He started chatting about his book – the latest Andy McNab thriller – and she sipped her coffee, no longer listening as she wondered how best to phrase her question, how to put herself in a position to negotiate. It was a tricky one, because as she saw it, if this was a game of poker they were playing, he had all the best cards.

‘I’ve got a couple of things to sort out,’ he said when her breakfast arrived. He held up his phone, as if that explained everything. ‘I’ll see you outside, shall I? In that seating area we picked out yesterday. I’ll be half an hour at the most.’

In one way, it was a relief that he’d gone, but it was frustrating too, as she’d just got herself psyched up for talking about the terms of their deal. Had he sensed that? By the time she had some food inside her, and another cup of coffee, her brain had started to function properly again, and a slow smile crept across her lips as a new idea formed.

By covering up her crime, James was an accessory. That’s right! He’s done something wrong too. And Fiona would use that in an instant to sack him. Which left them with stalemate. But that wasn’t a bad place to be, she decided as she mulled it over. Better that they were both in debt to each other, then she could repay him the money, nullify their deal and everything could get back to normal. How she longed for that.

Although James was the perfect gentleman, and she had enjoyed his company, there was something a little odd about him. His precision, the desire to buy her clothes, have her dress the way he wanted. Fiona’s warning rang in her mind again. Maybe it wasn’t jealousy that had made her speak out. Maybe she’d been talking to her as a friend. The more Sara thought about it, the greater her sense of unease, stirring the contents of her stomach, making her feel a little sick.

I don’t want to be here.

She wanted to be at home with her children and her husband, doing the things they always did on a Saturday. This was an alien environment. What was I thinking, imagining I’d been missing treats like this from my life? It was an empty pleasure compared to spending time with Ezra and the girls. And spending time with Matt? Well, that was something she needed to do more of too.

An urgent need to speak to her family swelled inside her, filling her chest until she couldn’t bear it, and she dashed outside to her car to retrieve her phone. It took her a moment to realise the battery was flat. With a silent scream, she slammed the car door and locked it before taking the phone up to her room to recharge.