PART TWO

Copyright

Published by Avon an imprint of

HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street,

London, SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2019

Copyright © Bella Osborne 2018

Cover illustration © Kim Leo

Cover design © Cherie Chapman Book Design 2018

Bella Osborne asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008258221

Ebook Edition © February 2019 ISBN: 9780008258191

Version: 2019-02-12

Dedication

For Patty – with love.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Keep Reading …

About the Author

Also by Bella Osborne

About the Publisher

Chapter Eleven

Anna was pacing the yard as the last of the evening sun hunkered down for the night. This wasn’t how she had expected the team event evening to go. She hadn’t meant to make a scene and was annoyed with herself for reacting, although the truth was she wasn’t able to control her emotions that easily. It must have been Liam who had written the question, which had freaked her out. His attempt to wind her up, no doubt. At least now she knew what she was dealing with.

The door clicked open and she spun around to see Liam’s face peering round the edge.

‘Can I have a word?’ he asked, still using the door like a shield.

Anna crossed her arms in front of her. ‘What about?’ She’d give him a chance to come clean before she tore him to shreds.

Liam gestured for them to walk a bit further away, perhaps anticipating an explosive response. ‘You okay?’

‘Fine. Why?’

Liam tilted his head to one side and scrunched up his features. ‘I’m really sorry about the question.’

Anna pulled back her shoulders. She was right – of course it had been him. A flash of temper and hurt coursed through her. ‘I didn’t think you’d stoop that low.’

‘Hey, you have to believe me. I thought of the question before I pulled a name out. I just went with something generic: what did you do at university? I didn’t think you’d think … You know. Sorry, it wasn’t meant to upset you.’

Anna didn’t believe him for a second but she also didn’t want him to think he’d got to her. ‘Okay. Apology accepted. Let’s go back inside.’ The breeze was making her shiver.

Liam touched her arm to stop her. ‘Are you sure you’re okay with me taking this job?’

‘Yes. It’s fine.’ Anna spoke deliberately as if addressing someone a bit simple.

Liam gave a brief headshake and Anna straightened her back. ‘Because every time I look up you’re staring at me and I wondered if you still had … feelings. It’s quite understandable if you do. I mean I—’

‘No, Liam. I don’t still have feelings for you.’ Only murderous ones, she thought. Although saying it out loud had her brain ticking double time. It was hard to erase all they had shared; it was like their entire history had been buried underneath all the anger and sadness. Did she still care for him?

‘Right. Because I want you to know that I still love you, Anna.’

She stepped back as if physically stunned by the statement. A million questions swamped her brain and she tried to order them. ‘What about Tabitha?’

‘She isn’t you.’

It was a cheesy line and it should have made her loathe him a little more but there was a voice in her head saying: ‘He’s not the worst man on the planet. You invested a lot in him. Is it worth giving things another go?’ She hated that voice but it was a hard one to ignore.

The door opened and out strode Hudson. Anna was relieved to have had her villainous thoughts interrupted. Taking Liam back was a bad idea, and deep down she knew it.

‘Hudson,’ she said abruptly holding out her arm to halt his path to his car.

Hudson grasped her hand and she froze. She wasn’t expecting that or the accompanying electricity shooting violently up her arm. They both stared at their clasped hands for a fraction longer than was necessary.

‘Are you all right?’ asked Hudson, his voice soft and full of concern.

Liam forced a cough and they both looked in his direction.

‘I didn’t realise you two were …’ He pointed at their entwined fingers.

Anna’s eyebrows shot up and she opened her mouth to protest but something about Hudson’s expression stopped her. He gave a tiny shrug. ‘I’ll let Anna explain,’ said Hudson, giving her hand a squeeze and keeping hold of it. He let their clasped hands drop down between them. Was it some sort of code? Did he want her to say they were in a relationship? It would stop Liam coming on to her, which would be a bonus. It would stop her making a knee-jerk decision to take Liam back too. In her foggy brain it seemed like a good idea. She wanted to know what Hudson was thinking; did he have a plan?

‘No no, you explain,’ she said.

He twitched his head. ‘Err. Okay. Let’s just say it’s very early on in our relationship.’ He eyed Anna as if seeking approval. Her mouth twitched in response. ‘We’d really appreciate a bit of discretion,’ said Hudson, slinking an arm around Anna’s shoulder. She faltered for a second before she realised what he was doing and awkwardly snuggled into him.

