"Who are you and what do you want with us." Bella had asked Jake darkly.

Jake had laughed. Bella had not.

"I'm Jake," he'd said. "I'm a friend of Sophie's, and you are...?"

"Bella, and she's my sister, Izzy. She's only three, so she's very stupid, she'll talk to anyone." Bella had looked up at Sophie. "Are you her boyfriend?" she'd asked.

Jake had paused and glanced at Sophie, who'd grinned stupidly and shrugged. "Not yet," he had said with a slow smile. "But I'm working on it."

"Her sofa smells of curry," Bella had said helpfully. "And she plucks the hair from her top lip."

Jake had laughed, and Sophie had hoped the chill of the evening would keep her from blushing.

"Well, Bella," Jake had said, gallantly choosing to ignore the girl's revelations, "you look like you've got plenty of booty in those bags. Are you going to get a cab home?"

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Izzy had begun to wind up her protests.

"Okay," Jake had said, quickly picking up her bags. "Look, here's the bus now. Come on, guys!" He'd picked up three of Sophie's bags and swung Izzy onto the double-decker, helping Bella and then Sophie hop onboard.

As they'd found their seats, Sophie had stared at him. "You realize this isn't the right bus?" she'd asked him, not sure whether to be enchanted or irritated.

"Really?" Jake had said. "Well, we're off on a little detour then." And Sophie had discovered that she was rather pleased.

Izzy had been charm personified on the ride home. She had not thrown one tantrum between the bus stop and Sophie's front door, and had chatted happily to Jake about everything in her known universe.

As they'd collected themselves and their bags on the pavement, Sophie had smiled gratefully at Jake. "Thanks so much," she'd said, expecting him to catch the next cab back to civilization.

"Not a problem," had responded. "Now which number are you? I'm dying for a cuppa." And Sophie hadn't been able to help but laugh, because cuppa sounded so funny in an American accent.

Jake stood beside Sophie in the kitchen as she made tea and poured out two glasses of milk as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to be there.

"Am I being too much?" he asked her. "I'll go if you like."

Sophie considered the alternative. "No, please, stay," she said, and Jake fixed her with this long, blue-eyed look that made her feel certain he was just about ready to kiss her.

"One lump or two?" she asked him, holding up the sugar bowl as a shield.

Jake smiled and took a step back. "None," he said, wryly. "I'm abstaining. Apparently."

They carried the drinks back into the living room to find Izzy fast asleep more or less where she had fallen right in the middle of the floor, her arms flung above her head in abandon.

"Shhhh," Bella said, pointing down at her sister. "She's asleep."

Sophie smiled at the little girl, her mouth half-open, the half crescents of her long eyelashes sweeping the tops of her apple cheeks. She could definitely see why people liked their children when they were asleep. Even she felt rather fond of Izzy at that moment. She wasn't quite sure, however, how parents managed to love their children for all the time they were awake.

"Here let me," Jake said, and bending, he scooped Izzy into his arms. "Where now?" he whispered.

Sophie led him through to her bedroom and hastily smoothed the unmade duvet, motioning that he should lay Izzy on the bed. As he did so, Sophie drew the quilt up over her, leaving.

"No pajamas?" Jake asked her, trying not to smile.

"No," Sophie said quite seriously. "You see, I've discovered that if you wake her up after even a few minutes of sleep, she thinks that she's been asleep for a whole night and is ready for action again. It's best not to risk it."

The sight she saw when they came back into the living room made Sophie certain that the fragile peace was about to be shattered. Bella was sitting in Artemis's chair, and so was Artemis.

"Don't move a muscle," Sophie whispered to Jake, who stood behind her, his way into the room blocked by her outstretched arm. He looked at Bella sitting with the big gray cat and seemed puzzled. But he didn't know Artemis.

Bella sat with her feet tucked under her, hugging a cushion to her chest. The cat sat on the chair's wide arm, her front paws curled neatly under her chest, watching the interloper intently with a green-eyed stare. Sophie held her breath, certain that at any moment the animal would pounce on Bella with the special fury she reserved for anyone (mainly Sophie) who was in her chair when she wanted to sit in it.

"Don't make any sudden movements," Sophie said, keeping her voice low and even. "Just keep your hands in view and step away from the chair." Bella raised the palm of her left hand hesitantly as Sophie had instructed, but instead of getting off the chair, she reached out ever so slowly and stroked Artemis just behind the ears. Sophie closed her eyes and braced herself for the screaming. "Bloody hell," she whispered to Jake.

She opened her eyes again. And the strangest thing had happened. Instead of ripping Bella's eyes out, Artemis didn't move except to tip her head slightly to one side, clearly indicating exactly where she wanted to be scratched. Instinctively, Bella obliged, and after a beat, the room was filled with a loud, completely unexpected rattle.

