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‘And kidnap dogs.’ He winked at her.

‘I’m now willing to look beyond those imperfections.’

‘Will that open up more possibilities within the Canine Cupids Christmas Club?’ Rocco fished, wondering if there was anyone else Alison had her eye on.

‘Oh, I think I’ll retire my membership from that. Bruno did his job magnificently.’

‘But he didn’t like any other dogs, though.’

‘I know. He cut out the middleman, or middledog in this case, and picked you from the start.’

Rocco gave a little laugh as he remembered that first doggy meeting, when Bruno had stuck next to Rocco’s side the entire night. ‘I suppose he did.’

‘He probably wondered why it took us so long to realise what he was telling us. He literally led me to your house, then wouldn’t leave.’

‘Bruno is smart.’

‘He is.’ Alison played with the stem of her glass. ‘I do have one issue though. Something Will said.’

‘Oh?’ Rocco’s stomach dipped apprehensively.

‘Oat milk?’ She pulled a sceptical face. ‘Seriously?’

‘I like the taste,’ Rocco protested good-naturedly. ‘And it makes the coffee creamy.’ He pulled out the stool beside her and sat. ‘Okay. So we’re both a little flawed.’

‘I prefer to think of it as being on a learning curve. One where we can grow and mature.’

‘Let’s grow and mature together,’ Rocco said.

‘Whoa! Steady on! You talking about growing old together?’ Alison laughed again and Rocco noticed the cute way her nose wrinkled up.

‘Tell you what. I’ll save marriage proposals for the fifth date.’

‘Fifth date!’ Alison sucked in her breath through her teeth. ‘Previously uncharted territory.’

Rocco held up his glass. ‘To uncharted territory.’

‘Uncharted territory.’ Alison raised hers.

And Rocco had the gut feeling that this was the start of something pretty perfect.

CHAPTER 49

FRANKIE

Getting through the baby shower had proven incredibly difficult for Frankie. Handing Valentina her phone whilst smiling as if she didn’t know what incendiary messages were sitting there waiting to be opened had been torture.

By the time she left, Frankie’s face ached from smiling, pretending to be focused on the party games.

Now, lying on the sofa in her fluffy dressing gown, with the log burner glowing and the curtains drawn, Frankie wished she could stay in her barn and hibernate until the spring. Not exactly a reality, but she supposed she could hide for a little while as her dog walks had stopped for Christmas and she had no more Canine Cupids Christmas Club events planned until Hogmanay. Christmas Day itself would be difficult, but Frankie could cry off the family gathering, saying she’d come down with a cold and didn’t want to risk passing it on to anyone. She had enough food in to see her through days on end. And enough wine to drown her sorrows.

Her phone rang and she saw it was Jay. She had three missed calls from him already.

After a few seconds of dithering, she answered.

‘Hi,’ she said.

‘Hey, how are you?’