***
He was astonished to find himself enveloped in such passion on his return from work on what he thought was an ordinary day. Was it? He pulled back from kissing, pretending to need a breather as he mentally scrambled for an answer. Lists of anniversaries and birthdays spun in his head much as reels would on a Vegas slot machine until he remembered the usual pattern of anniversaries and birthdays being preceded by a period of heavy-hinting, which had certainly not been the case the past couple of days. He looked quickly around but could spot nothing unusual. Anniversary or birthday ruled out, then. A wave of relief rushed over him. Well, carpe diem, he thought. He had better make the most of this moment. He pushed her down on the sofa and went in for kissing. After all, he was getting married in a month’s time, and he feared the old joke headlining the article he had just read in his gents’ mag could turn out to be true.‘The best contraceptive of all, it read, is wedding cake.’