‘Apparently so. I discovered her on Facebook but I’m a little surprised he’s never mentioned her to you before now.’

‘No, not to me, but thinking about it, all we ever seem talk about is work,’ said Callie.

Ella didn’t share that she’d witnessed some sort of argument between Roman and Megan in the street when she was taking McCartney for a walk. Whatever was going on in his personal life at the minute, he didn’t need her adding to the mix. She had no clue what was going on in his life, so assuming or judging wasn’t going to help anyone.

However, Ella asked the question that had been on her mind since finding Roman’s appointment card. ‘What’s Oasis Lodge?’

Callie’s face looked a little surprised. ‘Why do you want to know that?’

‘It popped up on an advert in my homepage. Just wondered whether it was bar or something?’ she replied, even though she felt a twinge of guilt telling Callie a white lie.

‘Hmm, it’s definitely not a bar, in fact quite the opposite, and it makes me wonder what you’ve been googling if that’s coming up on your homepage. It’s a rehab centre.’

Ella nearly chocked on her wine. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Yes, it’s well known in the area,’ confirmed Callie. ‘So whatever you’re googling, you need to stop.’

Ella gave a false laugh but couldn’t help wondering why Roman would have an appointment at a rehab clinic. There was no way he was an alcoholic, she’d spent enough time with him to know that, yet Megan’s words were whirling around her head:, It’s you who has the problem. It didn’t make sense and, from this morning’s conversation, Ella knew that Roman liked keeping things to himself. For a split second Ella thought about telling Callie about the appointment card but quickly changed her mind. Roman sailed the boat for a living and it could have a detrimental effect on his livelihood if Flynn found out and began to question why he was attending a rehab centre. Ella didn’t want to add to his troubles, as it seemed he already had enough on his plate.

The best thing to do was to hand the appointment card discreetly back to Roman first thing in the morning and again let him know she was there if he needed a friend to talk to. That’s all she could do. ‘What time are we going across to the pub?’ asked Ella, her eyes firmly back on the packet of chocolate biscuits.

Callie leapt to her feet. ‘Fifteen minutes. I’m going to freshen up whilst you slide a hot iron over your uniform, and don’t even think about eating any more of those.’ Callie pointed to her eyes and then to Ella. ‘I’m watching you.’