Liam stared at them for what seemed like ages and Anna could feel herself heating up. For once Liam actually looked hurt. At last he seemed to snap himself out of his trance. ‘Mum’s the word,’ he said, tapping his nose. He clapped his hands together. ‘Die Hard on DVD in five minutes.’ He pointed inside before turning and heading back.

As the door closed behind Liam Anna let out a giant breath and Hudson removed his arm. ‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’ said Anna, spinning around to face him.

‘I don’t know. I’m not even sure what just happened. You grabbed my hand and then—’

‘I grabbed your hand?’ Anna was indignant.

‘Err, yeah.’ Hudson threw up his palms.

‘No, you grabbed my hand.’ She had to physically stop herself putting her hands on her hips.

‘This is getting us nowhere. Whatever happened, we ended up holding hands. I thought you were trying to make him jealous or something. I don’t know.’ Hudson seemed flustered.

‘No, I just wanted a distraction.’ And to stop me doing something ridiculous like taking him back, she thought. It worried her how easily she had come to almost cracking. She thought she was stronger.

‘Great. You could have said that because I can juggle you know. That would have been a much better distraction,’ said Hudson, giving a small shake of his head.

‘Sorry.’ She felt stupid.

‘But now we’ve said we’re boyfriend and girlfriend I guess we’ll have to keep it going.’ He scratched his chin and she noticed it was a little stubbly.

‘Or we could say we were joking.’ They both pulled faces knowing this would make them look ridiculous.

Hudson seemed to be thinking. ‘You never know. Now he thinks he knows secret information about us it could put him on our team, give us a chance to find out what he’s going to do to our project.’

‘Or he’ll try to blackmail us,’ said Anna. Knowing Liam, he was more likely to think it gave him some sort of advantage. Anna realised she was asking a lot of Hudson as someone who was already in a relationship. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t think about your personal situation. In fact, I didn’t think at all. If this makes you uncomfortable, I’ll put Liam straight.’ She shoved her hands in her pockets and turned to go.

‘Hang on,’ said Hudson and Anna spun around. ‘It is crazy but I’m guessing you’ll feel better having shown your ex you’ve moved on and maybe made him a bit jealous too.’ He gave a cheeky pout and Anna brightened.

‘I can’t lie, it would be a bonus.’

‘Then if you’re happy to pretend to be my girlfriend, I’m happy to be your boyfriend.’

She gave a slow nod. ‘I’d be honoured.’ Her voice held a hint of sarcasm.

‘Hey, I’m a very good boyfriend.’

‘I bet you are.’ A few unhelpful thoughts crossed her mind and she banished them. She felt like she was cheating on Sophie. It was bonkers.

‘Then let’s slay him,’ said Hudson, and he followed her back inside.

Anna was in her sleeping bag when she was disturbed by the sound of distant screaming and the light going on, which woke her with a start.

‘Anna, calm down, you’re having a nightmare,’ said Sophie, in her left ear. Anna turned to see her friend’s tired face. Anna’s pulse was racing and she could feel her hair was damp with sweat.

‘Sorry,’ whispered Anna. ‘Was I shouting?’

‘Yes,’ came Priya’s disgruntled voice.

‘Ignore her,’ said Sophie. ‘You okay now?’

Anna nodded. ‘Careful going back down the ladder.’

Sophie disappeared, the light went out and Anna settled herself back down. It had been a while since she’d had a nightmare. It was always the same one. And she was always too late to save them. She closed her eyes tight and tried to think of something else. Thanks to Liam stirring up long-hidden memories, it would likely be a while before she got back to sleep.

The next morning, she wanted to be one of the first in the showers as she didn’t want anyone to see her with dark circles round her eyes and mad post-nightmare hair. And she wasn’t keen on going in after Karl – she didn’t want to think about what he might have been up to in there. Anna crept down the ladder, grabbed her washbag and reversed out of the room.

‘Hey,’ said a hushed American voice behind her. She shut the door and turned to face Hudson who was wearing a bath towel tied around his waist. Her breath caught in her throat and she started to cough. ‘You okay?’

