A Wednesday evening, after a particularly stressful day at work, was not the best time for me to start rearranging my flat in preparation for six weeks of change.

I had spent the two previous evenings rejigging the tiny third bedroom, which also doubled as my office when I worked from home. The desk had been spirited away to a storage place and I’d moved one of the two bookcases into my bedroom. Things were already starting to feel a little cramped and that was before Alfie and Bea moved in.

I’d already invited Bea over to show her the spare room so she could get settled ahead of Alfie’s arrival on Friday, and Maddy insisted on coming as well.

The three of us sat around the small dining table, none of us doing very well at eating the Chinese takeaway that Bea had thoughtfully bought.

“You’ll have to get rid of this table,” said Maddy. She finished her mouthful of spring roll before continuing. “It’s glass; what happens if it breaks when Alfie’s here?”

“You told me that last time, Maddy. He’s only a year old; what the hell’s he going to be doing on the table?” I shook my head. She appeared to find fault with everything in the room, coming up with ridiculous ideas of what could go wrong.

“He could bump his head.”

I glanced at the height of the table which, even if Alfie had been walking, was still several inches too tall for him to reach. “He’ll be fine.”

“Whereabouts in Paris are you going to be working?” Bea smiled and I knew that she was trying to diffuse the situation. I shot her a grateful smile.

“Oh, it’s right in the centre, about a ten-minute walk from the Arc de Triomphe.” Maddy’s eyes glazed over. She was probably thinking of shopping and crepes.

“Sounds lovely. I haven’t been to Paris; there’s so much to see there,” said Bea.

Maddy wrinkled her nose. “I doubt I’ll get much time to do any of that. I’ll be working.”

“Ah, but there will be all the client meetings and dinners. And I’m pretty sure Robert won’t be staying in the hotel every night.” If I knew my boss, he certainly wouldn’t let a secondment in Paris pass without sampling the night life.

“Didn’t I tell you? We’re not staying in a hotel. The company have organised an apartment for us. It worked out cheaper.”

Of course they have. Nothing but the best for their return-to-work mother. “That’ll be nice. Are you and Robert sharing a place then?”

“Well, it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

I couldn’t help but be suspicious.

Robert’s keen interest in Maddy and her career, the only job she could get when returning to work, just happened to be in Paris, albeit for a short spell, and oh-what-a-coincidence he would be there too.

Somewhere, there was a bullshit detector going all types of crazy.

Despite the fact I wanted to prod the hornet’s nest that was Maddy and Robert’s relationship, I chose to take the higher ground.

“Bea, I thought it would good if you could move in tomorrow? Give you a chance to get settled before I bring Alfie home.” I’d managed to sort out a set of keys for the flat, one of the very few things on the amazingly long To-Do List I had acquired since Sunday.

Maddy turned her attention to Bea. “So you’re going to be helping Hayden?” Her gaze scanned Bea’s attire: plain black leggings and an oversized, baggy jumper in a shade of sage green. She glared at me. “Why didn’t you discuss this with me?”

“What choice did I have? I couldn’t get the whole six weeks off work, even though it was because of your work decisions.”

“Why her? What credentials has she got?”

Apart from being gorgeous, and agreeing to step in when you’re skipping off to Paris, apparently without a thought for our son? I opened my mouth to defend Bea, but she beat me to it.

“I did some nannying in the Hamptons for a few families while I was travelling. It helped to pay for the next leg of my trip. I can always contact them for a reference if you’re uncomfortable with me being here.” Bea smiled at me and mouthed it’s okay.

At that moment, I could have hugged her.

“Right.”

Maddy sniffed and I could tell she was annoyed.

“So you see I didn’t just ask any old person. You’ve known Bea almost as long as I have.”

“Mmm.” Maddy reached for her wineglass and finished it. “I should be going. My Mum can only stay until nine.” She pushed her chair back, stood up, and scanned the room again. “You really should think about getting rid of that table.”

