‘Doesn’t? So you’ve told her then?’ Liam was furious. What the fuck kind of right did Josh Cole and Rosie Emerson have, poking into his life, then going to Hannah behind his back?

It had been bothering him that Hannah might have worked out who he was. He didn’t want anyone knowing of his connection to this story. If it became about him, then it made everything messy. This was for Miles. It was the story Liam had always wanted to tell.

He had feared that Nicola Finch might have figured it out. She had recognised him last night, though fortunately couldn’t quite place how she knew him. A lot of years had passed since that day they had been forced to endure afternoon tea with their mothers and he had never returned to Hixton as a child.

Rosie seemed a little taken aback by the anger in his words. ‘Josh told her. And rightly so. He’s just looking out for her. Unlike you.’

‘You don’t know anything about me.’

‘I know I don’t trust you!’

‘Why’s that, Rosie? Because you’re jealous?’

His gibe hit close to the mark because her pretty face flushed with rage.

‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’

‘It means you like having Hannah as your crutch, to pick up the pieces each time you fuck your life up. It’s all about the Rosie show, isn’t it? God forbid Hannah dare have a life of her own.’

He was perhaps being a little too blunt, but damn it, she had made him so angry. Not just because of the snooping, but because she had turned Hannah against him. That bothered him more than he cared to admit.

He had tried his best not to mislead Hannah, knowing he would be walking out of her life eventually and hoping they could part on good terms, but Rosie had destroyed that.

And besides, everything he was saying, it was all true. Yes, she might care about Hannah, but over the years Rosie had begun to manipulate their friendship. Was she really so wrapped up in herself that she couldn’t see that?

She looked furious and he actually thought for a moment that she was going to fly for him, but then she shocked him, her face crumpling as she burst into tears.

Fuck! Liam hadn’t expected this reaction.

He had mothers and a sister, plus a string of ex-girlfriends he’d had to let down gently over the years, so he had plenty of experience with tears. Problem was, he didn’t really have the time or the inclination to comfort Rosie. This was just another one of her games, wasn’t it?

But then she sank down onto the sofa, shaking her head as she swiped them away.

‘I love Hannah. She’s so important to me. She’s my best friend. I don’t mean to use her.’