Anna took a deep breath and got her coughing under control. ‘Fine thanks,’ she said, trying hard not to stare at Hudson’s impressive physique. She knew gay men often looked after themselves but this was a whole new level in body workout. She’d only ever seen carved abs like his on male models.

Hudson ran his fingers through his wet hair and his muscles rippled, which was very distracting.

‘You sure? Only in the night I heard …’ Hudson tailed off.

Anna gave a phoney chuckle. ‘Yeah. I think I was dreaming about Die Hard.’ She broke eye contact. She was a bad liar, and she knew people could always tell.

‘As long as you’re okay.’

‘I’m fine. Are you acting the caring boyfriend?’

‘Absolutely.’

There was an awkward pause. ‘I thought I’d jump in the showers early,’ she said, waving her washbag as evidence and they both watched as a stream of tampons tumbled from the open zip.

‘Bugger,’ she muttered, whilst scrabbling to gather them up.

‘See you at breakfast,’ said Hudson, failing to hide his amusement as he slunk into the men’s bedroom. Anna hung her head. Sophie must have left the bag open after she’d returned Anna’s toothpaste. Thanks a bunch, she thought.

Chapter Twelve

After a hearty farmhouse breakfast, the farmer announced the morning’s exercise was at a nearby reservoir, which received a mixed response. When the minibus pulled up Hudson was quick to jump in and take the seat next to Anna and she was pleased to see Liam had spotted the gesture. Sophie had also noticed and was giving Anna pleading looks to swap places.

‘I get sick if I don’t sit near the front,’ said Sophie, and she pointed at Anna’s seat.

Anna’s shoulders sagged. Sophie wasn’t helping herself with the Hudson crush if she was going to seize every opportunity to be near him. Although Anna had to admit he did smell mighty fine this morning.

‘It’s okay, I’ll move,’ said Anna, seeing the plea in Sophie’s eyes.

Sophie was about to sit down when Karl stuck his head inside the van. ‘Can I sit at the front too? I hate these things and I might have overdone it on the wine last night. Gippy tummy,’ he said, giving it a rub.

‘Sure,’ said Hudson, and he followed Anna to the back seat where they giggled like love-struck teenagers until Sophie spun around and glared at the pair of them. Anna clamped her lips together to try to stifle the giggles. She glanced at Hudson and he winked at her. For a moment she forgot they were pretending.

Carsington Water was impressive and the weather was far kinder today with a light breeze and a little sunshine glinting off the water making it sparkle and look more inviting than it should. They were introduced to Canadian canoes and got into teams of three while Karl perfected his impression of Roberta by asking ‘Who’s in my canoe?’ Anna was with Priya and Hudson and they had to work together to keep in rhythm.

‘Priya, you don’t need to keep swapping sides with your paddle,’ complained Anna when a trail of water splashed across her back for the umpteenth time.

‘Sorry. But I want to beat Karl,’ she said, lifting her paddle out of the water to point and inadvertently splashing Anna again.

The purpose of the game was to retrieve different-coloured buoys via the shortest route whilst heading off other canoes. Most went for the nearby markers meaning they all squabbled whereas Anna steered them towards the middle-distance ones to avoid bumping into other teams, enabling them to collect their buoys and return victorious. As they were making their final turn she heard a war cry nearby and a canoe came towards them at speed. She wasn’t surprised to see Karl, Liam and Raj from Finance all with clenched teeth and paddling hard.

‘Heads down, and paddle as hard as you can, team,’ said Hudson. ‘Go, go, go!’ which was exactly what they did. Hudson was at the back, his powerful strokes doing the lion’s share of the work. They sailed over the finish line with the other canoe on their tail. Hudson turned the canoe at speed and with a few neat flicks of his paddle soaked the occupants of the other one. Karl stood up to protest, wobbled dramatically and in an attempt to right himself, lost his balance further and fell in. Liam threw down his paddle in temper. It bounced off the canoe and into the water, making him swear.

Once out of the canoes there was lots of congratulatory blokey back slapping, a few playful remonstrations and lots of Karl shaking his wet head over people like a naughty puppy. When he knew Liam was watching, Hudson leaned into Anna’s ear. ‘Nice job, honey,’ he whispered, making her shudder. She hoped Hudson assumed her squirming was all part of the act. If you weren’t gay, you would make an excellent boyfriend, she thought. If she wasn’t careful she’d soon be suffering from Sophie’s complaint.

