She placed the croissants and preserves on the table, then a jug of orange juice and glasses. Finally she brought over the pot of fresh coffee.

‘You’re spoiling me.’ Shaun smiled, looking at the spread. ‘This is wonderful. Thank you.’

‘I thought it might tempt you to sit down and relax. Enjoy your breakfast, instead of worrying.’

He sighed, nodding as she offered to pour him a coffee.

He looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, thanks to that mad mare Emma. Who’d have thought she’d turn out to be such a paranoid, over-defensive parent when she seemed so logical and capable at work?

Joanne had deliberately stayed away from the office until she decided what to do about Emma’s outburst at the dance school. Actually, it had been laughable, accusing her of being jealous that Maisie had been chosen for the lead role in the Christmas show. And claiming that Joanne was somehow to blame for Maisie having no friends.

The woman had been furious and almost incoherent. Miss Diane had virtually fainted with embarrassment behind her.

And since Maisie’s visit, Emma had been calling and texting Shaun all night. When he’d finally spoken to her, she was almost hysterical with rage, blaming him for the fact that Maisie had had some kind of panic attack after spending time at the apartment with them, and specifically at the swimming party.

‘Maisie has never had a panic attack in her life.’ Shaun shook his head when he finally got off the phone. ‘And all this weight she’s losing… I’m beginning to wonder if it’s being on her own with her mother that’s driving her crazy.’

He wasn’t joking.

‘Maybe she’d be better off if I had full custody.’

That had stopped Joanne in her tracks. Yet the more she thought about it, the more she realised it could work.

So, when Piper announced she had a sleepover at one of her new dance friends’ houses, Joanne decided to use the opportunity to broach the subject of his ex-wife and daughter with Shaun. Hence their leisurely breakfast.

She’d noticed how adept Shaun had become at finding something to do when Emma made yet another ridiculous accusation. She also saw how strained his face looked yesterday, how he went out and sat on one of the benches in the grounds and stared endlessly at the old oak trees that framed the boundary of the communal gardens until she called him in.

Perhaps it was time for her to take control of the situation.

She watched now as Shaun reached for a croissant and began to spread it thickly with butter.

‘I thought we might talk about Emma while we’re on our own,’ she ventured.

‘Not much to talk about.’ He shrugged. ‘Emma is Emma. She’d pick a fight with herself.’

‘You must realise we can’t just allow her to make these wild accusations, Shaun? Word gets around, and I’m friends with lots of the mothers who were at the swimming party, know them professionally. She’s already made a fool of herself in front of the dance mums.’

‘And?’

‘And you can’t just ignore this stuff. It needs dealing with. Surely you can see she’s getting worse. You said it yourself, all this nonsense about someone having a grudge and breaking windows, pulling out plants, while I’m in line for the wicked stepmother from hell award… It’s madness.’

He took a bite of his pastry and chewed it slowly.

‘She’s causing trouble everywhere,’ Joanne continued. ‘Look at what you said happened at her last company.’

‘What happened there wasn’t really her fault, Jo. She couldn’t have known what her colleague would do and she honestly thought she was doing the right thing in reporting him.’

‘But my point is, there’s a trend there. Making trouble for people.’

‘Hmm. She’s obviously in a bad place at the moment,’ Shaun said. ‘I’ll have a chat with her.’

Bad place! Now he was making excuses for her. Just like he did all the time with Maisie, who could be quite spoilt and needy, Joanne had noticed. The slightest wrong word from Piper, and Maisie had a complete meltdown when she got home to her mother.

If Emma had some kind of personality defect, then it was quite likely Maisie had inherited the trait. Sometimes, the way she stared at Piper when they were watching TV downstairs… it chilled Joanne.

You read stuff all the time about kids hurting other kids. Maisie was taller and way bigger built than Piper.

Joanne had tried to talk to her several times about her weight, but it was like wading through treacle. The kid just didn’t want to listen.

Well, it wasn’t her problem, it was Shaun’s. If he only recognised it. At the moment, he seemed intent on keeping his head down and hoping Emma would go away.

A ploy that didn’t seem to be working.

‘Aren’t you going to eat?’ Shaun’s voice cut through her thoughts.

‘Course.’ She reached for a croissant and spread it thinly with strawberry jam. It felt like cardboard in her mouth as she chewed.

‘I’ll try and speak to Emma about the swimming party today,’ Shaun said. ‘I need to talk to her about the house, too.’

Joanne breathed a sigh of relief. She’d fully expected him to procrastinate about raising the prickly subject.

The last thing she wanted was to be saddled with Maisie full-time, but at least she’d be able to exert some proper control over the girl if she came to live with them. She felt confident she’d soon lick her into shape, if she could only get her away from Emma’s grasp.

She could see the four of them in a nice big house in its own grounds in a picturesque village setting, somewhere like Colston Bassett which was over twenty miles away from her current apartment in Linby. A beautiful rural setting where she could get some wear out of her Hunter wellies and Barbour jacket, but only twenty minutes from the city centre where she felt at home in her sharp suits and Gucci flats. Perfect.

She’d a little work to do on Shaun, to convince him that Maisie would be better off at the same school as Piper, but she was good at convincing people to follow her advice. It was one of her most effective skills.

Luckily, Shaun wasn’t a man who felt intimidated by his partner being the main breadwinner. Conveniently, it also meant that Joanne naturally had a bigger say in any decisions that involved money.

Maybe this time, she could make it work. Bury her own insecurities and embrace the idea of a blended family. The real fly in the ointment was Emma.

Emma might be intent on causing trouble for them at every turn, but it was all just playground stuff. None of it really bothered her, because Emma had no reach.

Her life was all work and pandering to her oversensitive daughter.

Perhaps Maisie would be better off living with them. They could be a proper family then.