‘Er, I, er . . .’ I may just have given Lauren the impression that I am struggling manfully with my punishing training schedule alone.

BC is out of the car and next to us. ‘Morning, ladies,’ he says. ‘I’m glad you can make it this morning, Annie. I was lonely last week.’ He puts his arm round my shoulders and hugs me.

‘Er, I, er . . .’ My cheeks go pink even before I’ve started to run. I wonder how much he missed me. As much as I missed him?

‘Glad you could join us,’ BC says to my sister. ‘Lauren, isn’t it?’

Lauren nods grimly.

‘Let’s do it then.’ Blake sets off at a gentle jog. Lauren and I fall into step behind him.

My sister gives me the evil eye. ‘I will be talking to you about this situation when we’ve finished, Annie Ashton.’ It’s a half-whisper, half-hiss.

Knowing my sister, it won’t be a talk, it will be an interrogation. She may even inflict on me one of the Chinese burns she was so good at as a child – and I’m not sure that she’ll like the answers I’ll give her.

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

We finish our run, towel down and say goodbye to Blake Chadwick. Lauren and I stand and watch his Lotus roar out of the car park.

‘So?’ she says immediately.

‘There’s nothing to tell.’

‘Why didn’t you mention that he was going to Peru before we washed his car last week? Why didn’t you tell me that you were meeting him here every Saturday morning to run together?’

‘And Wednesday evening,’ I add. ‘But then we’re joined by about another ten people from the office.’

‘You tell me everything and yet you’ve never mentioned this?’

I sigh guiltily. My sister is right. I’ve kept my crush on Blake Chadwick all to myself. It’s been my little secret. And I’ve loved having it.

‘Are you in love with him?’ Lauren wants to know.

I start to laugh at that. ‘You can’t be serious.’

‘You go all goo-goo ga-ga when he looks at you.’

That stops me laughing. ‘Perhaps it’s because no one else looks at me in that way any more.’ Then I burst into tears.

‘Oh, Annie.’ Lauren puts her arm round me and steers me to the nearest bench. We sit on it and stare out at the ducks on the lake while I have a cry.

‘Are you sleeping with him?’

A teary laugh. ‘Of course I’m not.’

‘But you want to.’

‘Of course I do,’ I say. ‘He’s fit, he’s fabulous and he’s an outrageous flirt.’

‘He certainly seems to like you.’

Lauren pulls a tissue out of the little bag at her waist and hands it to me. I dutifully blow my nose.