“On it,” said Kim-Ange, and she refilled their glasses with the filthy purple alcohol and they sat down and scrolled through the absurdly overfiltered pictures of everyone they’d ever known, and then for good measure they made their own ridiculously overfiltered FaceTuned pic that turned them both into busty size 6s with giant fish lips, stuck their figures onto a background of a golden beach, and posted it. Immediately the likes started pouring in.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” said Lissa, rolling her eyes.

“Now everyone’s going to ask me how Hawaii was,” said Kim-Ange, getting up to go to bed.

“Tell them you got sponsored by a luxury holiday site to go for free for the ’Gram,” suggested Lissa.

“I will, I will.” And Kim-Ange kissed her on the cheek and Lissa went to bed, feeling slightly better, or, at least, a little drunk.

Chapter 9

Cormac wasn’t entirely disappointed to notice that Emer had gone by the time he got home. There was a text on his phone he didn’t read the whole of, but it definitely included the phrase “you’re like a really shit Batman.” He was pondering this when, for the third time that evening, Jake rang.

Cormac hurried out into the street.

“That was quick,” said Jake suspiciously. “I take it she left.”

“Don’t you start,” said Cormac.

“Ah,” said Jake. “The thing about lady problems is . . .”

“Don’t start,” said Cormac. “And for the third time, I’m not even on call.”

“I know,” Jake said, and tried, and failed, to suppress a smile.

Cormac gave him a sideways look. It wasn’t like any call to be great fun. Unless, in Jake’s case, a supermodel had gotten herself stuck in the bath or something ridiculous like that. “What?”

“I thought you might like this one.”

“What?”

“It’s your young Islay.”

Cormac’s heart started beating extremely quickly. “What about her?”

“It’s only come up. Ten minutes ago.”

“You are kidding,” said Cormac.

Jake shook his head. “Nope. Some poor kid down south.”

“The right age?”

“Fifteen.”

“Oh God,” said Cormac. Then: “Oh God.”

“I know.” Jake whistled through his teeth. “I never thought we’d get there.”

Heart and lung transplants were so rare, and the chances of success so slim, that the heart was transplanted only into patients who desperately needed it.

“It’s the right size: he was tiny. Couple more years growing, and they can do it together.”

Cormac had watched the clock run down on patients before, had been fully expecting it to happen again.

“Chuffing hell,” he said. “That is absolutely brilliant news.”

“Want to come with me to get her?” said Jake.

Cormac did. And he clasped his hand on Jake’s shoulder as they climbed into the van, Tim the silent driver pulling away.

LISSA COULDN’T SLEEP.