‘Come on up,’ Janey called huskily down the stairs when Alan had rung the bell. ‘Door’s open.’

The next moment, having rushed upstairs two at a time, he appeared in the living-room doorway. The expression on his face when he saw who else was waiting for him was out of this world. Indescribable, thought Janey. Better than sex .. .

‘Surprise, darling,’ said Anna brightly. Lifting her face, she sniffed the air. ‘Oh how sweet,’

she added, turning to Janey. ‘He’s wearing my favourite aftershave. Isn’t that a thoughtful touch?’

Alan looked like a cornered animal, Janey decided, the flickering narrowed eyes reflecting his fury at having been caught out. Having come here expecting reconciliation, he had been made to look foolish instead. In a small way, they had succeeded in turning the tables. This time, he was the one facing humiliating rejection.

‘What the hell are you doing here?’ he hissed at Anna, but the trembling, nerve-racked girl who had entered the shop an hour earlier, inspired by Janey’s lead, had undergone an almost magical transformation.

Now, casually confident, she gave him a sweet smile. ‘It was urgent, darling. Remember that competition I entered you for? Well, they phoned. You’ve been short-listed for the finals.’

This was so far removed from the reply he’d been expecting, Alan couldn’t take it in.

‘What?’ He stared at her, confused. ‘What competition?’

‘Don’t you remember, sweetheart?’ Anna protested good-naturedly. ‘Father of the Year.’

Caught yet again, made to look even more foolish, he snarled, ‘Oh, clever. Ha bloody ha.

How did you find me, anyway?’

‘Easy,’ Janey murmured in an undertone. ‘Just follow the trail of aftershave.’

Alan rounded on her. ‘And you can shut up, spiteful bloody bitch. Was this your idea? I suppose you think it’s funny.’

Janey’s gaze fell briefly on the still-sleeping Justin. If she had her way, Alan would be indelibly tattooed -- in the appropriate place — with a government health warning so that in future at least other women could be spared. Any minute now, no doubt, he would storm out of the flat.

Oh well, she thought, at least they could make the most of the opportunity while they still had it.

‘Funny?’ With a quizzical glance in Anna’s direction, she shook her head. ‘Oh no, Alan; you’re way too sad to be funny. In fact I’d probably call you pathetic. How about you Anna, any other suggestions spring immediately to mind?’

‘Gosh!’ declared Anna, her dark eyes alight with enthusiasm. ‘I can think of loads ...’

‘Goodness, I enjoyed that,’ Anna said happily when Alan had left, almost taking the door off its hinges as he went. ‘How do you feel?’

Janey heaved a sigh of pleasure. ‘Free.’

‘Me too. Here we are, young, free and single. Not to mention starving ...’

The baby, who had slept peacefully through the whole showdown, began to stretch and stir.

‘Come on,’ said Janey, feeling the need to celebrate. ‘My treat. Let’s go somewhere wonderful for lunch.’

Chapter 55

The first week of January was always the quietest of the year. Nobody wanted to buy flowers, nobody was getting married ... or even dying. Janey, alone in the empty shop, was perched on a stool twiddling her hair around her fingers and reading an old magazine when the door bell went and Guy walked in.

It was awful; her heart almost leapt into her throat at the unexpected sight of him. Having taken Josh and Ella to Klosters for a fortnight’s skiing over Christmas and the New Year, he was incredibly tanned. The contrast between grey Trezale and Guy Cassidy — brown and breathtakingly handsome in a white shirt and faded, close-fitting Levi’s -- couldn’t have been more marked. His eyes seemed bluer than she remembered, the teeth whiter, those faultless cheekbones more pronounced. Damn, be even smelled wonderful .. .

Hastily shovelling the magazine under the counter, Janey prayed she didn’t look as overawed by his glamour as she felt. Not having seen Guy since the day of his father’s funeral, when she had made the excruciating discovery about the bracelet, she had no idea what to expect now.

His smile was brief. ‘Hi. Good Christmas?’

‘Fabulous,’ said Janey. She hadn’t meant to sound sarcastic but that was how it came out.

With Guy and family away in Switzerland, Maxine and Bruno had closeted themselves in Mole Cottage and – according to Maxine – had spent the week screwing themselves into a blissful stupor. With only a grieving mother for company, it hadn’t been the jolliest of times for Janey.

As far as she was concerned it had been a festive season to forget.

Guy, however, detected the raw edge to her voice.

‘Well,’ he said, softening slightly, ‘maybe this will cheer you up. Childsafe are launching their campaign next week. They’re holding a charity ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel. The organizers chose to go with the shot I submitted so if you can stand the thought of being surrounded by a million posters of yourself, you’d better start thinking what to wear.’

