Startled, Frankie dropped the vodka bottle and it smashed to smithereens on the stone kitchen floor. ‘You scared me. I didn’t realise you were still here,’ Frankie replied.

‘Me and Gal slept in the lounge. Drinking a bit early, ain’t ya, girl?’

Shooing the dogs out of the kitchen so they didn’t cut their paws, Frankie looked at Ricky with pleading eyes. ‘Look, I’m meeting a boy and I don’t want Mum and Dad to know. Can you clean that mess up for me? I’m running late.’

‘What’s going on? Was something smashed?’ Jessica shouted out from upstairs.

Ricky smiled at Frankie. ‘Sorry, Jess, it was me. I went to make a coffee and knocked a bottle of vodka off the kitchen top. You go back to bed, I’ll clean it up.’

Frankie hugged her half-brother.

‘Do you wanna lift?’ he asked her.

‘No, I’m fine. Thanks Ricky, you’ve just saved my life.’

As Frankie ran down the drive, she nervously glanced back at the house. She usually got cabs wherever she went and prayed that no one was watching her.

Frankie’s heart leaped as she heard a loud tooting coming from behind her. She was afraid to look around. Surely it wasn’t her dad?

Aware of a gold four-wheel drive pulling up beside her, she glanced apprehensively at it.

‘Get in, Frankie,’ Jed ordered her.

Frankie did as he asked. ‘Sod you, you frightened the bloody life out of me. Whose car’s this? Where’s your pick-up truck?’

‘At home. Can’t take a beautiful girl out in a pick-up truck, can I? This Shogun’s mine as well. Bought it off some old mush me dad knows. Got it for a good price, I did.’

Frankie was impressed. None of the boys she had ever mixed with could even reach the pedals on a motor like this, let alone own one or drive one. ‘Where are we going?’ Frankie asked, trying to sound relaxed.

‘Cambridgeshire,’ Jed replied coolly.

Frankie looked at him amazement. He had to be joking, surely. She didn’t even know where Cambridgeshire was, but it sounded a long way away. ‘You are having a laugh, aren’t you?’

Jed stopped at the red traffic light. He leaned towards her and softly kissed her on the lips. ‘No, I’m not having a laugh. It’s where my family comes from. You’ll love it. It’s absolutely beautiful, Frankie, just like you are.’

As his piercing green eyes gently teased her, Frankie looked away. The effect he had on her was abnormal and she barely knew what day it was.

‘I’m just gonna fill up with diesel. You want anything to eat or drink?’ Jed asked her.

Frankie shook her head. Sod the food and drink, all she wanted was him.