Lie. She’d been so horrified at Flynn’s deception and it shocked her that she was willing to lie rather than tell the truth about the pregnancy. It was too soon, that was what she kept telling herself, but was that it really? Or was she afraid he’d baulk at the thought of their having a baby?

She nodded in reply to a question Flynn asked, his face animated, eyes sparkling. She loved him. The thought rocked her. She loved him. And she’d do anything for him.

The anger she felt towards Rivka faded to a deep sadness. Jodie understood. She’d do anything now to keep Flynn by her side.

A wave of nausea hit her and she dropped her fork, shaking her head and forcing a smile when Flynn stopped speaking and looked at her with concern. ‘You okay?’

‘Yes, sorry, I had lunch with Rivka earlier, I think I ate something that didn’t agree with me.’

‘You’re not finishing that?’ Flynn waved a fork at the meat she’d barely touched and when she shook her head, he speared it with a grin. ‘More for me.’

‘I might not see Rivka for a while actually,’ she said, feeling the raw sting of the words as she said them. ‘It seems Tasha is jealous of me.’

‘Really? But you and Rivka have been friends for years, haven’t you?’

‘Yes, but it’s all come to a head.’ She took a sip of her wine, wishing she could knock back the glass. ‘The medication that was left in the nursing home…’ She waited to get Flynn’s full attention before continuing. ‘It was Tasha. She confessed. She wanted to get me into trouble. To tarnish my halo, Rivka said. Not fired,’ she added quickly, as if that made all the difference.

Flynn raised an eyebrow. ‘Wow! That must have come as a shock.’

‘A bit.’ Jodie remembered Rivka’s sad face and reached for the wine. Her fingers played with the stem but she didn’t lift the glass.

Flynn was working his way through her piece of steak and didn’t appear to notice. ‘You’ll be able to get the case against you dropped, won’t you? Maybe get your old job back.’

‘Probably yes, and definitely no,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t go back there. Anyway, I’m fine where I am.’ She filled his wine glass and sat back in her chair. ‘Let’s talk about something more cheerful. I was thinking that maybe next summer we could go on a nice holiday.’

‘Mmm,’ he mumbled through a mouthful of food. ‘Devon maybe?’

She smiled. ‘I was thinking of further than that.’

‘Abroad?’ He stopped chewing and looked at her with wide eyes as if abroad was an alien concept.

‘Yes. Don’t you like to travel?’