‘Well, if he has, it’s very simple; he’ll just have to move it back out again. You can’t have three people in that flat; it’s far too small and Anya is well able to go out and get her own place,’ her father said smiling at her. ‘Tell you what, love, if he has, I’ll go up there myself and move the two of them out for you.’

‘Ah, Dad.’

‘He’s joking.’ Her mother laughed. ‘Don’t worry, love, I’m sure Eddie wouldn’t go moving her in if you’ve already said no.’

*

Still, something of that uneasiness would not leave her. She imagined Eddie, showing Anya around the flat, but then, she thought of him hoicking boxes, bags and crates up the three flights of stairs and suddenly, the whole idea seemed to be completely mad. For one thing, Eddie complained about having to bring home the groceries if she rang him at work; he was hardly likely to go carting all of Anya’s worldly possessions across the city and then up three flights of stairs in the middle of his precious Christmas holidays. And yet, he had travelled all the way back to Dublin with her, hadn’t he?

Perhaps he had things to do in the workshop. Perhaps he was fixing her up with some mate of his or someone he knew through college who had a spare room they were prepared to let out to her. That would be it. Some pal of Eddie’s would be pinching himself at this very moment when he realised what a gorgeous new roommate he’d managed to bag himself.

And then, Liv began to feel really guilty. After all, perhaps it would only have been for a couple of nights, until Anya got sorted properly. She’d have to go back to work before any of them to open up the coffee shop. Regardless of what was going to happen to the business, Anya would certainly want to make as much money as she could to continue paying the rent for as long as possible. God, but she was a terrible human being – not allowing Anya to stay on her sofa; after all, what difference would a couple of days make to her, while it could mean the world to Anya?

She couldn’t settle for the rest of the evening. A strange feeling niggled at her, as if she was missing something that was just under her nose. ‘I think I’ll head off to bed now,’ she said as she got up from the chair.

‘But, it’s only early,’ her mother protested.

‘I just fancy snuggling up with my book before I go to sleep.’ Liv bent down and kissed her mother on her forehead.

‘All right, love, well, sleep tight.’