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‘Look, I know this is probably hugely insensitive, and judging from our conversation yesterday, this is a very new thing, but can I give you my number? You don’t have to message me, not anytime soon, if you don’t want to. But who knows, maybe in a few weeks, you might want someone to go for a dog walk with? Or a coffee.’

He had such an open expression on his face that Daisy couldn’t help but feel drawn to it. Maybe when she had beensingle, before Theo, it would have been an offer she would have immediately taken him up on. But a lot had changed since then.

‘I tell you what,’ she said. ‘If that happens, I’ll post my number through your door. How would that be?’

A flicker of disappointment flashed on Ezra’s face, but he covered it quickly.

‘I’ll keep my eye out for it,’ he said, throwing her a smile. ‘Come on, boy, you need your walk.’

Daisy watched them for a moment before she headed inside and took the lift up to the seventh floor.

74

‘I’ll put in to work remotely,’ Bex said, when Daisy had told her everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours. ‘Enough people do it. I can come down to Wildflower Lock, just for a week or so. Make sure you’re not on your own.’

‘You don’t have to do that,’ Daisy said, struck by just how generous her friends were.

‘Well, I think I do. It’s either that or you keep turning up at my flat without warning.’ She let out a laugh that was clearly intended to make Daisy smile, although Daisy couldn’t manage it. It felt as if the muscles had forgotten how to do that. As such, Bex’s smile faded almost instantly.

‘Look, it would do me some good too,’ she said, adopting a more serious tone. ‘I’ve been working way too late most nights. I only got back twenty minutes before you got here tonight. Working the weekend at the coffee shop actually felt like a break.’

‘According to Amelia, that was because she did all the work,’ Daisy replied. Bex chuckled and this time, Daisy felt a smile twisting on her lips. There was a strange unfamiliarity about theaction. ‘Thank you. I would really like that. But please don’t feel like you have to stay the whole week.’

‘How about we play it by ear? I’ll pack some things tonight for a couple of days, then we can see how you’re doing after that. And I’ll need to go into the office first thing in the morning, but I can be down at the Lock with you by midday, if that’s okay?’

Daisy wanted to be strong. She wanted to make out like she could do it on her own and that her heart didn’t feel like it had been shattered into a thousand pieces, but it wasn’t true. Having Claire visit had shown her that. She wasn’t ready to be on her own just yet and at least this way she wasn’t losing business, too.

‘That would be good. Thank you,’ she said. ‘Thank you for everything.’

‘That’s what we’re here for,’ Bex replied, giving her a quick squeeze before standing up. ‘Come on. I need to put clean sheets on if you’re sleeping in my bed tonight.’

‘Just to warn you, my alarm’s set for four thirty,’ Daisy said, also standing. ‘I figured that will give me enough time to get back, do some baking and open the café at normal time.’

Bex’s lips parted, though it took a moment for her to speak. ‘Four thirty. Well, that confirms it. I am definitely staying at yours from now on.’

75

For the next three days, Daisy remained at Wildflower Lock. Bex stayed at her side the entire time, except for the hour or so in the evenings when Daisy took Johnny for a walk. From what Daisy could tell, remote working for Bex consisted of occasionally logging on to her computer, sounding very cross during online meetings, then coming in to tell Daisy how everyone was completely useless and that it would do them good to not have her in the office for a few days. For the most part, Daisy could almost believe life was carrying on as normal, except between 5.30 and 6.00 when Theo would appear outside the boat with Johnny, and the handover would occur.

‘He wouldn’t even look at me tonight,’ Daisy said. It was Thursday evening, and the pair were sitting on the sofa drinking wine. Despite every night that week being clear and warm, Daisy had chosen to stay inside in the evenings, just to avoid bumping into anyone. As far as she was aware, everyone on the lock still thought she and Theo were a couple, and she didn’t have it in her to tell them the news. Besides, she’d spent plenty of time out and about.

Daisy had taken Johnny on an extra-long walk that day, as they hadn’t discussed how things would work at the weekend, and she wasn’t sure if she’d get any time with him at all. After all, Theo usually hung around Wildflower Lock because he was helping her, but now they’d split up, he had his weekends back to do as he pleased.

‘You can’t blame him,’ Bex said. ‘This time a week ago, he was messaging Claire and me, buying thousands of fairy lights, and being all excited about the proposal he’d planned. It’s been a pretty abrupt turnaround.’

‘I suppose,’ Daisy responded.

‘It’s not as if you’re happy about things. I think it’s safe to say I’ve never seen you look so miserable.’

‘Of course I’m miserable,’ Daisy said with a sense of exasperation. ‘It’s not that I don’t love him. I don’t get why you guys don’t understand that.’

‘Oh, we understand it completely,’ Bex said, arching an eyebrow. ‘It’s just that it makes no sense. Despite no evidence at all, you’ve already predicted the failure of your relationship, which is basically dooming yourself.’

Daisy shook her head. It didn’t matter how much she tried to suppress the knots that filled her stomach. Every time she had a minute to think about things, they would return, and conversations like this didn’t help. ‘You’d understand if you’d been there. It’s for the best?—’

‘In the long run?’ Bex interrupted. Her voice was almost a shout. ‘I swear, if you’re going to say that to me again, I will throw something at you.’ She paused, and when she spoke again, her tone was far quieter, though just as harsh. ‘And I’m well aware it’s not me you’re trying to convince when you say that, by the way. You’re the one who needs convincing.’

Daisy didn’t respond; there wasn’t much she could say to that. Was it the truth? No, she knew she’d made the rightdecision. She had to have, because if she’d got it wrong… Well, that didn’t bear thinking about.