Knowing I was beaten, I let out a hard sigh. “Okay, you win. I’ll put it in storage.” I’d already had to secure a small storage space for some of my stuff over the next six weeks; what would one more piece matter?

“Good.” She kissed me on both cheeks. “I’ll see you on Friday morning.”

When she had finally gone, I collapsed on the sofa. Bea followed suit, bringing the remains of the wine and our glasses.

“I’m sorry she’s such a bitch.”

Bea shrugged as she topped up the drinks. “It’s fine. She’s the one with the issue. I bet she expected you to struggle, and now you’ve got a solution, she’s got a problem with it.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” I wondered for a moment if I was jealous of Maddy heading off to Paris. Although the thought of spending six weeks in Robert’s company wasn’t as appealing to me as it seemed to be for her. “I should show you around properly. Come on.”

It didn’t really take that long. There was an open-plan living room, dining, and kitchen area which had the three bedrooms and bathroom off it.

“This would be your room.” I opened the door and prayed that it was tidy.

The bedroom had a queen-sized bed, a canvas wardrobe and a chest of drawers, both courtesy of IKEA—something small and simple for guests, plus the bookcase from my office. I hoped that it would suit Bea for the time she would be staying. The duvet didn’t have a cover on and was folded up with two pillows on top. What I hadn’t noticed was a claret-coloured bra that poked out from between the pillows. My face going a similar colour, I reached for the offending garment and tried to hide it. Suddenly, I didn’t want Bea to think badly of me.

“God, sorry about that. I don’t know who it belongs to.” Yes, Hayden, that sounds so much better. That doesn’t make you look like a man whore at all. I winced as I looked at Bea’s face. She looked like she was trying not to laugh.

“I’m not bothered, Hayden. I’ve seen far worse at Tom’s place since I’ve been back.” She shuddered. “And I don’t like to think of my brother like that. I’m glad I’m going to be moving out.”

Immediately, I wondered what Tom hadn’t been telling me. There had been no mention of a girlfriend or even any one-nighters. What was he keeping from me? The voice in my head reminded me that I hadn’t exactly been honest with him about my own thoughts on Bea. And I planned on keeping those to myself.

“Do you want me to get you a duvet cover? Or blankets? Or more pillows?” I desperately wanted her to be comfortable here, to be able to treat it like her home.

Bea shook her head. “I’ve got a few things already.” She gave me an embarrassed smile. “I’ve kind of been stockpiling a few things for when I get my own place. And this means I can give them a test run.”

“Right, that’s good.” I nodded, even though I was a little disappointed. In my head, we would have gone shopping together, picked out a few things… I was getting way ahead of myself. Bea was here to look after Alfie, not me. For all I knew, she had met someone on her trip and it wouldn’t be long before a Laguna Beach-esque surfer type would turn up on the doorstep and declare undying love.

I backed out of the room and showed her the bathroom, which definitely needed a good clean. I made a mental note to do that before I went to bed that night. As I came to the door to my room, I hesitated. It definitely wasn’t tidy and I was embarrassed to let Bea see it. Plus, it felt strange taking her in there when I wasn’t fully sure how I felt about her.

Who was I kidding? I knew exactly how I felt.

“That’s your room, right?” she said. “I’ll make sure not to get confused in the middle of the night and end up in there.”

She giggled and I followed suit.

“Right, well, if there’s nothing else, I should get going. Did you say you had keys for me?”

“Yep, yes. Hang on.”

I went over to the kitchen and found the set I’d had cut on the way home that evening. On impulse, I purchased a unicorn keyring, as well.

“Here you go.” I pressed them into her hand, my thumb caressing hers a little longer than was necessary. “Come over whenever you want. Actually, I’ve got a few things being delivered tomorrow afternoon, so would you mind being here for that?”

Bea nodded. “No worries. Do you want me to have dinner ready for when you get home?” She winked and I knew she was joking.

“Just knowing you’ll be here is a great help. Thanks, Bea.”

I gave her a quick hug before she left, the light scent of her perfume lingering in my nostrils afterwards.

Fuck. I was in trouble.