‘Morning,’ Jade said brightly, as Melissa came into the kitchen.

Melissa blinked, surprised to see everyone up and at it. ‘Good morning,’ she said, turning her gaze to Poppy, who, amazingly undistracted by early morning TV, was seated at the table, happily munching away on cereal – made with oat milk, of course.

‘Morning, Mummy,’ Poppy said, equally brightly.

Bleary-eyed, Melissa wandered across to plant a kiss on the top of her head, peering into her bowl as she did. ‘I thought you didn’t like cornflakes,’ she said, noting the distinct absence of morning must-have Coco Pops.

‘I do now.’ Poppy shovelled in another spoonful. ‘Jade said it will make my hair grow like hers.’

Melissa followed her daughter’s wishful gaze to Jade’s luxuriant blonde locks. It would certainly be some achievement, given that Poppy took after her father with her dark colouring and chocolate-brown eyes, but Melissa was happy to play along if it meant the battle of breakfast was no more.

Smiling, Melissa accepted the glass of fresh orange juice Jade handed to her, and headed towards the back door, where daughter number two also appeared to be content.

‘She’s had her early morning feed,’ Jade said, as Melissa peered into the pushchair. ‘You were fast asleep, so I thought I’d bring her down. I wasn’t sure whether you liked her to have a bit of fresh air, but it’s such a beautiful day. I hope it’s okay?’

‘Perfect. Wonderful, in fact.’ Resisting the urge to plant a kiss on Evie’s perfect cupid lips, Melissa tucked her shawl up and moved quietly away. She wasn’t directly in the sun, but warm enough. Jade was right – it really was a gorgeous day.

Melissa looked her competent house guest over. Jade looked like a ray of sunshine, exuding vitality and health. She even made Melissa’s clothes look good – a pre-baby striped yellow T-shirt, which Melissa didn’t think suited her new, fuller breasted look, teamed with a pair of blue leggings.

‘What do you fancy for breakfast?’ Jade asked, heading to the toaster, where two hot slices popped on cue.

I’ll have whatever you’re having. Feeling the slightest bit wish-washy, and definitely mumsy, Melissa sighed inwardly. With her pale complexion and uninspiring ginger locks, which Mark kindly termed copper and which would be scarily frizzy at this time in the morning, she probably looked like one of the living dead by comparison. She couldn’t believe she’d slept so long. The hot chocolate Jade had kindly made her last night appeared to have done its job. Obviously, she’d needed the sleep, but she didn’t feel a lot better for it.

‘I’ll grab some cereal,’ she said, yawning widely – and receiving a reprimand from Poppy as she did for not placing her hand over her mouth.

‘Sorry.’ Melissa stifled another yawn. ‘I’m obviously more tired than I thought I was.’

‘I’m not surprised, trying to run your own business with two little ones to look after – you must be absolutely frazzled,’ Jade said, glancing at her sympathetically as she sailed by with a tray, on which was the toast, Melissa noticed, along with a tumbler of orange and a black coffee. ‘Why don’t you go and grab a shower? It might make you feel human.’

Now Melissa definitely felt like one of the living dead.

‘I’ll just pop this into Mark and then—’

‘Mark?’ Melissa gawked. ‘He’s here?’

Jade stopped, looking puzzled. ‘In the lounge. He came home to get changed. He went to get a nightcap and the next thing I knew, he’d fallen fast asleep on the sofa.’

Melissa glanced at her, confused. She felt as if she’d slept the clock around and woken up to find herself in another time zone. It was stupid – paranoid probably – but… Mark never went into the lounge for a nightcap in the middle of the night. He’d previously had a spell of drinking more than was good for him once. They both had, when life had been cruel. Since then, though, he’d have wine with his meal, but rarely a nightcap. If he was keeping the hours he was now, it meant he was working a case that needed him to be clearheaded. He would grab a cold drink from the kitchen and then come straight upstairs. If he couldn’t sleep, then he would walk – with the dog, if he could coax her out without waking Poppy.

‘He looked so exhausted I didn’t like to disturb him,’ Jade went on. ‘I didn’t like to think of him charging off again without eating anything either, so… Are you all right, Melissa? You look a bit pale.’

Melissa was now feeling very baffled. She’d taken a paracetamol last night. At least she’d thought she had. She hoped to God she hadn’t picked up the wrong packet. The sleeping tablets she’d been prescribed after losing Jacob were still in her bathroom cabinet. No, surely not. She’d checked the packet. Hadn’t she? But still, she felt definitely woozy.