He handed Janey a thick, silver-embossed invitation. Gazing at it, the words ‘For two people’ leapt out at her.

‘Um ... I don’t have anyone to take with me.’ Hating having to say it, she mumbled the words in an apologetic undertone.

Guy smiled. ‘Actually this is my invite. It seemed only fair to ask you to be my partner.’

‘Oh.’ Her stomach took a spiralling dive.

‘It’s next Friday,’ he pointed out. ‘You’ll have to get Paula to take over here. I thought we’d fly up around lunchtime, spend the night at the hotel and come back on Saturday morning.’

‘I see,’ said Janey cautiously, ‘How much are the rooms?’

Guy’s eyes glittered with amusement. ‘Don’t panic, that’s already been taken care of. All you have to do is chuck an evening dress into a suitcase.’

She hesitated. ‘Right.’

‘You do have an evening dress?’ He looked concerned. The thought had evidently only just struck him.

Janey, feeling more and more like a decidedly second-rate Cinderella, experienced a surge of resentment. Maybe, she thought crossly, he’d like to take care of that too.

‘Of course I do,’ she lied smoothly, lifting her chin in defiance. ‘No need to panic. I won’t turn up in anything Crimplene.’

Whilst it was perfectly acceptable for Maxine to drool over Mel Gibson, developing a crush on someone you knew was somehow infinitely more embarrassing. Janey, unhappily contemplating her own schoolgirlish infatuation with Guy, couldn’t believe how juvenile she was being. She didn’t even know why it should suddenly have happened, anyway. For months she’d been fine, then ... wham! ... one full-blown crush, sprung up from nowhere, threatening to make her look even more of an idiot than she already felt.

It must be because of Alan, she told herself; some bizarre kind of reaction to being properly single again. Whatever, it was deeply and horribly humiliating.

‘Who’s that?’ said Paula, peering over her shoulder. Janey, who hadn’t realized she’d come up behind her, jumped a mile.

‘Just some old magazine.’ Hastily, she tried to turn the page. ‘I found it under the counter.’

‘It’s Guy!’ Paula, ever helpful, pointed him out. ‘Oh look, he’s with Valentina di Angelo ...

isn’t she stunning? You must be so excited about Friday,’ she added dreamily. ‘Imagine, going to a ball with Guy Cassidy. Everyone will think you’re a couple. By this time next week, you could be splashed across the pages of some gossip column ... what are you wearing, by the way?

Have you decided yet? Not lime-green cycling shorts, I hope, like vampy Valentina!’

Janey, who had imagined nothing but going to a ball with Guy Cassidy for the last six days, and who knew only too well that he had felt morally obliged to invite her, closed the magazine and chucked it into the bin.

‘I’m not wearing anything,’ she murmured wearily. It really was the only answer. Turning, she caught Paula’s goggle-eyed expression and forced a smile. ‘Because I’m not going.’

Guy, who had been up half the night working in the darkroom, was still in bed when Janey phoned at eleven o’clock on Thursday morning.

‘Hi, it’s me,’ she said quickly. ‘Um, I’m in a bit of a rush, so I’ll just say it. I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to make it tomorrow after all. Paula’s gone down with terrible flu so she won’t be able to look after the shop, and there’s no one else who can do it so I’m going to have to stay here. I really am sorry,’ she gabbled, not sounding it, ‘but I thought I’d better let you know as soon as possible. I’m sure you’ve got dozens of other girls to choose from ...’

Guy, barely awake, propped himself up in bed.

‘I chose you.’ He sounded distinctly put out. ‘I thought you’d enjoy it. Look, we could fly back on Friday night if it would help. Surely there’s somebody capable of holding the fort for a couple of hours in the afternoon? What about your mother?’

‘No, nobody.’ Janey was firm. ‘So it was kind of you to ask me, but I’m afraid that’s it. I know you’ll still have fun there, anyway. Just ring up someone else ... oh God, more customers coming in ... I really must go ...’

Damn, thought Guy, when she had hurriedly hung up. Bloody Paula. Bloody flu. Bloody hell.

Paula, who had been lugging bottle gardens the size of coffee tables in from the back of the shop, stopped to lean against the counter and catch her breath. Bright-eyed and pink-cheeked, she said, ‘I haven’t got flu.’

‘One little white lie.’ Janey, just glad to have done the deed, excused herself with a shrug.

‘What happens when he asks my mum if I’m better yet? She’ll think he’s gone off his rocker.’