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Jay rolled his eyes heavenward. ‘We can’t agree on anything.’ He gave a little chuckle. ‘We’re all so different, but luckily we completely bond over music.’

Jay had messaged Frankie a lot about his bandmates and she knew their personalities by now. Drummer Arlo Chen sounded very chilled and was the one who organised their gigs and sessions and frequently mediated between Si and Cole. Bassist Si Runcannan was the hothead party animal who was most often late for practice and Cole McIntosh, the keyboardist, percussionist, second guitarist and pretty much player of every other instrument under the sun was a quiet genius and quite the perfectionist, often getting everyone to play the songs twenty times in a row before he was happy, which rankled Si when he had a party to go to. Jay had also shared his thoughts with Frankie that Cole did this on purpose as he didn’t approve of Si prioritising a good time over his coursework and music.

Companiable silence settled between Frankie and Jay as they sipped their coffee, then Jay got up and went over to check on Bella just as the lights flickered.

‘It’s been like this all night, with the wind,’ Frankie said as Jay looked up at the ceiling light. ‘Forecast said there might be power cuts.’ Just as she said the words the lights flickered again then went out and stayed out.

Without the noise of the television, Frankie was suddenly aware of the wind and rain lashing against the back of the house.

‘Don’t worry, I’ve got candles.’ Taking the torch her mum had insisted she keep close by due to the storm warnings, Frankie went into the living room, returning a couple of minutes later with an armful of scented glass jar candles and a large bag of IKEA tea lights.

After a few moments the kitchen glowed, as well as smelling of cinnamon and cranberry.

‘This is a bit of a fire hazard now,’ Jay said, moving one of the tea lights further away from a poinsettia on the kitchen table.

‘At least we still get to keep an eye on Bella.’

The retriever had started to make little noises and Jay and Frankie went over to look at her in the pen.

‘Birth by candlelight.’ Jay turned and smiled at Frankie.

Their eyes locked and Frankie felt her tummy do that strange dippy thing again.

With the air hanging heavily between them, Frankie frantically thought of something funny or irreverent to say, but nothing came to mind. She doubted she’d be able to speak anyway as her mouth was dry and her chest ached with some weird longing sensation. She eventually broke her gaze and looked down at Bella. In the light of the candles she could see something shiny in the whelping box.

‘Look,’ Frankie said softly so as not to disturb the dog. ‘She’s already had one!’ Frankie could see Bella licking the tiny puppy.

‘Oh God. Okay. What do we do?’

Frankie rested a hand on Jay’s arm. ‘First off, we don’t panic. We leave her in the quiet and check on her. She should have one every half hour or so. We have to make sure she gets them out the membrane sac thingy and bites through the cord.’

‘What do we do if she doesn’t?’ Jay asked, wide-eyed.

‘We break it then rub the pup down with a towel and get rid of any of the gunk around its face so it can breathe okay.’

‘How can you be so calm?’ Jay asked.

‘Bella’s done it before, and was a great mum.’

‘And we just wait?’

‘Yup. We wait and watch.’

‘Are you going to keep any this time?’

‘Yes, two. A family dog and one that’s for me. Do you want one?’

Jay gave a soft laugh and looked down at Bella and the puppy who was wriggling under the licking of her mother. ‘I’d love a dog, but Mum’s always said no.’ He glanced up at the clock.

‘You don’t have to stay,’ Frankie said. ‘I’m sure you’ve got far better things to do than wait for another few puppies to appear.’

‘I want to stay.’ Jay walked over to the table and picked up a notepad and pen that were lying beside the fruit bowl. ‘I was just getting a time check so we know when to expect another one. Although, we might need snacks. Have you got anything to eat?’

Frankie laughed. ‘How long have you known us? Nonna handed in tons of goodies earlier. I have cannoli, Toto cookies, about half a dozen panettones and some Torrone. Or I could heat up some soup if you want something savoury?’

‘Torrone!’ Jay’s face lit up.

Frankie brought a heavy tin over and they both selected big chunks of the delicious nutty nougat and waited and watched for another puppy to be born by the flickering light of the candles.