"overrated?" venetia seems taken aback.

"uh-huh." i fix my gaze dead on hers. "overrated."

"but...he took masses of pictures of them." she gives an incredulous laugh. "we talked about them for hours!"

"yes, well, we talked about them all night!" i shoot back. "about how overrated they are."

i casually fiddle with my wedding ring, making sure my engagement diamond glints under the lights.

i'm his wife. i know what he thinks about frescoes.

venetia opens her mouth, then closes it again, looking flummoxed.

"sorry about that!" luke enters the room, putting his phone away, and venetia immediately turns to him.

"luke, d'you remember those frescoes in-"

"ow!" i clutch my stomach. "ouch."

"becky! darling!" luke hurries to my side in alarm. "are you all right?"

"just a little twinge." i give him a brave smile. "i'm sure it's nothing to worry about." i glance in triumph at venetia, who is frowning as though she can't quite work me out.

"have you had these pains before?" she says. "can you describe them?"

"they've gone now," i say blithely. "i think it was just a stitch."

"let me know if you have any other pains," she says. "and remember to take things easy. that blood pressure shouldn't be a problem, but we don't want it to edge any higher. did your previous doctor explain to you about preeclampsia?"

"absolutely," luke says, glancing at me, and i nod.

"good. well, you take care. you can call me anytime. and before you go..." venetia opens her desk diary. "we must arrange an evening for us all to meet up. the twenty-fourth...or the twenty-sixth? assuming i'm not delivering a baby, of course!"

"the twenty-sixth?" luke nods, consulting his blackberry. "ok with you, becky?"

"fine!" i say sweetly. "we'll be there."

"marvelous. i'll call some of the others. it's so great to have made contact again, after so many years." venetia sighs and puts her pen down. "to be honest, it's been pretty hard, starting again in london. my old friends have their lives; they've moved on. besides which, i don't always keep sociable hours, and justin travels abroad a lot, of course." her bright smile slips a little.

"justin is venetia's boyfriend," luke explains to me.

the boyfriend. i'd almost forgotten he existed.

"oh, right," i say politely. "what does he do?"

"he's a financier." venetia reaches for a framed picture of a dull-looking man in a suit, and as she surveys it her whole face lights up. "he's incredibly driven and motivated, a bit like luke. i sometimes feel left behind when he's pursuing a deal. but what can i do? i love him."

"really?" i say in surprise. then i realize how that sounded. "i mean...er...great!"

"he's the reason i came to london." her eyes are still fixed on the picture. "i met him at a party in l.a. and just fell hook, line, and sinker."

"you moved all this way?" i say, incredulous. "just for him?"

"that's what love's about, surely? you do crazy things for no rhyme or reason." venetia looks up, her green eyes shining. "if my job has taught me one thing, becky, it's that love is the only thing. human love. i see it every time i deliver a baby right into its mother's arms...every time i see a fresh, eight-week-old heart beating on the screen and watch the faces of its parents...every time my patients come back, second or third time around. it's love that makes the babies. and you know what? nothing else matters."

wow. i am totally blown away.

she's not after luke, after all. she's in love with the boring guy! and to be honest, that little speech has practically got me in tears.

"you're so right," i say huskily, clutching luke's arm. "love is all that counts in this crazy, mixed-up world we call...the world."

i'm not sure that came out right, but who cares? i have completely misjudged venetia. she's not a man-eater; she's a warm, beautiful, loving human being.

"i really hope justin will be able to make the twenty-sixth." she finally puts the picture back in its place with a fond pat. "i'd love for you to meet him."

"me too!" i say with genuine enthusiasm. "i'm looking forward to it."