A couple of minutes later, the doorbell rang. I felt the sudden loss of the warmth of Jack’s hands and let out a sigh involuntarily.

‘Try to enjoy it,’ Jack said as I stood and gave the robe I’d been instructed to wear after my bath this morning a quick straighten.

‘I will. I’m so thankful to Poppy for this.’ The doorbell rang again. ‘It will be OK, won’t it?’ I suddenly looked up at Jack as a barrage of worried thoughts began bowling through my mind. ‘He won’t want to cut my hair short or something, will he?’

‘If he does, and you don’t want that, then you say so. It’s your hair. Don’t let him just do what he wants, and Poppy is here for backup.’

Jack laid a hand gently on my upper arm, gave it a quick squeeze and then headed off to the door. I pulled myself together and followed him a couple of moments later.

22

‘Hiiii!’ A bubbly-sounding woman of Poppy’s age came in, snatching a quick double take at Jack as she did so. She had tumbling waves of electric-blue hair, beautiful skin and barely a scrap of make-up, save a slick of lip gloss, and looked amazing. Following her in was a slim man, of similar age or perhaps a few years older. He was tanned and beautifully dressed in a three-piece suit. Shiny chestnut hair was cut in a short, neat style and I could just see the tip of a tattoo peeking above the crisp collar of his shirt.

‘Hello,’ he nodded at me and then saw Jack. ‘Hello!’ he said again, this time with a lot more enthusiasm and emphasis. I flicked my gaze to Jack, who smiled at them both and put his hand out for them to shake.

‘Hi, I’m Jack. I’ll get out of your way now.’

‘Hi, Jack,’ Poppy said, giving him a big hug as she closed the front door behind her. ‘Any chance of a cuppa before you disappear off?’

‘I can do that!’ I piped up.

‘It’s fine, I’ll do it. You go off and start getting pampered.’

‘Oh, my goodness. This one’s definitely a keeper,’ the man exclaimed resting his hand momentarily on Jack’s arm and then, feeling the bicep, rested it a moment longer.

‘Oh, he’s not mine. I mean, I don’t keep him. I mean… we’re just friends,’ I bumbled, knowing that I was now glowing bright red.

I glanced at Poppy with a silent plea in my eyes for some help. She gave me a private smile, then stepped in.

‘Jack’s an old friend. He’s recently moved back from New Zealand, and is setting up his own business again. He’s lodging with Lily until he gets settled.’

‘And where are you looking to settle?’

‘Definitely in this area,’ Jack replied, smiling.

‘Shame. Well, if you’re ever looking for somewhere to stay in London, I’ll leave my card.’ The man gave Jack a wink and then me a large grin, which I returned. I liked him already. Hopefully I’d still like him by the end of the day.