As the victors they were first to eat lunch, which was a barbecue by the water’s edge.

‘You okay?’ Anna asked Sophie who was munching down a large hamburger overflowing with salad.

‘Starving and a bit knackered but I had fun this morning and the lie-in was bliss. It’s lovely not to be woken by someone jumping on your bladder.’

‘You should stop Dave doing that,’ said Anna drily and Sophie gave a smirk.

Sophie’s gaze drifted over to Hudson in his tight white T-shirt. ‘Do you think if I paid him he’d re-create the Mr Darcy scene from Pride and Prejudice for me?’

‘You are aware you said that out loud?’ said Anna, rolling her eyes. ‘He’s gorgeous but you know he’s gay. You need to have a word with your hormones.’

‘I noticed you two seemed a bit cosy on the bus earlier,’ said Sophie, with a suspicious look in her eye.

Anna checked around her like an amateur spy. ‘I was going to explain on the way home away from the others, but Hudson is pretending to be my boyfriend so we can …’ Why were they doing this again? Anna was no longer sure. ‘Get closer to Liam.’

Sophie frowned hard and inclined her head. ‘Makes no sense to me.’

‘I’ll explain later,’ said Anna, as Liam strolled over.

‘Hiya, Sophie, how’s Dave and the kids?’

‘Great, thanks. How are your scruples? Oh, I forgot you don’t have any,’ said Sophie, and went to get another burger leaving him somewhat shell-shocked by the snub.

Anna avoided eye contact and followed Sophie into the salad queue. ‘Don’t piss him off, Sophe, he has the fate of our jobs in his hands.’

Sophie shrugged. ‘I’m not sure pretending you’re Hudson’s girlfriend isn’t going to do that anyway.’ Anna could already see she wasn’t happy about it but they could hardly backtrack now they’d come this far.

The afternoon whizzed by and Anna was thrilled that, with a bit of help, both teams managed to complete their sections of dry-stone wall and have their photographs taken next to their masterpieces. She was pleased Roberta bothered to show up for a final wrap-up and motivational send-off liberally scattered with feminist quotes. After everyone had dispersed Roberta took Anna to one side.

‘Nice job with this team event, Anna, I’m impressed.’

‘Thanks.’ Anna was quickly buoyed by a little praise.

‘I’ve just found out about you and Liam. I’m not sure what to say. Obviously, he didn’t mention it otherwise I would have objected.’

‘So, you didn’t hire him?’ said Anna, her left eye twitching slightly.

Roberta shook her head. ‘No, this has come from on high. But I’m fully supportive obviously.’ She gave an expression that said she wasn’t.

‘Obviously. Thanks for the heads-up, I’ll make sure he only sees what he needs to but to be honest I think Hudson and I are working far better together now than we were. There are no holes for him to pick on the project.’

‘If you want something done, ask a woman. That’s what the late, great Margaret Thatcher told us,’ said Roberta. She straightened her dress and went to speak to someone else.

Hudson sauntered over and made sure his bicep brushed Anna’s shoulder. ‘Hey, girlfriend, how you doing?’

‘Really?’ said Anna in a mocking tone but the truth was she was enjoying their play-acting. She was seeing a whole new side to Hudson and it was one she liked.

‘I forgot I don’t need to try to win you over, you’re already dating me.’ He gave her another nudge.

‘Careful or you’ll be filed in the same section as Karl.’ They both watched as he chased after Priya whilst swinging his wet T-shirt around his head. Roberta was looking unimpressed.

‘I was wondering if you fancied grabbing something to eat?’ he said. Anna stared at the hot dog she was holding. Hudson seemed to go a little pink. ‘I figured we’d be hungry again later and I’d like to hatch a plan of attack now we have Liam snooping around the project.’

‘Good call. And it’d be a chance to get our whole girlfriend, boyfriend story straight. I’m not sure I feel like going out though.’ Anna was looking forward to a shower and an early night but Hudson’s suggestion made sense and she liked to be on the front foot. ‘How about a takeaway at mine?’

‘Takeout? Great. About seven thirty?’

‘Perfect. Here’s my address,’ she said pulling a Post-it Note pad and pen from her bag and jotting it down.

