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‘It was a pleasure, honestly,’ Ezra replied. ‘Who knows? Maybe I’ll see you again. And Johnny, too. You know him and Bruno are lifelong friends now.’

Daisy grinned as she opened the door and stepped across the corridor to the stairwell.

‘I know. I’m sure he’ll be pestering me for another playdate as soon as we leave. And don’t worry, your secret about having a dog here is safe with me.’

A cheeky smile curled at the corner of Ezra’s lips. It was the exact smile that had made her stomach flutter earlier and it was doing the same again, though she was trying her hardest to ignore it.

‘I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think it’s much of a secret,’ he said. ‘See you later, Daisy and Johnny.’

As if knowing what response was expected, Johnny offered a single bark before he and Daisy headed up the stairs towards Bex’s flat.

It was only when she reached the seventh floor that Daisy realised she still hadn’t taken her phone with her. In fact, she hadn’t even turned it back on since she’d had enough of all the missed calls the night before. At some point, she knew she’d have to deal with a barrage of messages from Theo and her mother, but she wanted to make sure she had a cup of tea in her hand before she did that.

With Johnny sitting by her heel, she knocked on Bex’s front door.

Immediately, it swung open.

‘Where’ve you been? You’ve been gone for ages,’ Bex said.

‘I took Johnny for a walk and I’ve been downstairs with your neighbour since I got back.’

‘What? Who?’

‘Ezra. He lives on the second floor. You must know him. You have a radar for hot guys. And he is definitely hot. He’s also unbelievably lovely and has the most gorgeous dog, Bruno. I can’t believe you don’t know who he is.’

Bex’s normal response upon hearing about a good-looking man was to ask as many questions as possible to establish whether he would be suitable dating material. Especially one who lived so close to her. But rather than doing that, her face paled.

‘Daisy,’ she said.

‘What? I think he’s your type. I mean, he said I was stunning and his ideal woman, but?—’

‘Daisy,’ Bex said again, this time more firmly. Her head remained forward, but her eyes shifted to the side as if she was implying there was something inside the apartment she wanted Daisy to see.

A second later, Daisy realised exactly what Bex was trying to tell her. Theo was there. Theo was there, and he had heard every word Daisy had just said.

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Silence threatened to suffocate Daisy, and she knew she had to say something, yet her mind was completely blank. Had she said anything incriminating? She had said that Ezra was good-looking, sure, but she’d also mentioned the dog, right? Surely they knew the only reason she’d gone to Ezra’s flat was because of the dogs.

‘Well, it’s time I left for work,’ Bex said. ‘You guys stay as long as you like. Just close the door when you leave.’ She slipped past Daisy, squeezing her hand briefly as she went.

A large weight filled Daisy’s stomach as she and Theo were left alone. Almost alone. Johnny wasted no time as he raced over to Theo. However, instead of giving Johnny his usual fuss and affection, Theo remained entirely still, continuing to stare at Daisy.

‘I tried ringing you,’ he said.

‘I know. I turned my phone off.’

‘Because you were with this guy, Ezra?’

Daisy raised her eyebrows. ‘No, I turned my phone off last night because I needed some space. That’s why I’m here, because I needed some space.’

‘I get that,’ Theo said, nodding his head. ‘But I thought that meant going to theSeptember Rose. Then I went there this morning to apologise and found out you hadn’t even spent the night there. And then I tried ringing you and it kept going straight to answerphone. I had to call in sick to work to find you.’

A flicker of guilt sparked in Daisy, but it extinguished itself almost immediately.

‘You didn’t have to come looking for me at all, Theo. I’m an adult. I’m fine.’

‘With this Ezra guy?’