She was a little put out at not being the preferred choice, but it was only to be expected. Faith had been avoiding April on purpose and it had nothing to do with distractions at work and everything to do with the man she had tried to set up April with. Nick was kind, generous, thoughtful, and ever so slightly enigmatic – everything a young widow needed to spice up her life – and Faith had done her best to make something happen between the two of them. It had looked promising at one stage at the Christmas party, but April wasn’t as good as Faith at taking what she wanted.

‘She’s not answering her phone,’ April continued. She took a breath that caught several times at the back of her throat. ‘I wasn’t expecting you to pick up either, but I had to keep trying. I don’t know what to do.’

Faith had thought she couldn’t feel any worse. It didn’t help that April wouldn’t stop crying. ‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on?’ she asked, resisting the urge to add, ‘Or do I have to shake it out of you?’

‘I couldn’t just let it go. I had to keep looking,’ April said. She lowered her voice to a whisper when she added, ‘I’ve found her. The dates match.’

‘What dates?’

‘Jason’s secret afternoons off.’

Faith had a vague recollection of April telling her about it at the party, but if she were honest, it wasn’t her take-away memory of the evening. Wrestling with a fresh wave of guilt, she focused on the matter in hand. ‘You know who he was seeing?’

‘B— Bree,’ April said, gulping for air. ‘It was Bree.’

There wasn’t much more Faith could glean from April’s sobs. ‘Hang in there,’ she said, her gloved hands tightening around the steering wheel. ‘I’m on my way.’

The rain beat against the windshield and the arch of the wiper blades smeared red tail lights across Faith’s vision until eventually the traffic thinned out and she picked up speed. Eager to reach April and find some way of making up for being a terrible friend, she was only five minutes away when her phone rang again.

‘Hi,’ she said.

‘I was just checking to see if you’re still OK for tonight?’ said Nick.

‘Expecting me to get cold feet?’

‘I’ve stopped trying to predict anything you do, Faith.’

Nick was learning fast. He had made the mistake of second guessing her at the party. They had left the dance floor breathless, and Faith had made her excuses to visit the Ladies. Nick followed, and she had felt his hand on the small of her back. When she turned, he had kissed her. She had kissed him back, but only long enough for him to have a taste of what she was about to refuse.