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She went over to a stand and pulled down one with a hot pink fleecy cover and another that was a furry leopard print with a gold satin love heart in the middle.

‘I’m afraid these are all we have at the moment as we’ve had a bit of a run on them since the weather turned colder.’ She held them both up. ‘You can always take the cover off.’

‘That one, thanks,’ Rocco mumbled, pointing to the leopard print one.

‘Nice choice.’ She smiled and he noticed the cute way her freckly nose wrinkled. Normally Rocco would already be flirting with her as it was hardwired into him as a response to any attractive woman, but his encounter with Sienna had thrown him. Instead, Rocco sombrely listened to her advice.

‘You can use that in between the cold compresses to ease any stiffness or soreness. Try and keep your leg elevated. If it doesn’t improve or if it gets worse, call your GP.’

‘Okay, thank you.’ Rocco tried to muster a smile but his conversation with Jay was still going through his mind. He closed his eyes as if doing so would block it all out.

‘Woah! Are you okay? Do you feel faint? Do you need to sit down?’ the pharmacist said.

Rocco’s eyes flew open. ‘No, no, I’m fine,’ but she was already pulling a chair over for him to sit on.

‘Have you had enough water?

‘I… um…’

She went away and came back with a plastic cup of water, which Rocco gratefully drank down.

‘You did take water with you when you went for your run?’

‘I didn’t actually, no. I ordered a filter jug from Amazon and it should be here tomorrow.’

‘Sounds great. I’m sure your kidneys will be delighted to know you’ll be able to replenish fluids tomorrow. But until you get your fancy jug, you might want to try the plain old unfiltered stuff from the tap. It’s perfectly safe to drink in this country.’

Rocco felt very much like a small boy being chastised by his mother. In fact, his mother wouldn’t be so mean. He really wished he had called her and Dad earlier. He could have bypassed the chemists as he knew his parents had a well-stocked medicine cabinet covering most eventualities. And it wouldn’t have come with the side order of withering sarcasm the pharmacist was dispensing along with medical advice. In fact, Rocco really wished he could rewind the entire twenty-four hours and never go to the bloody Drumkeldy Arms hotel for a drink after his grandfather’s birthday.

‘Did you do warm-up stretches before your run?’

‘Yes.’ He hadn’t, but didn’t want her cool gaze of disapproval on anything else.

She rang everything up and he pressed his smartwatch against the card reader. Taking his bag of medical supplies, he limped toward the door, trying not to show how painful every step was. He just needed to make it round the corner, out of sight, and he’d call his dad to pick him up.

‘Excuse me?’ the pharmacist called out.

Rocco stopped and turned around.

‘You’ve forgotten your hair dye!’ she called, waving the box in the air.

CHAPTER 8

FRANKIE

The Canine Cupids Christmas Club turned out to be an incredibly popular venture.

Valentina had been correct that most would be available to drop their dogs off on the Saturday afternoon. Frankie’s dad had come up with a very brief disclaimer for all the owners to sign, which wouldn’t hold Frankie accountable for any non-starters in the dating game or have any long-term repercussions. Dogs dropped off, the owners left.

It was chaos.

Over twenty dogs of all breeds and sizes jumped, bounded, hid under bushes ready to pounce, dug holes, ran after balls, chased their tails, chased other tails.

All barked.

Frankie threw balls and played with the dogs while Valentina sat with a clipboard, ready to take notes of any blossoming friendships.

Nick filmed everything from a little distance away. He also took the occasional still photo of the dogs – and Frankie, much to her embarrassment.