‘What time did he come in?’ she asked, aware it must have been after the last feed she’d given Evie. The baby had woken unusually early, at around two thirty rather than three thirty, which is when she’d taken the paracetamol.

‘About five,’ Jade said, looking puzzled.

And she was up? Melissa was growing more confused by the second.

‘I heard someone downstairs.’ Jade answered the question she hadn’t asked. ‘I was worried about the children so I crept down.’

‘That was brave of you,’ Melissa said, in all sincerity. Jade wouldn’t have known it was Mark.

‘It could have been a bug monster!’ Poppy said, aghast.

‘In which case, I would have poked his beady bug eyes out,’ Jade assured her, looking fierce.

‘With a big sharp knife,’ Poppy said, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to look fierce too.

‘Probably not a good idea, Poppy,’ Melissa suggested, ‘unless you want to end up in prison. It’s not allowed.’

‘But what about if it was a burglar?’ Poppy asked, her eyes widened innocently.

‘Still not allowed. In any case, it wouldn’t be. Our house is very secure. Now, finish your breakfast, young lady. And then shoes on, please, or you’ll be late for school.’

‘Sorry,’ Jade said, as Poppy huffed and went back to her cereal. ‘I really should have thought that one through.’

Melissa looked up to the clock and wondered whether it would be acceptable to do the school run in her husband’s crumpled shirt and leggings. Then she caught sight of Jade, still standing with the tray, looking uncertain and somewhat dejected.

And Melissa felt like a cow. The girl had let her lie in, obviously done her best to take over the helm while she’d been sleeping, and what had she done? Come over all proprietorial, as if her space were being threatened, and promptly burst her bubble. Her friend Emily had had a babysitter for a while, while she and Adam were busy setting up their holiday chalet business, and she’d once admitted she’d felt her nose had been put out of joint, even confiding she’d been the tiniest bit jealous at first, when the babysitter appeared to look after her child better than she did.

Chastising herself, Melissa smiled. ‘It’s okay,’ she said, reaching to give Jade’s shoulders a squeeze and then relieving her of the tray. It was nice of her to think of Mark, but if anyone was going to take him breakfast, it was Melissa. Not that he could expect such service on a regular basis. ‘Poppy has a vivid imagination,’ she said. ‘She’s very good at storytelling. She must take after her mad, arty mother.’

Jade looked relieved, though her smile was a little less zingy than it had been.

‘I’ll take this in and see if I can rouse my husband from his slumber,’ Melissa said, supposing she’d have to get used to setting boundaries, but perhaps more subtly in future. ‘You could do me a huge favour, though, if you wouldn’t mind, and take Poppy to school. I’d hate to embarrass her in front of her friends.’

Jade’s smile widened at that. ‘You look fine,’ she said. ‘Great legs. But of course I wouldn’t mind taking her. Come on, Poppy. Shoes on, sweetie. You can’t possibly scrape that bowl any cleaner.’

Extending her hand, Jade waited for Poppy to scramble down and latch onto it.

‘Jade…’ Melissa stopped her, as they headed for the hall. ‘Thank you. You’ve done an amazing job. I really would have been lost without you this morning.’

‘No problem,’ Jade assured her. ‘Poppy and Evie have been as good as gold.’

Melissa hesitated. She hadn’t been considering a babysitter just yet, though it was something she had on her future to-do list. She wasn’t sure what kind of employment Jade might be looking for, but working here whilst overseeing the repairs to her own property might actually suit both of them, assuming she hadn’t already scared her off. ‘Jade, it’s just a thought, but if it’s a babysitting job you’re looking for, I could certainly use some help here.’

‘Really?’ Jade looked hopeful.

‘Really.’ Melissa looked around, indicating the general bedlam. ‘I was considering growing an extra pair of hands, but… I’d pay you the going rate, of course.’

‘That would be brilliant. Perfect, in fact. Yes, I’d love to.’ Jade beamed. And then she turned her smile on Mark, who had just appeared in the doorway, looking possibly more bleary-eyed than Melissa felt.

Smiling uncertainly back, Mark stepped aside to allow Jade to exit. ‘Ahem,’ he said, as Poppy skipped by without a word. ‘I thought you loved me bigger than the sky?’

Melissa heard Poppy’s audible intake of breath as she realised she’d ignored him, and watched with amusement as she abandoned Jade’s hand and charged towards her father. ‘I do!’ she declared. ‘Bigger than the whole moon!’

