No, he’d invited himself in for coffee. ‘He was up all night with patients.’ Jenna adopted a casual tone. ‘He was tired. It was the least I could do after he’d helped us.’

‘Oh, Mum—’ Lexi rolled her eyes, visibly cringing. ‘Poor guy, being trapped by someone desperate divorcee. I suppose he was too polite to refuse.’

Wondering if Ryan saw her as old and desperate, Jenna picked up the empty mugs and washed them by hand. ‘Of course he was being polite.’ She didn’t need her daughter to tell her that. ‘I’m going to spend a few hours unpacking before I do the clinic this afternoon. Come and see your bedroom.’

They wandered upstairs and Lexi stared into the pretty bedroom. It had been decorated in keeping with the beach setting, with white New England furniture. A rug with bold blue and white stripes sat in the centre of the white floorboards. ‘This is mine?’

‘Yes. We can put your duvet cover on the bed and—’

‘Sorting out the bed isn’t going to make this my home.’

‘Home is where family is,’ Jenna said softly, ‘and I’m here with you.’ She felt a pang as she saw the vulnerability in Lexi’s eyes.

‘Well, that doesn’t mean anything does it?’ Her tone was flippant. ‘I mean—Dad just walked out. What’s stopping you doing the same?’

‘I’m not going to walk out, Lexi. Not ever.’ Jenna sank onto the edge of the bed, wanting to reassure her daughter. ‘I know how difficult this has been for you—’

‘No, you don’t! You haven’t got a clue—you have no idea how embarrassing it is that my Dad is having sex with a girl not much older than me!’ Her voice rose. ‘It’s gross!’

Jenna resisted the temptation to agree. ‘I told you—adults have relationships, Lexi.’

‘You were in a relationship,’ Lexi hissed. ‘With each other. Marriage is supposed to be for ever—isn’t that what you taught me?’

Jenna bit her lip. ‘Ideally, yes.’

‘So why didn’t you try and fix it with Dad?’

‘He didn’t want to fix it. And—’ Jenna thought about everything that had happened. The way he’d treated her. ‘Not everything can be fixed.’

‘Well, don’t tell me you know how I feel, because you have no idea.’ Lexi flounced out of the room and locked herself in the bathroom.

Jenna flopped onto the bed, feeling wrung-out and exhausted.

It was will-power that drove her downstairs to fetch the suitcases. Will-power that made her unpack methodically, finding homes for her pathetically small number of belongings. Unfortunately her will-power wasn’t strong enough to stop her from thinking about Ryan McKinley.

It was only when she was hanging her clothes in her wardrobe that she realised that they’d spent an hour and a half together and he’d told her nothing about himself.

Nothing at all.

CHAPTER FOUR