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A deep ache spread through Holly. Her life was so busy that she rarely got time to do this. Time simply to sit with her child and appreciate what a little miracle she was. Even if she was about to cost her a hefty plumber’s bill.

Hope’s eyes had been closed for several minutes when Holly realised she hadn’t heard the banging upstairs for a while. Did that mean it was all a lost cause, and the plumber had given up entirely, or, as she hoped, it meant he was done? She wasn’t back in the shop tomorrow, given that she had Hope, but when you have a ten-month-old, not working doesn’t equate to a lie-in. No, Hope would be up at the crack of dawn, regardless of whether or not it was a work day. And they would need a working toilet.

Now that the banging had ended, Holly headed upstairs and laid Hope down in her cot, before heading into the bathroom and finding the plumber brushing down his clothes.

‘So this is what you’re after, is it?’ He handed her two sopping wet bunnies. The pink and the blue. Holly chuckled. Hope really wasn’t into gender stereotypes at all.

‘Thank you,’ Holly said, intending to put them straight in the washing machine when she got downstairs. However, before that, there was a question she knew she had to ask. One that caused a knot to tighten in her stomach.

‘So, how much do I owe you?’

The plumber crinkled his nose. ‘Nothing. I was just told to put this on the account.’

‘The account?’

He shrugged. ‘Your landlord’s, I guess. What do you usually do for things like this?’

There hadn’t been a situation like this before, so Holly didn’t know how to reply. The plumber took her silence as an answer.

‘Look,’ he said. ‘I’m pretty certain I’m not meant to take any money from you now. If I find out I’ve done something wrong, I’ll ring your landlord and he can sort it out with you. Does that sound okay?’

Holly went to nod, only to change her mind.

‘Yes, yes, it would. The thing is… I’ve had a problem with my phone recently. Would I be able to grab my landlord’s number from you?’

The plumber frowned. ‘Did you not ring him to tell him about this issue?’

Holly realised how nonsensical she must sound. ‘It’s complicated to explain. But I don’t have his number any more, so is there any chance I can grab it from you?’

‘Yeah, don’t see why not.’ He pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled downwards until he found the contact. Then held it out for Holly. ‘Do you wanna take it? Put it into your phone?’

The plumber looked at her expectantly as he waited for a reply. Only Holly couldn’t speak. Even when he repeated himself, she stayed exactly where she was, only with the slightest tremble to her hand. All she could do was see that name on the phone. The name of the landlord, who Holly’s mother had refused to let her contact. The one who had come to her rescue just when she needed a place of her own to stay, and allowed her to change the house however she wanted, including putting this brand-new bathroom suite in without having to pay a penny. And the name of that landlord caused her head to race.

Giles Caverty.

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A lump filled Holly’s throat, rising from her heart, stopping her from being able to breathe properly.

‘You alright, love? Do you want me to write that number down for you or something?’ the plumber said, his voice bringing Holly back to the moment.

Swallowing back the lump, she shook her head, hoping that the movement might cause her to see things a little clearer. It didn’t.

She glanced back at the phone again, thinking that perhaps it was just a trick of the light that had made her see things wrong. But no, Giles’s name and number were still there on that man’s phone.

‘Love? You wanna write it down?’ the plumber repeated.

This time, Holly replied. ‘No, no, do you know what? I have got it, actually. Yes. I do have his number. Sorry about that. Thank you.’

Before the plumber could respond, she turned and walked out of the bathroom. Her entire body was on autopilot as she headed downstairs, opened the washing machine door andthrew the bunnies inside. A couple of minutes later, the plumber followed.

‘Well, I’m all done, love. I’ll just head off.’

Holly nodded. ‘Thank you.’

Giles Caverty was her landlord. It didn’t make sense. Or at least, she didn’t want it to make sense. But actually, it made everything a whole lot clearer. This was why her mum had been so desperate not to pass on the number. Why she’d dealt with every little thing that came up. Because she and Giles had been in cahoots the whole time. June and Lenny had no idea what was going on, which is why they’d looked at Holly like she was mad when she’d tried to thank them for their help in finding the place.

When the initial shock faded, a new stream of questions raced through Holly’s mind. Where did this leave her? And what did it mean when it came to her and Giles’s relationship? The last time she’d seen him was less than a month ago, when he’d declared his love for her – again – and she’d chosen someone else over him – again. What did that mean? Was he really going to let her stay in a house, his house, knowing that there was no chance of them being together? What if he decided that if Holly didn’t want him, then she would need to find somewhere else to live? Would he do that?