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‘I read the name tag on it, d’uh! I’m guessing it’s Alison, the pharmacist? The one with Bruno, the cute boxer dog.’

‘Yeah.’ Rocco gave what he hoped was a noncommittal shrug.

‘I like her. I’ve seen a lot of her recently.’

Rocco looked at her suspiciously.

Valentina gave him a sweet smile. ‘I’ve gotten to know her while I’ve been collecting my folic acid and iron supplements. We even went for a coffee the other day.’

Rocco watched his sister, waiting for any more information, but none was forthcoming. They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence.

It was a relief when Frankie appeared at the back door, Storm and Gilbert by her side. She carried the silver ice bucket Rocco had lent her, along with a tub of leftover mince pies.

‘Great party last night, sis, thanks,’ Rocco said as he got up to make her a coffee.

‘Yup, cheers!’ Valentina joined in.

Frankie sat beside her sister, helping herself to a slice of toast.

‘Are you sure? You left without saying goodbye. And you,’ she turned to Valentina, ‘left in my Christmas tree costume. Why?’

‘I thought it would be funny.’ Valentina smiled. ‘And festive.’

‘And I was a bit tired. But I had a great time!’ Rocco forced a smile as the steam nozzle spluttered into life, before hissing noisily, making further conversation redundant.

Frankie waited until the machine had quietened before she continued. ‘I’m sorry it was awkward because you didn’t know the full guest list, Rocco. I should have been honest with you from the start.’

Rocco shrugged her apology off. ‘Did you have a nice time?’ her asked as he set Frankie’s coffee in front of her.

‘Yes. I think the Canine Cupids element went well. Fingers crossed.’

Rocco cleared his throat. ‘Did you speak much with Jay?’

Rocco was aware of Valentina staring at him. It was probably the first time he’d volunteered saying Jay’s name in twelve years.

‘A bit,’ Frankie said, two-bright red spots appearing on her cheeks. She took a sip of the hot coffee.

‘Do you think his bandmates will be here a while?’ Rocco needed to speak to Jay and it was going to be awkward enough; he didn’t need an audience.

‘They’ve actually all gone back to London.’

‘What? Why?’ Rocco felt genuinely gutted. He had to apologise to Jay. It wouldn’t feel the same if it was done over the phone.

‘They told the record company they want to split up the band and it seems a bit more complicated than they thought.’

‘Why split up?’ Valentina’s eyes widened. ‘Have they fallen out?’

Frankie shook her head. ‘Not at all. They all suffered burnout after the last tour and want to move on to other things. But they’ll need to find better lawyers to help sort their contracts.’

‘It’s a shame that’s not the kind of law Dad does,’ Valentina said.

‘Maybe he could recommend someone?’ Frankie suggested.

‘Hang on.’ Rocco turned to Frankie. ‘Remember Dad’s friend from university, the really successful one? Harry… Harvey, something like that.’

Frankie looked uncertain.

‘I do!’ Valentina said. ‘We all visited him in London once. He had an indoor swimming pool in his house.’