‘But back there you said…’

‘It broke my heart, it broke both our hearts, but there was no future in it. We loved each other, but there was no magic there, not the sort that’s going to last a lifetime.’ He reached out, pulled her into his arms and she found herself helpless to resist him. Being this close to him made her feel dizzy with longing for him. When he cupped her face in his hands, she thought she’d faint with desire. His kiss was long and lingering, the sort of kiss that made her want to drag him back up to the flat and throw away any doubts she might have. God, imagine making love to him. And with that, she felt her knees almost buckle beneath her. He pulled away from her, held her for a moment at arm’s length. ‘Look, just meet me for coffee or a walk in the park the next day you’re off work. What do you say?’

‘I… I just can’t do this…’ She was powerless to say anything; instead, she pulled away from him. She had to get back to the safety of the flat before she did something really stupid like fall completely in love with him. ‘I think we should just call it a night, end it here, before…’ She stumbled towards the front door, stabbed her key at the lock a few times before managing to let herself in. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, but when she closed the door on him, she had a feeling that perhaps it was too late to worry about falling in love with him. If she was honest, that had happened the first time she’d set eyes on him. When she closed the front door behind her, she was trembling. She felt as if she’d just stepped off a cloud from heaven and into a great big black hole. What on earth had she done?

16

Francine was delighted to hear that Liv could come back early.

‘You’ve no idea what it’s been like here. All agency staff and they haven’t a notion – well, to be fair to them, I haven’t had the time to give any of them a proper introduction to the place. It’s just been in at the deep end and hope for the best.’ In the background, Liv could hear a buzzer, someone needing assistance; she could imagine Francine, trying to keep everything going. ‘So, if I put you down to fill in from two o’clock tomorrow?’

‘That’s perfect, Francine.’ It would be good to draw a line under the holidays. It was time for a new start, a New Year.

‘I won’t promise what time you’ll be finished up, mind, but hopefully, it’ll be the normal shift.’ She was only half joking.

‘I really don’t mind, Francine. That’s why I’m offering.’