‘If you’d have bothered to listen to the message I left you, then you’d have known that was why I was getting in touch.’ He sounded a little testy, like he still didn’t understand what the issue was.

‘It’s Friday!’ Hannah fumed. ‘We’re supposed to go tomorrow. I’ve had a million messages from my mother and I’ve had no idea what to tell her, if I should pretend this fake relationship of ours is already over. We’ve had no time to figure a cover story so we don’t trip each other up when she starts with the questions.’

‘Okay, I’m sorry.’ He really didn’t sound it and when Hannah glared at him, he shrugged. ‘Look, I got caught up writing and when I do, I get pretty intense. I tend to lose track of things. I’m used to having just myself and a dog to take care of. It’s why I work better alone.’

‘You still could have called sooner. Just so I knew you hadn’t dropped off the face of the planet.’

‘You know this phone thing works both ways, right?’

He was right, but that wasn’t the point. Why should she have chased after him when he had been the one to leave here so suddenly?

‘Josh offered to go with me,’ she grumbled, ignoring that Josh’s offer had been over a week ago and she had already turned him down.

Liam’s nostrils flared and Hannah enjoyed the flicker of satisfaction at his reaction to the mention of her ex-husband.

‘So are you saying you don’t want me to go with you now?’

‘Yes! I don’t know. Maybe.’

While Liam looked exasperated, Tank let out a whine and sank to the floor, as if resigning himself to the fact this argument was set to roll on.

It would be easier to kick Liam out, tell him she didn’t want to see him again, but that meant she really would be going by herself. And as humiliating as it was, the idea of that terrified her.

‘Look, I’m sorry I’ve upset you.’ He moved towards her and Hannah took a step back, annoyed when she found herself pressed up against the counter. Yes, he was sounding a little more contrite now, but she wasn’t ready to forgive him.

Why though? If she thought about it rationally, he hadn’t really done anything wrong as such. Okay, so he could have called sooner, but she had no claim over him.

She was still a little too het up to be logical, and as he stepped into her personal space, reaching to touch her arm, she flinched.