‘Always prepared. You’d have made an excellent Scout.’

A few hours later Hudson and Anna were sitting at her small dining table munching pizza. They had drawn up a list of everything they needed to check to ensure Liam couldn’t find fault with the project governance and had now moved on to their fake relationship.

‘We know how we met,’ said Hudson.

‘At work. Very clichéd but also very common.’

Hudson nodded. ‘I asked you out and—’

‘I could have asked you out.’ Anna was slightly put out because she wasn’t keen on gender stereotypes.

Hudson’s mouth tweaked at one corner. ‘Okay, but I warn you, I play hard to get. How would you have got me to say yes?’

Anna’s smile reached her eyes. She liked him challenging her. ‘There’s my cute British accent.’ She started to tick things off on her fingers.

He screwed up his nose. ‘Everyone here has one of those. Even Karl.’

‘Fair enough.’ Anna had a think. ‘You were missing America and I invited you to a breakfast meeting with … Pop Tarts, bagels and syrup.’

Hudson was giving her an odd look. ‘It’s a nice thought but Pop Tarts?’

‘Yes. Pop Tarts, you thought it was adorable and we laughed about it and I promised to make you a proper breakfast next time we went out.’ She gave him her best flirty expression.

Hudson nearly choked on his drink. ‘You floozy. But you’ve got yourself a date.’

This was fun – all the flirting with none of the consequences. She thought to herself that she should probably date gay guys more often. They clinked glasses and got back to demolishing the pizza. Anna put a few more turns of black pepper on hers.

‘You like black pepper huh?’

‘On everything.’

‘I make a mean pepper sauce to go with steak.’

‘Mmm, sounds good. Old family recipe?’

‘Err, yes and no. My ex’s old family recipe actually.’ Hudson broke eye contact and seemed to be studying her laminate flooring in great detail. The mood had changed quickly.

‘Bad break-up?’ She had to ask.

‘You could say that. I got unceremoniously dumped by someone I thought was the one.’

It was oddly reassuring that he too had been in Anna’s situation – both dumped by a man. ‘You want to talk about it?’

He pursed his lips and shook his head. ‘All water over the dam now.’

‘Still hurts though, doesn’t it?’ She reached across and gave his arm a squeeze.

‘Sure does. Now tell me about this Bert character, he sounds awesome.’ And just like that the smiles were back.

After the meal Hudson dutifully helped her clear the table and they settled on the sofa with coffees. The door swung open and in marched Maurice. He loved to make an entrance.

‘Are you okay with cats?’ she asked as Maurice made a beeline for Hudson.

‘I love cats,’ he said. ‘And aren’t you a beauty?’ he added, turning his attention to Maurice who responded by swishing his tail in a diva-ish manner.

‘The rescue centre think he’s a …’ She had to think of what breed they’d called him. ‘A Maine Coon I think.’

‘He looks like it. We used to have one when I was a kid. You know they’re an American breed, right?’

Anna rolled her eyes. ‘I’m surrounded.’

Hudson gave a cheeky smile. ‘You’re a lucky lady.’

‘I think Maurice is officially a Brummy now. You’ve got a bit further to go.’ Maurice jumped up and made himself comfortable stretched out on Hudson’s lap, staring up at him adoringly. Goodness, was nobody immune to his charms?

‘Anything I should know to avoid Liam catching me out?’ asked Hudson as he fussed Maurice and Maurice lapped it up.

Anna had a think. University shot into her mind and she instantly dismissed it. ‘You know about my black pepper addiction.’

He nodded sagely. ‘And I know you’re a control freak.’

‘You say it like it’s a bad thing.’

‘Not at all. What else?’

‘I’m afraid of heights and I don’t like mustard.’ She pulled a face like she could taste it burning her tongue.

‘Any brothers or sisters?’

Anna nearly gave her automatic answer but something stopped her. Her spine stiffened. ‘I had a sister.’ Hudson appeared shocked and intuitively reached out and laid his hand on hers. It was a tender and emotionally intelligent gesture. ‘Her name was Lynsey.’

‘I’m sorry, Anna.’ She could see the genuine concern in his eyes.

‘She was fourteen when she had a seizure. It was undiagnosed epilepsy …’ Anna started to tremble. This was something she was sure she had dealt with years ago but right now it didn’t feel that way at all.

