Darren felt like punching something. He wished he’d never put the Facebook posts up. He should have known some fucking flake would come out of the woodwork to claim the dog. Doggo was better off with him. Hadn’t the vet said he hadn’t been well looked after? His fur had been overgrown and matted. He was underweight and he had fleas. And he’d been wandering around that park, lost and alone.

So why hadn’t Tia been searching for him? Why hadn’t he seen any lost dog posters or Facebook posts for him? She didn’t deserve to have him back.

His thumb hovered over the trash can icon above the message. He could pretend he’d never received it. Maybe it had been accidentally deleted. Maybe he could block her profile and take down the Facebook posts and just pretend.

But he knew he couldn’t do that. Because what if this Tia woman had a perfectly good explanation for everything? And what if she really did love and miss this dog? Which might mean the dog was missing her too.

He moved his thumb away from the delete button and put the phone down on the couch next to him. ‘It’s about the dog,’ he said to Pete. ‘Seems like someone wants to claim him.’

Pete let out a sound of disappointment. ‘Mate, I’m sorry.’ He put a hand on Darren’s shoulder. ‘You all right?’

Darren’s body jerked under his brother’s touch. ‘Not really.’

‘You know that’s a good thing, right, reuniting a dog with its owner? You did a really good thing.’

‘Yeah well, I feel shit. And also . . .’

‘Also what?’

Darren stopped. He’d been about to tell Pete about the mole on his neck. He’d taken the bandage off now, so it was no longer noticeable. Not that his mates had even mentioned it when he’d joined them on Friday night anyway. But the doctor still hadn’t called with his results and the longer he waited, the more he felt certain it was going to be bad news. He changed his mind and instead he blurted out, ‘I met someone.’

He squeezed his eyes shut. Why the hell had he gone with that when he could have said any one of a thousand other things? And also, I had a crappy night’s sleep. And also, I’ve got a shocking headache. And also, I’m waiting to find out if Charlotte’s girlfriend is pregnant with my baby. That one would have been a good conversation-starter.

He hadn’t even been thinking about Sage . . . but then, maybe he had. Because he’d remembered how much he’d wanted to show her Doggo after he’d been groomed but hadn’t been able to. And now he was realising he was about to lose his dog as well.

‘Yeah?’ Pete’s eyes brightened.