‘Not nearly often enough.’ They both hooted with laughter at that.

‘Yikes! Have you seen the time?’ Jasmine glanced at the clock and got to her feet, downing the dregs of her tea. ‘I’ll be late for work at this rate.’

‘Just as well you don’t have far to go.’ Florrie giggled, scooping up the mugs and popping them into the sink.

‘True. Thanks for listening to me moaning, and for your fab advice, flower. If I don’t see you before, I’ll see you at the Jolly on Friday.’

‘You’re welcome. And I’ll look forward to hearing all about Max and the stuff you didn’t share today.’

Don’t go there!‘Don’t build your hopes up, there’s nowt to tell.’

‘Then why is your body language telling a different story?’

Jasmine shook her head. ‘You’re seeing things. Anyroad, I’m off, see ya.’

She dashed out of the bookshop before her friend could say anything further, calling a goodbye to Leah and Gerty as she went.

THIRTY-ONE

THURSDAY

It had been a crazy busy day, starting off with a one-bedroom flat that needed a deep clean after a particularly scruffy tenant had vacated. Thankfully, the landlord had forewarned Alice at Spick ‘n’ Sparkle and she’d sent Nuala, another one of her cleaners, along with Jasmine. The two women had been appalled by what had greeted them. ‘How can anyone live like this?’ Jasmine had said when they’d peered into the bathroom.

Three hours later, the flat was gleaming, and Jasmine and Nuala were glowing with the satisfaction of a job well done, as well as feeling utterly shattered.

Jasmine barely had time to go home and get changed before it was time to head to the viewing at Ox Row. After her conversation with Florrie about putting some of Enid’s bequest towards the rent of a better home, Jasmine had considered cancelling today’s viewing, but she’d thought better of it, just in case, since she still hadn’t made up her mind about accepting the money.

Her heart sank as soon as she turned into the street. It had been a while since she’d ventured into this part of town and from what she could see it had gone downhill if the graffiti and houses with boarded-up windows were anything to go by.

The interior of the tiny house was worse than she’d expected. The whole place reeked of stale cigarette smoke, and the décor was basic at best. The hot tap at the kitchen sink dripped and there were holes in the lino on the floor. And if she wasn’t mistaken, Jasmine was sure there were mouse droppings on the worktops. She wondered what Lady Caro would think of having her wedding cakes baked in such a grimy place.

She turned to the landlord. ‘Actually, I think I’ve seen enough.’ She didn’t need to view upstairs to know that she couldn’t bring Zak and Chloe to live here.

She’d need to get something sorted sooner rather than later, especially since the niggle about Max being her landlord had mushroomed. She only hoped she didn’t bump into him since she didn’t want to say something she’d regret. It would be best for all concerned if she found somewhere new to live. That way, if Max was only buying the property to help her, rather than it being a house he’d like to have in his property portfolio, then he still had time to withdraw his offer.

Jasmine was glad when her shift at the bakery came to an end. Usually, she enjoyed her job there, and the banter between the rest of the staff, but the deep clean at the flat that morning had left her feeling more worn out than usual. Of course, the lack of sleep didn’t help, and it seemed that each day brought something new to occupy her mind and fret over.

‘S’just me,’ Jasmine called as she opened the door of her parents’ home. She followed the sound of voices to the kitchen, stopping in her tracks when she saw Max sitting at the kitchen table, cradling a mug of tea in his hands. She felt a pulse of attraction, that quickly gave way to irritation. She could’ve kicked herself for not spotting his car outside, alerting her to his presence and allowing her to prepare herself. It wasn’t loston her how twenty-five years ago, she wouldn’t have batted an eyelid to see him looking so comfortable in her home.

‘Hello there, lovey, how’s your day been?’ Judging by the cheerful note in her mum’s voice, she was inordinately happy to have Max there.

‘Hiya, Jingilby.’ Max’s smile reached up and made his eyes shine.

‘Hi.’ Jasmine did her best to muster up a smile, cursing her knees that had decided to go wobbly at his smile.

‘Your dad’s just getting changed out of his work stuff. He should be down in a minute,’ her mum said, oblivious to her daughter’s mood.

‘How are the kids? No problems with school?’ she asked, peering out of the window. Her heart filled with happiness as she watched Zak and Chloe tearing about the garden with Connor and Ernest. It was difficult to say who was having the most fun.

‘They’re all fine, having a whale of a time out there by all accounts.’

‘That’s good to hear.’ Aware that she was avoiding meeting Max’s eye, she headed over to the door and popped her head out, the scent of freshly cut grass floating under her nose. ‘Hiya, kiddiewinkles, having fun?’

A chorus of ‘Hi, Mum,’ mixed with, ‘Hi, Jasmine,’ rang out. Chloe ran over to her, her pigtails flying out behind her, Ernest not far behind. She flung her arms around her mum’s middle while Ernest nudged at her legs, his tail wagging happily as he looked up at her.

‘You okay, little love?’ Jasmine smoothed a hand over her daughter’s hair, following up with a kiss.

‘Yep.’ Chloe nodded, gazing up at her. ‘We’ve been having an awesome time with Ernest. He’s brilliant at dribbling the football. Zak says he should go to footie school with him andConnor in the summer.’ She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled at that.