‘Never mind what you’ve heard,’ Wren cut in. ‘Thank you for the flowers, Liza,’ she said to me, her tone utterly changed. ‘They’re beautiful.’

‘And the milk and biscuits are much appreciated too,’ said Theo, who was still grinning from ear to ear. ‘I’ll go and put the kettle on before I put my foot in it, shall I?’

‘Good idea,’ said Wren, rolling her eyes.

I was intrigued, but he disappeared before I had the opportunity to prise an explanation out of him. While he was clattering about in the kitchen, I gave Wren the things she’d asked me to collect from the hut and she explained what had happened at the hospital and how she’d now got to take it easy for a few days.

When Theo came back in with the tea tray and a pretty enamel jug containing the flowers, I told them all about the Stott/Scott fiasco.

‘Crikey,’ said Theo, whistling under his breath as he poured the tea. ‘Perhaps Ned was glad to see the back of you, after all. I bet he was like a bear with a sore head. He must have been fizzing.’

‘He was,’ I agreed. ‘I’ve never seen him look so angry. I honestly thought he was going to banish me from Wynter’s Trees forever.’

‘Wynter’s reputation means the world to him,’ Wren put in, ‘but I don’t think he’d go that far. He’s enjoying having you around too much to do that.’

‘Is he?’ I frowned, my gaze flicking from her to Theo. Now they both looked mischievous. ‘What’s going on?’

Neither said another word, but they exchanged a meaningful look. It was the sort of exchange that couples who know each other very well share, the kind that demonstrates how well they can read each other’s minds.

‘Nothing,’ they chorused, then clammed up again.

My heart skittered at the thought that Ned had talked about me to his friends, but then the guilt descended. Theo and Wren’s scant admissions implied that he’d confided something positive, but given he was now dating Maya, he really shouldn’t have been saying anything like that about me at all, should he? But then, perhaps I was reading too much into it.

Given that he would have talked to them prior to the Stott/Scott fiasco, at a time when it looked like I might have proved useful around the place in the run up to Christmas, then I supposed he would have been more inclined to say nice things. I bet if he talked to them now, post tree trouble and after kiss number three, it would have been a completely different story!

‘Liza?’

‘Sorry,’ I said, tuning back in to Theo’s voice. ‘What did you say?’

‘I said, are you in a rush to get back?’ he repeated, offering me a mug of tea.