‘Oh. Of course.’ She tutted, her top lip curling in disgust. He’d probably been in her house again, doing whatever, talking about her, no doubt. She’d thought the unknown person in Tiff’s back garden on Tuesday was Brian, but it could equally have been Oliver. Him and Tiff both slating her. That’d be about right. ‘You two have become quite pally, haven’t you?’

‘Is that a hint of jealousy I hear, Lou-Lou?’ he said, a smirk playing on his lips.

‘No. Not at all. It’s actually just bloody annoying.’ Oliver looked taken aback, his ego clearly dented, but she carried on. ‘Aren’t you the slightest bit worried about your wife? Or have you moved on already?’ Louisa bit her bottom lip – she hadn’t meant to go that far. Now, seeing his face lose its colour, she wasn’t sure if she’d made him angry, or whether he was merely upset by her harsh comment.

‘Wow, Lou. That was cutting,’ he said, his voice quiet, velvety. ‘I’m going to put it down to the fact you’re tired and you aren’t feeling quite yourself after, well, you know. I don’t think you really want to hurt me.’

He didn’t take his eyes off hers. A prickly sensation crawled under her skin. She suddenly felt exposed and wanted to get back inside her house, close the door on Oliver.

‘I just don’t understand you, Oliver. I don’t get why you’re hanging around at Tiff’s. I saw you and she said you’d been over there. Some crap about wanting to help me remember? I mean—’ she snorted ‘—what’s that all about? Why are you talking about me with her?’

‘Calm down, Lou-Lou.’ He took a step closer to her. ‘I think you’ve got your wires crossed. Are you sure that’s what Tiff told you? Because I’m wondering if you’ve misinterpreted—’

‘No. There’s been no misinterpretation. She was here on Wednesday and she told me that part at least. God knows what she isn’t telling me.’

‘But you have been mixing things up recently. I’m not saying that’s the case here, but please think about it carefully first. You don’t want to be throwing accusations around now do you?’

It may be too late for that.

‘I saw you, coming out from Tiff’s house. I’m not throwing accusations about without having evidence, and I’m not mixing anything up. I saw what I saw, heard what I heard.’