As I adjusted position so I could nudge her, Jemma slid down and rested against my chest. She mumbled something in her sleep, then put her arm round my waist, snuggling up to me. My breath caught. I’d given her a couple of comfort hugs this evening and had thought nothing of it but this was different. I hadn’t held anyone like this since Nikki.

My heart raced as I looked down at her and felt the warmth of her body close against mine. Why did I have butterflies? It made no sense.

‘Jemma!’ I whispered. ‘Jemma!’ A bit louder.

A key turned in the lock and a woman with a striking resemblance to Tiff, but with a brunette bob rather than long blonde hair with a pink streak, entered the room. She stopped when she saw me looking over the sofa.

‘Hello?’

‘You must be Tiff’s twin,’ I whispered. ‘I’m Sam. I work with your sister.’

She smiled, obvious relief on her face that I wasn’t some random stranger in her home. ‘Ah! Dr Jones! We meet at last. I thought we had squatters for a moment.’ She removed her coat and hung it up. ‘I’m Leah. The sensible one. Allegedly. Where’s Jemma? And why are we whispering?’

I pointed towards my chest. Leah took a few paces forward and peeked over the sofa. ‘Aw. Looks cosy.’

‘She’s had a tough night. Her mum went AWOL and left the shop unlocked, but the police found her.’

‘Oh my God! Is she okay?’

‘I think so.’

Leah wandered round the sofa and stood over us. ‘She looks so peaceful. After everything she’s been through recently, it seems a shame to wake her.’

‘She’s had a text from her mum’s friend. I think she’d want to read it.’

Jemma wriggled in her sleep, resulting in her snuggling even closer to me. A tendril of hair dropped across her face and she wrinkled her nose as it tickled her. I gently moved it aside and tucked it behind her ear.

‘What?’ I whispered, looking up at Leah. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

She shook her head. ‘Nothing. You just look like a couple, snuggled up like that and what you did with her hair was so…’ She sighed. ‘Ignore me. Must stop reading romance novels.’

She crouched down and placed her hand on Jemma’s shoulder, shaking her gently. ‘Jem-ma, Jem-ma,’ she said in a sing-song voice.

‘Mum?’ Jemma muttered, stirring.

‘No. It’s Leah. I’m here with Sam. You fell asleep.’

‘What?’

‘You fell asleep on Sam. You’ve got a text from…’ Leah looked at me. ‘Who’s it from?’

‘Rachel.’

‘Rachel?’ Jemma sat upright and grabbed her phone, rubbing her eyes with her other hand.