Meeting Sarah had been a lifeline for her. If it hadn’t been for her new friend, she wasn’t sure how long she could have stuck out the boredom. It was beginning to cause a rift between her and Samuel, and though they had made love when he’d returned from the visit to his brother, there hadn’t been any desire in the bedroom since, at least not on Samuel’s part. By the time Mo got home from work, Samuel would be fast asleep, and no amount of coaxing had worked. She’d tried on many occasions, but he always brushed her off, saying he was tired and needed to sleep.

She wondered if he had gone off her, especially as there had been such a passionate attraction when they’d first met. She’d asked him but he’d told her she was being silly and reassured her how much he still fancied her.

Now, as she paced the floor, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. Her wounds had healed well, and she felt back to her old self. She leaned in closer to the mirror and pouted. I could have been a pin-up girl, she thought to herself as she admired her full lips and high cheekbones. Her red hair made her stand out, just like Rita Hayworth. She placed her hands on her hips and wriggled from side to side. Yes, she was just as attractive as all the film stars she saw on the silver screen night after night, and had a curvaceous figure that caught the attention of men. The difference was, unlike the women who lived the glamorous Hollywood lives that she so badly wanted, she was stuck in an almost frigid relationship, in a filthy bedsit, with no family and just one friend. She swung her hips some more then tutted.

Tommy giggled. ‘What are you doing?’ he asked.

He’d been so quiet, she’d forgotten he was there. ‘Just being silly. Don’t you ever imagine you’re someone else?’

‘Sometimes I think I’m one of Peter Pan’s lost boys, or sometimes me and Larry play cowboys and Indians. Who was you pretending to be?’

‘A beautiful film star. A girl can dream.’

‘I think you’re bootiful, Mo. Not as bootiful as my sister – well, maybe nearly.’

Mo laughed, Tommy was such a sweet child and it was obvious he adored Sarah. Despite the pleasure she took in looking after him for her friend, that was as much as she wanted. Samuel had talked about having a large family, five kids or more, but Mo hadn’t told him she’d decided a long time ago that she wasn’t the mothering sort, and babies were off her agenda. After all, she didn’t want an expanding waistline to ruin her hourglass figure.

‘Look, Mo, I’ve finished. Do you think Sarah will like it?’ Tommy held up his painting.