Sarah hadn’t been expecting that, and baulked at his suggestion. She couldn’t live in sin with him. She could just imagine the gossip. ‘I can’t do that. What would people say? I mean, we’re not married or anything, it wouldn’t be right.’

‘Mo and Sam live together and they ain’t married,’ Roger pointed out.

‘Yeah, well, it’s all right for them, but I’ve got Tommy to think about. What sort of morals would I be teaching him?’

‘It was just a suggestion. We’ve only been dating a short time and I think it’s too soon to think about marriage yet. I thought us living together would be the perfect solution.’

Sarah could tell from the tone of his voice that he wasn’t happy she’d declined his offer. Though it had hurt a little that he thought it was too soon to marry, she knew he was right. He’d loosely mentioned marriage before, and one day she hoped for a proposal, along with a nice engagement ring. However, until then, she hoped what she had to say next would placate him. ‘I’ve been really busy lately, but I’ve been thinking about moving, and you’ve got a good point about Tommy. He does need his own room.’

‘I’m glad to hear that, but in the meantime, are we supposed to sit on this concrete step night after night?’ Roger asked.

‘Yes, I’m afraid so. I can’t ask Lena to babysit – it wouldn’t feel right, you know, with George having feelings for me. It’d be like rubbing salt in his wound.’

‘You could ask Mo.’

‘She’s fine about having him during the day, but she only gets one night off a week. It’s the only one she gets to spend with Sam, so I can hardly ask her to babysit.’

‘Well, I ain’t being funny, Sarah, but you’re not really his mother. You’ve made Tommy your responsibility, but he doesn’t have to be. You could put him in a children’s home. The one round here ain’t too bad, and you could visit him at weekends.’

Unable to believe her ears and disgusted with Roger, Sarah jumped to her feet. ‘How could you even suggest such a thing? I know I’m not his mother, but I’ve raised him from the minute he was born and I held him in my arms. I love Tommy and would never, ever, put him in a home. I’m sorry that you find him such an inconvenience … and … and I think you should leave now.’

Roger stood up and reached for her hand again. ‘Calm down, woman. Blimey, if I thought you’d react like this, I would have kept my mouth shut.’

‘Yes, well, you should have,’ Sarah snapped.