Artemis was purring. Sophie had only heard the cat purr once before, and that had been with one of the helpers in the shelter, just before she brought her home. She'd been waiting three years for Artemis to purr for her.

"Bloody hell!" Sophie said again, but this time her voice was filled with awe.

"What is going on?" Jake asked her.

"Nothing!" Sophie exclaimed in wonder.

"Yep," Jake said, raising both his brows and crossing his arms. "That's what I thought."

Carefully Sophie eased into the room, sat down on the edge of the sofa, and watched the tableau of cat and girl, a tiny smile turning up the corners of her mouth. "She likes you," Sophie said.

"Cats do like me," Bella answered, still looking at Artemis. "We...Well, when we were at home, we had a giant cat called Tango because he was orange, but...but when we had to go and live with Grandma, he had to go into a home, because Grandma is allergic to cats, and now I don't know who he lives with." Bella turned her profile a little farther away from Sophie. "So I know that cats like me."

Sophie slipped off the edge of the sofa and knelt on the floor in front of the chair. "But Artemis doesn't even like me, Bella," she said without jealousy. "I'm just her landlady. For her to let you stroke her like that after only knowing you for a few days must mean that you are a very, very special person."

"Really?" Bella said, looking at Sophie.

"Really," Sophie said. And because she felt suddenly so grateful to Bella, and because she sensed that she needed her too, Sophie put one arm around the girl's shoulders and gave her a little hug.

"Thank you," she said. "For making Artemis feel safe and happy." She covered Bella's free hand with her own and squeezed it gently. Artemis shot out a paw and scratched the back of Sophie's hand in one fluid movement, giving her a most irritated look before hopping off the chair and running past Jake and into the hallway.

"Ouch," Sophie said, looking at the four red welts that had begun to rise on the back of her hand.

"Sorry," Bella said, looking worried. "I'm sure she didn't mean it."

Sophie laughed. "Oh, she meant it. But you know what? It doesn't matter. I'm just glad she's found a friend. She really needed one."

Bella and Sophie smiled at each other, and Sophie realized it was the first time they had truly connected since Bella had arrived in her life. It was as if she had caught a fleeting glance of the little girl who was in there somewhere, hiding behind the protective outer layer. Sophie felt a curious jump in her abdomen as she watched Bella retreat again; it had felt just for a moment as if she had been talking to Carrie. But Bella glanced at Jake, still standing in the door way and any trace of Carrie was gone in an instant.

"If Artemis liking me after just a bit means I'm a special person..." Bella began slowly.

"Yes?" Sophie said with a smile, hoping to coax that other Bella out again.

"Does that mean that her not liking you after three years means that you are a rubbish one?"

Sophie thought for a moment. "Probably," she conceded. She was getting used to Bella's blunt observations, and beside, she didn't have the energy to be offended by a six-year-old.

"Well, I love Artemis, Aunty Sophie, but I think she's wrong. I don't think you're rubbish. I think you're not bad, really. Actually, I like you-you are funny." Bella patted Sophie's knee in commiseration. "It's been an awfully long day. Can I go to bed?"

"Absolutely," Sophie said hastily, sounding possibly a bit too pleased.

"Should I brush my teeth?" Bella asked her.

"You'd better," Sophie replied. "At least once every other day is the recommended minimum."

"Is he going home now?" Bella nodded at Jake, who had come into the room and sat on the arm of the sofa.

"In a little bit," Sophie said.

"He'll probably want to kiss you. Bleugh," Bella said, wrinkling up her nose.

"I'll tell you what," Sophie said. "I'll come and brush my teeth with you."

Well, there was no harm in being prepared.

Half an hour later, Sophie offered Jake a glass of warm Baileys.

"Sorry," she said. "It's all I've got, unless you want another 'cuppa'?"

Jake smiled and took the glass from her hand, so that the tips of his fingers brushed hers. "No, I think I need something a little stronger."

Sophie took a bigger gulp of her Baileys than was probably ladylike.

"You know," she said reflectively. "I work sometimes from eight in the morning to ten at night-later than that if we've got an event on. I don't take a break or stop for lunch, I keep going, and at the end of the day I'm tired, but not this tired. I've never been this tired before in my life and..." She demonstrated her exhaustion quite eloquently by drifting off into silence.

Jake watched her for a second or two before putting his glass down, taking hers out of her hands, and setting it beside his. "You are doing amazingly well," he said.

Sophie looked rather longingly at her glass. "Thank you," she said.

"I mean, from the moment I met you, I got all the obvious things about you right away," he told her. "I got that you are beautiful and clever and formidable."

"Formidable?" Sophie repeated the word uncertainly.

"I like a challenge," Jake said with a grin. "What I'm trying to say, Sophie, is I like and admire you. I'm really attracted to you. But all this? Seeing you handle it all with such grace and goodwill..."