She could sense Hudson’s empathy. ‘I can’t imagine how awful that was for you and your folks.’

Anna tried hard to be positive. ‘I think it brought us closer together. Makes you realise how precious the people you love really are.’ She was surprised to hear her voice crack. It had also made her feel a great responsibility to do well in life but he didn’t need to know that.

Hudson reached for her hand. ‘I’m sure there are easier ways to find that out.’ Anna nodded; she was scared of disintegrating into full-on blubbing mode.

‘We’ve all moved on.’ He removed his hand and Anna was keen to push the spotlight off her. ‘What about you?’

She didn’t expect to be questioned at length by Liam – she wasn’t applying for a green card – but just in case it happened she didn’t want the humiliation of getting caught out. Anna also realised their fake relationship was a great way to satisfy her curiosity and find out more about him.

‘No siblings. Nothing much to tell.’

‘Come on, Hudson. What do you like?’

‘I run – a lot. Not like I used to but I try to keep my fitness levels up. I love music. Justin Bieber’s my favourite, which is why I got the tattoo.’

‘Okay …’ She had to admit she was surprised, but she wasn’t going to judge.

A grin spread across his face. ‘I’m jerking around. I like a mix of stuff from Bowie to Red Hot Chili Peppers to Bruno Mars. Not Bieber.’

‘Very eclectic.’

‘How about you?’ He leaned forward and watched her closely.

She thought for a moment and sipped her coffee. ‘I like old films.’

‘What are your favourites?’

She had a think. ‘I love the Ealing Comedies.’

Hudson pulled a face. ‘Never heard of them.’

‘They’re black and white, classic comedies. Very British, like me. You’d love them.’

‘What other films do you like?’

‘Léon.’ She noted his nod of approval. ‘And I absolutely love You’ve Got Mail.’

‘One of my favourites too.’

‘You’re winding me up again.’

He shook his head.

‘Really?’

‘Yeah. Joe Fox is my all-time hero. All his references to The Godfather. Sure, it’s classified as a chick flick, but it’s a great film.’ He was full of surprises.

Chapter Thirteen

Sophie came back to find her home ransacked by marauding savages, or worse still it appeared the children had managed to cover every surface with unidentifiable sticky substances. Anna didn’t have to put up with this; she only had herself to think about and Sophie envied her. She could barely remember a time when she hadn’t been running around after someone else. Sophie meandered through the house surveying the devastation. She’d only been gone for forty-eight hours. Hurricanes did less damage than her children. She retrieved a Peppa Pig sock from the goldfish bowl, pushed the pizza box to the floor and slumped onto the sofa and crumpled into tears. This was her reality – her life – and she didn’t want it any more.

An hour later her distress had morphed into fury and with the children occupied by the television she was washing the kitchen floor with vigour. She didn’t know what Anna was doing right now but she knew she wouldn’t be washing a kitchen floor that looked like the England rugby team had been wrestling in treacle on it. She reckoned Anna was most likely mulling over all the men she had to choose from. She had Liam virtually begging her to take him back, she had a fake relationship with the most gorgeously sexy man on the planet and a mysterious texting admirer. Life wasn’t fair. A key turned in the door and her hackles rose.

‘Hiya, Sophe,’ came Dave’s familiarly jolly call. ‘You won’t believe the day I’ve had …’ he began as he flung his coat on the stairs and Sophie met him in the hall, Marigold-clad hands held aloft like a surgeon.

‘There’s a hook for that,’ said Sophie, pointing into the downstairs loo. She cringed at the thought of what she’d found in there earlier.

Dave twitched before giving her a fleeting kiss on the cheek. ‘You okay?’

‘I’m a bit plucked off to be honest. Did you not notice the state of the house before you went to work?’

Dave threw up his hands. ‘Come on, Sophe. I’ve been a single parent for the past few days. Trying to keep ahead of the devil monkeys is really hard.’ He actually looked serious, like he was telling her something she didn’t already know.

‘One night. It was just one night! I have the terror tots twenty-four seven. How do you think I cope?’ She could feel temper bubbling up inside her.

Dave was pulling a questioning face. ‘They’re at school and nursery most of the day so technically—’

Sophie’s exasperation level hitched up a notch. ‘Technically when they’re in school and nursery I’m at work, just like you. What do you think I do there? Curl up for a nice sleep?’

