‘What?’

‘One second.’ She went into the kitchen and returned a few moments later with the bottle, refilling both our glasses, before sinking back into the couch. ‘Let me get this straight, Ads is going to be a single dad one whole week at a time? He’s going to have to do the shopping, make the school lunches, cook dinner, wash and iron the uniforms, get the kids ready in the morning? That is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.’

I grinned and took another sip of bubbles, already tasting victory, because it wasn’t just about the kids. Adrian had no idea about half the things I did for him and the kids, but if I didn’t do them, I felt certain he’d suddenly miss them and realise how much he needed me.

‘Quite aside from all that,’ Hayley said, ‘how does he plan on getting Payton to and from school while keeping up with all his precious patients, or does he expect you to do that on his weeks as well?’

‘Apparently one of his cycling mates has a daughter at uni who’s available most afternoons, so he’ll pay her to pick up Payton and be there till Saxon or Adrian gets home.’

Hayley’s eyebrows rose. ‘He really thinks he’s got this sorted, doesn’t he?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you have ground rules for this arrangement?’

‘Uh-huh.’ Adrian had them worked out too, but I’d added a few of my own. ‘We’ll do the swap every Monday morning—the person at home will leave when the kids go to school and the other parent will take over that afternoon. Both of us must leave the house clean for the other. While it’s our week, everything kid-related is our responsibility—shopping, washing, supervising homework, et cetera. Oh, and no drinking for the adult on duty.’

‘What about if one of you meets someone?’

‘We’ve agreed not to bring any dates back to the house.’ My voice caught on the last couple of words. I didn’t want to think about Adrian’s possible love interests.

Hayley topped up my glass yet again. ‘And so, while one of you is with the kids, where’s the other one supposed to live?’

‘Adrian’s planning on living with Brad to start with, and …’ I sucked in a breath. ‘I was hoping I could rent your spare room for a while.’

‘Rent?’ Hayley scoffed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, you can have it as long as you need, and I won’t hear of you paying me a cent. It’s the least I can do since I’m the one who introduced you to Adrian the Asshole.’

She spoke with a fake American accent, which made me laugh, but the truth was, there was nothing Hayley could have done to keep me away from him. Even if we weren’t friends, Adrian was her twin so we’d have been in the same school year anyway.

‘Thanks,’ I said, ‘but hopefully I won’t have to encroach on your hospitality for too long.’

‘What’s the plan long-term?’