Sian Foster was nearing the end of a long eight-hour shift. With every bleep of the scanner and every item that was passed along the checkout, she felt herself become more and more distant, until eventually the motion became hypnotic. She glanced at the screen that showed the bill total and recited the amount as though it had been programmed into her tiring brain.

‘Seventeen pounds forty-two, please.’

‘And I’m not even going to get a hello?’

She looked up from the screen. Gavin Jones had bagged up the items she had scanned and was waiting with a raised eyebrow. She hadn’t noticed him there; he could have been anyone.

‘Sorry,’ she said, giving him a half-smile. She pushed her short hair behind her ear and fought back the flush she could feel developing at the base of her throat. ‘Long day.’

‘You were miles away. Anywhere nice?’

‘Anywhere but here,’ Sian said, taking the twenty-pound note he offered her. She shoved it into the till and counted out his change.

‘What time are you finishing?’

She looked over at the clock on the far wall. Every hour that passed felt more like four. ‘Twenty minutes.’

‘Right,’ Gavin said, taking the carrier bag of shopping from the checkout and hooking the plastic handles over his wrist. ‘I’m taking you for a drink. No excuses,’ he added quickly, sensing her imminent refusal. He had asked her out a couple of times previously and each time she’d either turned him down or had a last-minute reason why she couldn’t make it. ‘I’ll wait over in the café for you, all right? Don’t stand me up in Asda … I’ll never live it down.’

As she began to scan the next customer’s shopping, Sian wondered why he was still pursuing her despite everything. Plain old Sian, nothing much to look at; nothing much going for her really. Hadn’t her ex-husband reminded her enough times that no one else would look twice at her? So why Gavin Jones – notoriously popular despite being a renowned troublemaker – would be interested in her was a mystery. There was only one way to find out, but it was something she had promised herself she wouldn’t do. Men like Gavin were bad news, and she had known bad news before, too many times. She was a magnet for it.

Twenty minutes later, Sian clocked out, collected her things from her locker in the staffroom and headed towards the main doors of the supermarket. Rain lashed down against the windows of the store and she zipped her jacket up to the neck, preparing herself for the walk home.

‘You’ve broken my heart, Sian Foster,’ she heard a voice say behind her as she passed the flower stand, its buckets bursting with colour against the drab car park that lay beyond it.

She turned, feeling a burst of her very own shade of red flood her face. ‘You’re very persistent, aren’t you?’

‘Thanks.’

‘It’s borderline stalking.’

‘Do you mind, though?’

‘If I did, would you stop?’

Gavin hurried to keep up with her as she left the building. She was keen to keep the exchange from the prying eyes and ears of anyone she worked with. It was a cliché, but it was true that round their way everyone seemed to know everyone else’s business, and if they didn’t, they made a point of finding someone who did. She had been the source of enough gossip over the years; she didn’t want to create any more.

Rain hammered down in noisy thuds on car roofs, turning the concrete ground to a shimmering sheet. Sian pulled her hood up over her head and held it in place in an attempt to keep the rain from her face.

‘So you don’t mind then,’ Gavin said, taking her arm and turning her to face him. ‘Sorry,’ he said, when he saw the look she gave him. He pulled his hand away quickly. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have grabbed you. I was only messing.’

‘I know,’ Sian said, glancing back to the supermarket entrance to make sure no one had seen them.

‘I didn’t mean—’

‘It’s fine,’ she said quickly, cutting his explanation short. She grimaced as the rain lashed at her face, its icy bite pinching her skin. ‘Look … can we just get out of here, please.’

She accepted his offer of a lift, not wanting to attempt the ten-minute walk back to her house. Accepting the lift would mean taking him up on the drink he had mentioned earlier, but she couldn’t let him drop her home, not with Keeley there. Like so many other things, that was something that could wait. She would only feel the need to explain herself, not that there was really anything to explain.

And then there would be the inevitable conversation about Nathan.

Gavin pulled into the pub car park and cut the engine. The rain was already beginning to ease; from here, Sian thought, she could be home in less than five minutes. ‘Wait a minute,’ she said, putting a hand out as Gavin reached for the door. Her hand rested on his arm for a moment and she retracted it quickly. ‘Sorry … I just … I don’t know if this is right.’

She could feel his eyes on her, the weight of his stare making her feel uncomfortable. She had wondered on several occasions why she liked him when she knew he was so obviously wrong for her, but it had always been the same. There hadn’t been many men in her life, but they had all been wrong. At the age of thirty-five, she still hadn’t learned.

‘I just don’t think Keeley and Tyler would be too happy about it, do you?’

Gavin shrugged. ‘What’s the problem?’

‘They’ve been seeing each other a while now. I’m not sure they’re going to be too happy about their parents … you know …’

‘Their parents what?’ Gavin asked, turning in the driver’s seat. ‘This doesn’t have to be a big deal, Sian. It’s up to you. I know you’ve said before about things with your ex and everything, and I get all that. I’m not looking for anything heavy either. And the kids … they’re thirteen, for God’s sake. They’re just kids – it won’t last. You can’t let your daughter rule your life.’

‘She doesn’t,’ Sian snapped defensively.

‘Whoa,’ Gavin said, raising both hands in mock surrender. ‘Easy. I was just saying, that’s all.’ He shifted towards her and ran his hands along the length of her arms, stopping at her shoulders. ‘You know what your problem is, don’t you?’ he continued, squeezing gently. ‘You need to learn to relax.’

Sian closed her eyes as she felt his breath against her skin. It was a nice thought, in theory. She couldn’t really remember what relaxing felt like, it had been so long since she’d last allowed herself to do it. Keeping herself knotted was the only way she knew how to survive. Her whole body was a coiled spring, taut and tightly wound, waiting for life’s next problem to ricochet off her: work, Keeley, Nathan, Christian. Her ex-husband was recently released from prison and it would only be a matter of time before their paths crossed. He wouldn’t do the decent thing by moving somewhere else. Being decent was something that had never occurred to Christian.

When Gavin kissed her, Sian kissed him back. The kiss felt nice, though she knew what she was doing was wrong. Gavin Jones had a reputation – the kind that preceded the man himself – but just for that moment it was cast to one side. The moment was short-lived.

‘I can’t do this,’ she said, pushing him away.

Gavin nodded and sat back. ‘So you keep saying.’

‘I need to get home,’ she said, opening the car door. ‘Sorry.’

She slammed the door behind her and Gavin watched as she hurried across the car park and back to the main road. Sian Foster was a challenge, he thought, but it was nothing that deterred him. He liked a challenge.