"Well..." Sophie wasn't sure about that last part.

"You've blown me away," Jake said. "I think I could really fall for you, Sophie Mills."

Sophie froze. "Oh," she said. And then, "Um, how nice."

"I'm going too fast, aren't I?" Jake asked her.

Sophie shook her head. "No, no-I mean-Look, Jake, it's just there's so much going on in my life right now. So much I've got to keep on top of. There's work and that's so important and the girls of course I've got to get their dad back otherwise they'll go into foster care and that would be wrong. I don't think that now is the right time to start anything..." Sophie was almost unable to believe what she was saying. For the last few weeks, whenever she had thought about Jake, she had imagined what it would be like to hear him saying these words or something very like them to her. Now that he was, she felt like leaping up and opening all the windows and washing the kitchen floor. Maybe Cal was right about her. Maybe she did have intimacy issues, whatever intimacy issues might be. Maybe she did like the idea of Jake falling for her much more than she liked the reality.

"I understand that," Jake said gently. "But can I ask you, Sophie-is it just that? If it's just that, I can wait until you're ready. But if you don't think you're attracted to me at all, then you'll tell me, won't you?" He laughed. "Usually I can tell what a woman is thinking just by looking at her. You're not at all like that. You're a genuine enigma. I can't figure you out at all."

Join the club, thought Sophie as she looked at Jake's lightly tanned face, his blue eyes and dark blond hair. He was indisputably attractive. If you looked up the word attractive in a dictionary, it would probably say in italics "See Jake Flynn."

"I am attracted to you," she said, and she was-it was impossible not to admire a man who was so pleasing.

Suddenly Jake leaned forward and picked up her hand, pulling her closer to him. "Well then," he said, his voice low. "Would you mind if I kissed you? Just so I've got something to dream about while I'm doing all this waiting."

"Okay then," she squeaked. Jakes arms moved around her waist and pulled her body tightly against his, and he moaned in the back of his throat as he kissed her. Sophie opened her lips under his and closed her eyes. It was a nice kiss, a nice warm kiss, and it did feel good to be that close to another human body. She tightened her arms around his neck, and he slid his hand under the hem of Lisa's shirt and- "Izzy's been sick." Bella's voice boomed in Sophie's ear. She and Jake sprang apart in one movement to opposite ends of the short sofa.

"Your cheeks have gone red," Bella said, screwing up her mouth as she looked at Sophie. "Anyway, Izzy's been sick in the bed. I tried to get her to do it the bin, but she couldn't wait. But at least she missed most of your shoes."

Sophie brushed the back of her hand unconsciously across her mouth and looked at Jake. "I'm sorry," she said.

But he just shrugged and smiled. "No, I'm sorry," he said. "I knew there was a reason why we were waiting." He laughed sweetly. "Come on. I'll help you clean up."

Later on, when bedclothes and pajamas had been changed, baths had been had, and an overwrought three-year-old had finally been cajoled back into bed, Sophie shut the door on Jake Flynn and sat on the sofa, looking at the blank screen of the TV again.

It had been a nice kiss, she concluded. And it had felt good to be in someone's arms again. Sophie had begun to wonder if that was as wonderful as kissing ever got when exhaustion finally overtook her, and she slept on the sofa sitting up, fully dressed and entirely unwashed.

Nine.

Maria Costello called Sophie again at 9:00 A.M. exactly on a Saturday morning two weeks later.

"I've nailed him," she said.

Sophie had to pause for a beat until her brain managed to tell her who was on the other end of the phone. In the last couple of weeks she had become so locked into her strange new life of juggling the children, work, and Jake that she had almost forgotten there was a possible end in sight. A time when she might just get her ordered, quiet, peaceful life back.

"Really?" Sophie stood up, feeling a rush of blood and adrenaline to her simultaneously overstretched and shrinking brain. She left the table, where she had been trying to update her month-end figures in the midst of a cat's tea party, and took the phone into the kitchen. "And have you found out exactly where he is?" She asked.

"Exactly," Maria said triumphantly. "I've got his phone numbers, his address. I'll give you his inside leg measurements if you want me to."

"The address will do," Sophie said, scrabbling about in her pen drawer, which always seemed to contain everything except pens. Finally she found one pen at the back and ripped off a piece of paper towel to write on.

"Go on," she said.

"Here's the number of the school he works at." Maria read out the phone number and address with brisk efficiency, spelling the Spanish words at staccato speed. "The bill's in the post, okay?" she concluded.

"Hang on," Sophie said hurriedly. "Did you say he works at a school? What kind of school? Can't you tell me a bit more about him? I mean, I had him down as an international drug baron."

Maria laughed, but she didn't sound amused. "More of a male Mother Teresa," she said. "He's been working as a volunteer for a street kids' charity for the last couple of years."