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‘Why not?’ Daisy questioned. ‘You’ve dated plenty of guys. You know exactly what you’re looking for, and you refuse to settle.’

‘You can’t possibly think of Theo as settling?’ Bex said.

‘I fell for the guy with the boat next to mine. That’s not exactly spreading my wings and seeing what’s out there, is it?’ A heaviness had formed in her chest.

‘Why do you think you have to travel the world or kiss a hundred frogs to find your prince?’ Bex said, her expression still confused. ‘If I had a guy look at me the way Theo looks at you…’ She let the rest of her sentence drift off before she shook her head. ‘I don’t have high standards, Daisy. I have impossible standards.’

Daisy frowned. ‘That’s not true.’

‘Yes, yes, it is. And my parents are partly to blame, too.’

‘Your parents?’ Daisy said, not sure she was following. ‘Your parents are the most in-love couple I’ve ever known.’

‘Exactly, and every man I meet, I’m comparing to them and their relationship. I don’t go into it wondering if we might have adventures together or whether they might pull me out of my comfort zone. Instead, I nit-pick everything they do. If they eat too loudly, they’re out. If they laugh at things I find unfunny, they’re out. I’m too busy thinking about how annoying each foible is going to be after twenty or thirty years that I never get to the one-year mark. That’s not a way to go into a relationship.’

‘Maybe,’ Daisy replied, though it didn’t help her situation at all. Sure, she and Theo both had foibles, and mostly she found them endearing. But was that just naivety? After all, what was the possibility that her soulmate would have the mooring next to hers? If soulmates even existed. He had been there, convenient, and of course she loved him. But then, she reasoned, surely if you spent time with anyone who was as kind and fun as Theo,most people would fall in love with them in some sense or another. Was that really a reason to get married?

‘Do you want me to make up the sofa bed, or would you rather crash in my bed with me?’ Bex said, pulling Daisy from her thoughts.

‘I’ll stay here,’ Daisy said. ‘I’m not sure what time I’ll get up in the morning.’

‘Well, I wouldn’t rush. According to the forecast, it’s going to be heavy showers all day tomorrow.’

Rain. Daisy let out a sad chuckle. It was coming to something that rain felt like a good thing in her life.

60

Bex had been right about the rain and while that would have normally allowed Daisy the luxury of a lie-in, the fact she had Johnny with her derailed that plan.

Thinking about it objectively, bringing Johnny hadn’t been her wisest decision. Not only was he not allowed in the building, but he was used to being let out first thing in the morning when Daisy moved from Theo’s and headed over to theSeptember Roseto start baking for the day. As such, he wasn’t content just to lie around. An added complication to his early-morning walk was that he would normally have his first feed of the day then too, and Daisy hadn’t brought any dog food with her.

‘Come on then, and be quiet,’ Daisy said as she slipped on her shoes and tied Johnny’s lead to his collar, ready to take him outside. ‘Just no barking, all right? I don’t want Bex to get in trouble for me bringing you here.’

Bex’s apartment was on the seventh floor, and normally Daisy used the lift, but the night before, with Johnny in tow, she had taken the stairs. She was aware there were probably cameras in the stairwell too, but it seemed like the right thing to do, and that morning, she felt the same. Getting in the lift with a dogin an apartment block where they were banned didn’t feel right. So Daisy pushed open the heavy door into the stairwell and led Johnny down.

The cool air brushed her arms as she made her way down to the sixth floor. It hadn’t seemed that far the night before, probably because she was too busy sobbing while Bex comforted her. But when she was three flights down, it already felt like she had been going forever. The last thing she wanted was for Johnny to decide he couldn’t make it all the way outside and relieve himself on the steps, so she picked up her pace. She had just reached the second floor and was about to start her last flight of stairs when the door swung open.

‘Hey!’ Daisy said, jumping out of the way, although she wasn’t fast enough. While avoiding being hit full on, the edge of the door caught the top of her arm, scraping it. Yelping, she jumped out of the way. ‘Watch what you’re doing!’ she said.

The open door revealed a man with sandy-coloured hair wearing sports clothing, staring straight at her.

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘There’s not normally anyone in here at this time.’

‘Well, there is now,’ Daisy said, rubbing the patch of her arm where the door had scraped the skin. Removing her hand revealed an impressive graze – the type she hadn’t had since falling off her bike when she was younger.

‘I’m so sorry,’ the man said, still blocking the doorway and corridor behind him. ‘I’ve got some antiseptic wipes in my apartment if you—’ He stopped, his gaze moving from Daisy to Johnny, who had shifted behind her legs, although not well enough to remain hidden. Heat flooded through her. The man was bound to ask where she was going, and Daisy was going to have to tell the truth – that she was just visiting a friend. But she would have to lie about which flat that friend lived in. There was no way Daisy wanted to get Bex in trouble for this.

Though rather than calling her out for breaking the rules, the man laughed heartily. It was a great laugh that lit up his face and made him look substantially younger, though Daisy was still struggling to understand why he was responding in such a manner when he stepped to the side. There behind him was a fluffy Labrador retriever.

‘I guess we’re both up early for the same reason,’ he chuckled.

61

Daisy and the man took the last flight of stairs together, with the dogs walking alongside, matching their strides perfectly.

‘So you actually live here, with a dog?’ Daisy said, struggling to believe that he could keep the large Labrador a secret.

‘I know. I’m a rebel, right?’ the guy said with a wink and a smile that Daisy couldn’t help but reciprocate.