‘No, but you’re better at all this than I am.’ His expression changed to conciliatory. ‘It goes to show you how much we need you. We’re lost without you.’ He tried to pull her into a hug and she pushed him away, her expression stony. He wasn’t going to get around her that easily.

‘Dinner will be ten minutes.’ She could barely say the words for the tightness of her jaw.

‘Great, I’m starving. I couldn’t get Petal to eat anything while you were away but I think she may have eaten a sock. I couldn’t find it anywhere.’

‘Fish tank,’ said Sophie, and she went to check on the veg.

Anna had been for a run, done all her washing and ironing, caught up on her work emails and now she was very bored. Everyone else had a life and here she was treading water, waiting for what exactly? She had no idea. She knew she wasn’t making the most of the gloriously bright sunshine streaming through the flat. She could hear families having fun in the park and she wished she was part of it. It gave her an idea.

‘Hiya, Sophie. Have you got plans for this afternoon?’

‘There’s a football match on, which means Dave is busy.’ She huffed her frustration down the phone. ‘Me and the kids are going to make and ice cupcakes then we’re going on a wildflower hunt.’

Anna raised an eyebrow. ‘They don’t take much hunting.’

‘Ha, ha. We’ve got spotters’ sheets and we’re trying to tick off all the wildflowers, which should keep them out of mischief for a while. Why?’

‘Can I come too?’ asked Anna, feeling as pathetic as she sounded.

‘Err, of course. I mean it’s not exactly riveting. But I’d love the company.’

‘Great. Call for me. I’ll bring a picnic.’

Anna needed to be kept busy. She was the sort of person who struggled to relax. She liked her mind to be fully occupied. A quick trip to the local shop and she was making healthy snacks and rustling up homemade hummus.

Sophie knocked as planned and Anna bounded outside with a cool box and a picnic rug. Sophie had the look of the perpetually harassed about her.

‘Hiya, kids.’ Petal launched herself at Anna, puckering her lips for a kiss, and Anna obliged. Anna gave Arlo a kiss on his forehead and he rubbed it off quickly. ‘You okay?’ she asked Sophie.

‘We made cakes,’ she said by way of explanation.

‘Ah. With blue icing.’

‘How’d you know …’ began Sophie as Anna fished a lump of blue icing from Sophie’s hair and presented it to her.

‘Next time you need your kitchen redecorated invite my kids round to make cakes.’

Inside the park was a hive of activity with a group of teenagers playing a game of Frisbee up by the oak trees, a number of families picnicking on the benches and a variety of people and dogs all out enjoying the sunshine. But the park was so large everyone had plenty of space. They walked past the pond where a fisherman was packing up his tackle and a gang of small children were feeding a family of ducks.

They decided on a spot near the children’s swings, under the dappled shelter of a large tree, and set out their wares.

‘Cupcake!’ shouted Arlo.

‘Carrot stick,’ offered Anna and Arlo screwed up his nose.

Sophie gave him a bottle of bubble mixture and he and Petal began happily making and chasing the bubbles.

‘What’s up?’ asked Sophie, scooping up a dollop of hummus with a celery stick.

Anna took a deep breath, letting the tranquillity of their corner of the park engulf her. She watched Arlo and Petal chasing after bubbles before being distracted by trying to catch the tiny pink blossoms as a breeze tickled the trees. ‘I’m off plan and I don’t like it.’

She could see this had grabbed Sophie’s attention. ‘Off plan? I’d love to be free as a bird like you.’

Anna had seized her independence and was settling into life on her own terms but she was still very much outside her comfort zone. ‘I don’t want to moan but where am I going in life?’

‘Wherever the hell you want to. Anna, you need to stop moping and give yourself a shake.’ Anna was taken aback. ‘I don’t mean to be unkind but lots of people would kill to be in your situation with no ties or responsibilities. You could literally do anything you want to.’ She pointed a celery stick at Anna. ‘Yes, you’ve had a shock with Liam messing everything up but much better to find out now than eight years and three kids down the road.’

‘You’re right.’ There was possibly a gentler way of saying it but whilst Sophie was blunt she was honest too. Anna narrowed her eyes. Was there another message in there somewhere? ‘Are you okay?’

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