‘He’s a big boy now, Liv; he doesn’t ring me every five minutes.’

‘Of course,’ Liv said. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was probably in complete shock, Barbara was the last person she’d have rung.

‘You should know as much as I do; you are meant to be his girlfriend after all,’ Barbara said.

‘Of course, but I just wondered if he’d been in touch. I haven’t been able to reach him and what with the icy roads and everything…’ It was the best she could manage at the moment, but then she thought, if Eddie had been playing away with Anya, the icy roads would be the last thing he needed to worry about when she got her hands on him.

‘Well, that’s nice to hear.’ Barbara’s voice oozed sarcasm. ‘I won’t sleep a wink tonight now, thinking of him in that van.’

‘Sorry, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, but if he does call you, will you ask him to ring me? I just need to check something with him.’ As she hung up the phone, she spotted headlights snaking their way along the drive. Maya, home from work. Liv wiped the tears from her eyes – funny, she hadn’t even realised that she was crying. God, she felt her stomach churn with the worry of it all. She would feel such a fool if she had to admit this to Maya. It was only days since she’d told her sister she was sure that Eddie was about to propose to her. She took a deep breath, trying to reassure herself that maybe the world wasn’t crashing in on her.

Liv raced into the farmhouse before Maya could see her tear-stained face. She could hide out in her room for a while, until she’d calmed down a little, maybe put on some concealer to cover her reddened eyes and perhaps she could try to fool everyone else, since as each second passed, it was becoming harder to ignore the truth of things for herself.

‘Fancy coming down to Flannelly’s with me later?’ Maya asked as they washed up after dinner.

‘Really?’ Liv asked, because Maya was the very last person who ever wanted to go near Flannelly’s.

‘Yes, I have to drop in some sponsorship prizes for their darts tournament.’ She shook her head. She was trying to remind people locally that the solicitor’s practice on their doorstep was invested in the village.