‘Glad to hear it.’ Only just managing to scoop her up as she threw herself at him, Mark laughed and smooched her neck, which had Poppy in wriggle mode in an instant.

‘Daddeee,’ she said, rubbing her cheek as she pulled back to inspect his face, ‘you need to shave.’

‘Yes, ma’am. Immediately, ma’am.’ Lowering her to the floor, Mark planted her back on her feet, and then saluted. ‘Bye, Poppet,’ he said. ‘Have a good day, and remember the Cain motto.’

‘Be wise, stay vigilant.’ Serious-faced, Poppy repeated the motto Mark drummed into her every morning. Translated: don’t go near strangers. ‘Wilco.’ She nodded, blew him a kiss, then turned to catch up with Jade as she opened the front door.

‘Whoops. Hang on a sec.’ Mel put down the tray and turned to fetch a spare front-door key from the hooks on the utility door. ‘In case I’m in the shower or out in the garage when you get back,’ she said, handing the key to Jade.

‘Brilliant.’ Jade smiled. ‘I might pop by the bank and order a new debit card, but I shouldn’t be too long. Bye, Mark. You stay vigilant out there, too.’

‘I will,’ Mark assured her. Smiling as he watched them go, he turned to Melissa. ‘I think our temporary house guest’s a hit.’

‘Um, actually, she might be more semi-permanent.’ Melissa quickly picked up the tray, hoping to distract him from the fact that she hadn’t discussed hiring Jade with him first.

‘Oh?’ Mark arched an eyebrow curiously. ‘How so?’

‘Well, I know we weren’t thinking of taking anyone on just yet, but…’ Melissa shrugged and smiled. ‘She’s our new babysitter. I hope you approve.’

Mark considered, and then nodded. ‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘If it means I get served breakfast on a regular basis.’

‘Don’t bank on it, Detective,’ said Melissa, pinching a slice of his toast.

---

With Evie settled back into her cot, Melissa finally stepped into the shower, allowing the hot water to cascade over her and wash her awake. She was soaping herself luxuriantly when Mark passed by the en suite door. And then stepped back for a better view.

‘You do know that could be deemed provocation, Mrs Cain?’ he said, leaning against the doorframe, an arm across his chest, one hand grazing his unshaven chin as he watched her thoughtfully through the shower door.

Melissa smiled. God, he looked delicious, sexily dishevelled. ‘And that, DI Cain, could be deemed voyeurism.’

‘Guilty.’ Mark smiled, stepping into the bathroom. ‘I, er, don’t suppose there’s room for two in there, is there?’

‘That depends on how good with the soap you are, DI Cain.’

‘Very,’ Mark assured her throatily, hastily stripping off his shirt and making short shrift of the rest of his clothes.

Melissa felt a thrill of anticipation as he stepped in behind her to demonstrate his skills. Burying his face in her neck, trailing his tongue over the already soapy wetness of her skin, Mark took his time, reaching around her to gently circle each sensitive nipple, touching her with slow, soft caresses and feather-light brushes with his thumbs, each touch so exquisitely pleasurable it was almost painful.

‘Okay?’ he checked with her, that alone almost bringing Melissa to sweet orgasm there and then, reminding her what a good lover he was, how caring of her needs. He hadn’t been particularly sure of himself when she’d first met him – not surprising, given how his confidence had been knocked out of him. His uncertainty, though, had been nothing but endearing in a man so good-looking. And he’d learned fast. There was nothing they wouldn’t do now, instinctively moving together as one. Nothing they hadn’t done.

A low moan escaped her as he slid one hand over the soft round of her tummy.

‘Have we got time for this?’ she gasped, as he moved lower.

‘Always,’ he said huskily, hitching her towards him. She ached for him; she needed him. She wanted to slide her hands over him, soap his broad shoulders, to trail them down over his chest, his taut stomach.

Feel his body up close to hers.

She caught her breath as he slid a finger carefully inside her, his thumb now expertly circling, building her to heights of ecstasy she wasn’t sure she could bear.

‘Beautiful,’ he breathed, with such intensity that, despite her baby blues self-doubt, she truly believed she was.

‘Now?’ he asked her.

Melissa could only moan her affirmation as he pulled her closer. With one hand propped against the wet tiles of the wall, his other supporting her, he eased himself inside her, pacing himself, checking with her, as if she were made of precious porcelain after all her body had been through. She loved him so much for that. And then he increased the rhythm, in tune with her, until he was plunging deep inside her.