“He wanted me to be fit and healthy.” I spoke automatically and caught myself. Why was I justifying what he’d done? “Anyway, I’m going running now and I’m not drinking. I’m fine.”
“Not drinking? You had a bottle of wine in your hand when I got here!”
I laughed. “Work was tough today.” I wanted to tell him about the women I was working with, but didn’t want to tell him I was fired from Sheridan’s. “I broke my own rule.”
“Do you have Find My Friends on your phone?” he asked suddenly.
“I’ve no idea.” I swear I never feel as old as I do when I’m talking to Josh. “What is it?”
“It’s an app that allows someone to check where you are. Or where your phone is. Same thing, really. It’s in case your phone goes missing.”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t put it on.”
“Can I check?”
I stared at him. “What for? What makes you think I have it?”
“It was just something Dad said. He knew where you were one day and I couldn’t figure out how he knew.”
My stomach dropped and I passed over my phone without another word. While he examined it, I took the pizza box and glasses into the kitchen. I stood for a moment with my head bent over the sink. Had Tom known all along where I was? Had he been tracking me? I thought of the photo that had been put through the door, now in pieces in my bin.
When I returned to the living room, I asked casually, “Did you tell your dad where I’m living now?”
“No, of course not. He sent a message the other night, asking me if I knew, but Mum said not to tell him. I just said I had no idea.”
“Thanks. Will you tell him you’ve seen me?”
Slowly he shook his head. “No. Not unless you say it’s okay.” He handed back my phone. “I can’t see anything there. Everything seems fine. I must have been imagining things.”
“Are you sure?” I don’t know why I didn’t feel more relieved. The idea was in my head now and I couldn’t shift it. “What about your own? Have you checked?”
He gave me a wry grin. “Are you kidding? I’ve never let it out of my sight.”
“Josh, do you remember your dad’s birthday party last year? You were there with Becky, remember?”
“Yeah. I remember. What about it?”
“Did you take any photos?”
He stared at me. “What?”
“Did you take any photos of the party?”
He laughed. “I seriously doubt it. Why would I?”
I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. I was trying to remember who was there, that’s all.”
“A bunch of old people.” He ducked as I reached out to grab him. “I’ll have a look if you like but I got rid of a lot of photos after Becky and I finished, and she’s the only one I would’ve taken a photo of that day.” He stood up and rubbed his eyes. I knew he still missed his ex-girlfriend. “I’d better go.” As he opened the front door he said, “Mind if I come round again sometime?”
“I hope you will.” I hugged him. “You know I love you. I think you’re great. Getting to know you was the best part of my marriage to Tom.”
“Same,” he said, then laughed. “You know what I mean.”
“I do.”
CHAPTER 43
Ruby
I awoke the next morning to a ping on my phone. Fiona had sent a message from Australia, simply saying:
Please send help.
My parents had been with her only a few days and planned to stay for months. It was winter over there so it wasn’t as though she could send them off to the beach all day. She worked from home so she’d struggle to get anything done while they were there. That was the problem with her living so far away; most of the time she was free of them, but every now and then