in, and there were people to help.’

Pongo whined and licked Arlo’s hand. The dog knows, Katie thought. He knows that Arlo isn’t coping – that he’s on the edge.

Undeterred, Ned pushed harder. ‘I’ve always wondered if it’s true that people’s lives flash before their eyes. Or is that bullshit? Did you think of your loved ones and the people you were leaving behind?’

Katie jumped up. ‘That’s enough, Ned! This is horrible stuff to talk about on Christmas Day. Stop this now!’

‘I just wanted to live, but I was on the verge of giving up … then I thought: Not today.’ He stood up too. ‘I’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse me,’ he said mechanically. ‘I need to take Pongo for a walk.’

They heard his boots in the hall and then Katie rounded on Ned. ‘You shouldn’t have done that, Ned. You went too far.’

‘Why? I bet Arlo loved telling those stories about his heroics and, frankly, I can use what he’s told me in my screenplay. There’s nothing like getting first-hand experience from people who’ve actually lived through the event. You know that.’

‘Yes, but you need to be careful if you’re tackling a sensitive subject. You pushed him much too far.’

Ned shrugged and crossed his leg over the other. ‘He seems chilled with it.’

Katie wasn’t sure if Ned was being wilfully ignorant or truly believed that. ‘Does he? Do you know that? Do you really have any idea of what that kind of experience can do to people? How it lingers? The after-effects?’

With shock in his eyes, Ned took a step towards her. ‘Katie. Katie. I’m – sorry. You’re right, I don’t have any idea, and I – It was monumentally insensitive of me. I got completely carried away and never thought – I forgot that you had suffered—’

He took her in his arms and Katie didn’t push him away but she stood stiffly. ‘Katie, I would never purposefully upset you. Please forgive me. God, I wish I hadn’t come.’

‘It’s—’ She slipped out of his arms. ‘All that talk about being trapped brought back some bad memories.’

‘And it’s Christmas Day, as you pointed out. I know I’ve no right to ask you to forgive me, but I will go and apologise to Arlo right now.’

‘No, leave him alone. You might make things worse.’

He nodded, hanging his head. ‘I’m not good for you, am I?’

‘I didn’t say that.’ She fought back tears, but for whom – herself, their lost relationship, or Arlo – she didn’t know.

‘I used to think we were the best thing that ever happened to each other,’ Ned murmured.

Katie’s chest squeezed with the pain of suppressed emotions. She distinctly remembered saying that to Ned: We’re the best thing that ever happened to each other … and not that long before the accident. How could that moment of impact have shattered so many lives?

‘I must go and help the others,’ she muttered. ‘Can’t leave them with all the shitty jobs.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

As soon as she could decently bunk off kitchen duties, Katie went upstairs to Arlo’s flat. Her instinct had been to rush up there immediately after he’d exited the sitting room, but she’d forced herself to give him some time alone. Even now, clutching his Christmas present, she wondered if she was doing the right thing.

When Arlo answered, barefoot and frowning, she decided that she’d made a mistake. ‘Hello?’

‘Sorry to disturb you,’ she began.

His frown melted into the professional smile she’d seen him deploy so many times. ‘Not at all.’

‘I am disturbing you, though. You’ve gone way way beyond the call of duty in staying here over Christmas.’ She spotted Pongo snoozing on a squashy sofa in the bedsit. ‘Pongo too.’

‘Pongo has been thoroughly spoiled. Please come in.’