He enjoyed seeing the sisters playing together. He supposed Loren was right and a lot of men would look at Maria and see ‘problem!’ flashing over her head but he saw a toddler who deserved being looked after. Right this second, he seemed to be the person with that responsibility. ‘Eggs first and shower later? Or shower first and—’

‘Eggs first!’ Josie leaped to her feet.

‘Eggs!’ Maria clambered to hers.

Nico got Josie to help Maria onto a bar stool as he had no high chair. She drank diluted orange juice from a plastic beaker, eyes swivelling between Josie and Nico.

He made scrambled eggs. Josie liked her toast so lightly done that it was little more than hot bread so he did the same for Maria and she ate it contentedly. He sat down with them at the breakfast bar and slowly ate one slice of toast with scrambled egg himself. The undemanding company of the two girls soothed the tight sensation of being under pressure.

A text arrived from Vivvi. Spoke to Loren last night. She seems in a state. I’ll visit her today. Will contact you when I know more.

As he might as well be on good terms with his ex-mother-in-law if possible, he thanked her.

It was while he was supervising the girls dressing – Maria looking on trustingly while Josie selected her day’s clothes from what Loren had sent with her – that Rob rang, his cheerful, booming voice full of bonhomie. ‘So you think my stupid sister’s OK?’

Drained in comparison, Nico settled himself on the bedroom floor, watching Josie try to coax pink ribbed tights up Maria’s chubby legs while Maria pulled at the eyelashes of a doll. ‘She seemed OK to me. Absorbed in her shop.’ He thought about Hannah and the satisfaction he’d gained from merchandising her shop. And, if he was honest, the glow it gave him to see the pleasure in her eyes as she’d gazed at his handiwork. He tucked the phone beneath an ear so he could swizzle the foot of Maria’s tights so the heel wasn’t on top. He decided not to say anything to Rob about exactly how much time he’d spent with Hannah. If Rob’s concern was, as Hannah said, that she had no plus-one for the wedding, it might heighten those worries if he got the idea Hannah had exhibited no plans for her weekend apart from work. Neither did he feel like explaining that his gaunt appearance had made Hannah suspect he was living on the streets. It wasn’t shame he felt exactly but—

OK, it was shame. Or, at least, a need to hide the details, even from Rob, who knew about his issue.

‘How are the wedding plans going?’ he asked.