‘Sorry. Had been awake for hours, must’ve just drifted off.’

‘Go and get a coffee. I’ll play with Noah for a bit.’ Emily sank to her knees and placed Noah under the baby gym on his playmat and began swiping at the brightly coloured hanging animals and mirrors, encouraging Noah to copy her. Noah’s throaty giggle made Louisa smile. It was lovely to see her two children together. She hoped Emily wouldn’t come to resent her baby brother – for the distraction, the attention he had inevitably taken from her. Not having siblings herself, she had no idea how it felt to no longer be the sole focus for her parents. At any age that must be hard, let alone when you were a teenager with hormones raging through your body. The age gap wasn’t merely an issue for Louisa and Brian; it was for Emily too. And no doubt, as he grew up, it would be a problem for Noah as well, being the annoying younger brother whose sister would suddenly tire of him.

Thinking about her mum and dad, Louisa realised she’d had zero contact with them for over two weeks. Not even a hysterical call from her mum to tell her that her dad had mistakenly pressed the wrong button on the TV remote and made the entire thing go blank. That was his favourite thing to do – and Louisa’s least favourite problem to sort. But nothing, no word from them.

Although their relationship had never fully recovered from the argument they’d had, Louisa would still frequently be called upon for help. The fact she hadn’t heard anything meant they’d either been fine, or had asked their neighbours to assist them instead. If something serious had happened, one of the neighbours would’ve phoned her. Clearly, she just hadn’t been needed; her services not required. Her dad may have finally got used to the buttons, or, as was more likely, her mum had confiscated the controls from him. Louisa would give them a ring in a while anyway. It would be a waste of time, but her guilty conscience demanded it.

As she got to the bottom of the stairs the smell of bacon wafted towards her, making her mouth water. Immediately her mind flashed back to Oliver, in her kitchen, cooking her and Emily breakfast. Louisa crept in, half afraid of finding him standing at the grill, apron on, grinning as he cooked. She let out her held breath as she set eyes on Brian.

‘What’s this in aid of?’ she asked.

‘Morning, oh gorgeous one, love of my life!’ He smiled broadly and, brandishing silver tongs, gave a small dance as she entered. ‘Just thought you deserved some breakfast in bed, or in the nursery at least, which is where you spent the night I assume.’