‘Someone walk over your grave?’ he said, smiling.

Louisa’s eyes widened. She hadn’t thought her shudder was visible. She tried to ignore the sensation that he was somehow inside her head, listening to her thoughts. ‘Something like that.’ Louisa made to move past him, but he put his arm out so it was level with her chest.

‘I’m only trying to help. I think you could do with it, don’t you? I’m sure Brian and Tiff would want to know you’ve got someone here to keep an eye on you.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘They’ve been worried about you. Being here on your own with Noah all day. It can get lonely, monotonous. If I stay, I can do all the feeds, look after Noah and you can catch up on your sleep. You may as well make the most of the opportunity. And it would help me so much, you know – take my mind off Melissa.’

Louisa had always found it difficult to resist Oliver’s charm. It had been something he’d possessed even back then – always drawing people to him. All her college friends loved Oliver and she’d felt smug, as well as deliriously happy, that he’d chosen her.

‘You can stay for the morning, if you must,’ Louisa conceded, ‘but that’s it. You’d be better off going and looking for your wife, wouldn’t you?’

‘I’ve exhausted all the possibilities I had, Lou. It’s in the hands of the police now.’

‘Won’t they be watching you, your movements? If they see you spending time here, with me, that won’t look good, Oliver.’

‘On the contrary, I think you and your family helping me puts me in a good light. No one would believe me guilty of anything if they could see that a good family, and one with a new baby, were willing to have me in their home to support me during this difficult time.’

Louisa wasn’t so sure but maybe that was why he was there, why he’d been keen to have her help in the first place. She had such mixed feelings about him; even the way he spoke sometimes added to her apprehension – he could come across as manipulative and someone not to trust. But there was something else underlying his words. Louisa thought he was afraid. Genuinely worried about the outcome of his wife’s disappearance. Was she being too harsh on him purely because she had a bad feeling about what had happened whilst they were at college? Or was it that she wanted to make him suffer now, like he’d made her suffer back then when he left her?

‘Right, well, I’ll get Noah sorted. You can make yourself some breakfast if you want. There’s cereal, toast – maybe some bacon in the fridge. I’ll see you in a minute.’