Bonnie, short of breath, pulls away, realising she’s just done what she’s been filled with guilt about for the last couple of weeks. The whole reason she ended up auditioning for The One. She cringes, trying to push memories of her audition away.

Oliver reaches for her, his head leaning to the side, going in for another kiss.

She shakes him away. ‘Ollie, no. We can’t.’ He still belongs to someone else.

‘We can.’ He nods, his hand touching her face, and pushes up out of his seat to move closer to her. Sophie seems to be far from his mind.

Bonnie is firm. ‘You’re still engaged.’

‘I’ll end things tonight.’ His hand slides along the inside of her thigh.

Bonnie’s body squeezes in anticipation of what his touch will do. She’s desperate for him to make her shudder with relief but turns her head and pushes his hand away from her. ‘Go home, Ollie. Come see me tomorrow.’

Chapter 7

7

Penelope stands in line, ready to order a green tea smoothie, when the waft of coffee infiltrates her nostrils. Today that’s all it takes and suddenly she’s eight again with her mum standing at the small kitchen bench, busily packing school lunches, half dressed for work, eating a piece of toast.

‘Miranda, hurry up!’ her mum calls. ‘We’ll have to get going soon.’ Her mum casts an eye at her. ‘Imagine how long she’s going to take when she’s actually a teenager!’

Penny smiles, warmed by the familiarity of Miranda spending the majority of the morning perfecting her fringe before school.

She hears her mum flick the kettle on and move to the cupboard to get herself a mug. She sighs, and Penny looks up from her bowl of cornflakes, already knowing the cupboard must be empty—a common occurrence in their house.

‘The mugs have gone walkabout again!’

‘I’m not helping!’ Miranda calls from the bathroom, ready for the coming request.

Penny pushes off her stool, resigned to her fate.

‘Come on, Pen, let’s find these mugs!’

Penny follows her mother around the house as her mother sings to the tune of ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’. ‘We’re going on a mug hunt, we’re going to find a lot of them! I’m a coffee addict. Sixteen cups a day! Sixteen cups a day!’

Penny joins in the singing, giggling as she picks up a mug from next to the lounge, another perched on top of the TV, one on the windowsill, and two more on her mum’s bedside table.

‘There’s one in here,’ Miranda calls, pushing open the door, ready to hand the mug over.

‘Come on, Miranda, join us!’ her mum chants. ‘We’re going on a mug hunt, we’re going to find a lot of them …’