Paddy, the resident dog at The Ivy Inn, bounded across the room to Jo, his tail wagging so fiercely that his rear end couldn’t help but shake about with it. ‘How’re you doing, Paddy?’ Jo grinned, allowing him to jump up on her and put his paws on her chest. She couldn’t stop herself ruffling the fur around his neck and showering him with kisses.

Although technically he belonged to Noah, and he lived in the flat above the pub with his owner, Jo felt as much an ownership of Paddy as her foster brother did. She liked to tell herself that Paddy liked her more than Noah, and it wasn’t just because she kept some treats in her coat pocket ready to hand out whenever she greeted him.

A Border collie, who was never seen without his red bandana, Paddy had stolen her heart the day she had accompanied Noah to the animal rescue centre to pick him up. He was a smart dog who knew, with the right tilt of his head and plenty of hugs, he had Jo in his pocket.

The Inn wasn’t due to open for another fifteen minutes, so Jo allowed herself a few minutes to play a quick game of catch with Paddy in the beer garden, but as raised voices from the kitchen carried out of the open window, Jo realised she needed to get to work and give Erin the support she had promised her.

She led Paddy back through to the office, where she rewarded him with a treat before she hung her coat and bag up and slipped her apron around her waist.

She was just grabbing her order book and pen when she felt two heavy hands on her shoulders, which made her both swear loudly and jump, dropping her pen and book to the floor.

‘Sorry!’ Noah said. ‘I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought you’d have heard me coming.’

Jo turned to look at Noah, who couldn’t quite manage to hide the mirth in his voice or on his face.

She pushed him away playfully, before bending to retrieve the pen from where it had rolled under the desk. ‘You’re a bad shite, Noah,’ she said. ‘I bet you knew full well you were creeping up on me. Watch yourself or I’ll tell Mum on you!’

‘You’d grass me up?’ he asked, his hands up in mock surrender. ‘Please don’t.’

‘Then no more sneaking up on me.’ She winced as she stood up again, her injury from the previous night making itself known.

‘You okay?’ Noah asked.

‘I’m fine,’ she said. ‘Had a fight with a pair of shoes last night and my ass is worse off for it. I’ll live though, and we’ll be so busy today I won’t have time to think about it.’

‘Erin’s in fine form,’ he said with a grimace.