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‘Why did Christy and Alessandro separate?’
Jake was silent for a moment. ‘They didn’t really. It was a classic case of miscommunication. I suppose they lost their way for a while. It happens all too easily. It’s why it’s so important to share things with your partner.’ He glanced towards her. ‘What do you think makes a relationship work?’
‘I don’t know many relationships that have worked so I’m not a good person to ask.’ She looked out of the window and recognised the road. ‘Oh—we’re very near to my old flat. Can we just stop for a second so that I can drop my spare set of keys with the landlord?’
‘Can’t we just post them?’
‘It will only take a minute—I’ll just pop them through his letter-box.’
Jake took the necessary detour and pulled up outside the unwelcoming block of flats. ‘Give me the keys—I’ll do it. I don’t want you anywhere near that place.’
‘We’ll go together. Look what happened last time you went on your own.’ Miranda undid her seat belt. ‘Someone needs to keep an eye on you. If he happens to be there, I don’t want him hitting you again.’
His eyes gleamed with humour. ‘What are you, my bodyguard?’
‘Absolutely. Pregnant bodyguards are all the rage, haven’t you heard?’
As it turned out, the landlord’s flat was in darkness and they posted the keys through the door without mishap. They were just returning to the car when Miranda stopped dead.
‘What was that?’
‘What was what?’ Jake gave a shiver and pulled his coat around him. ‘It’s freezing, Miranda. Get in the car, quickly.’
Miranda frowned and glanced around her. ‘I heard something—a weird sound. I’m not sure what it was.’
‘Probably the sound of my teeth chattering.’ Jake grabbed her arm and tried to guide her towards the car but she shrugged him off.
‘Wait. Listen…’ She strained her ears and thought she heard a faint mewing sound. ‘There. I heard it again.’
‘Me, too—a cat, definitely a cat.’
Unconvinced, she turned in the direction of the sound. ‘I don’t know. It didn’t sound much like a cat.’
‘Miranda, for goodness’ sake, it must be below freezing tonight and you’re—’
‘Wait there just for a minute.’ Without giving him time to argue, she hurried back towards the building and into the stairwell. Lying on the ground was a pile of abandoned plastic shopping bags. There was no sign of a cat.
Miranda glanced around her, searching for the animal that had made the noise, but there was nothing. No sound and no movement. Presuming that whatever creature had made the noise had now found refuge somewhere warm, she turned to walk back to Jake when she heard the sound again.
This time there was no mistaking the sound and she ran back towards the plastic bags with a cry of horror. ‘Oh, no! Jake—come quickly.’
‘Miranda, I’ve told you that we need to—’ He broke off as he saw what she was holding. ‘Oh, my God.’ His voice hoarse with disbelief, he dropped to his knees beside her. ‘Is she breathing?’
Choked with horror, Miranda cuddled the tiny baby against her. ‘Yes, but she’s blue with cold. Oh, Jake, someone’s just left her here.’
‘And quite recently, too, by the looks of it.’ Jake’s expression was grim as he glanced around them. ‘She can’t be more than a few minutes old.’
‘We need to look for the mother.’
‘We need to get that baby to hospital,’ Jake said immediately, standing up and punching a series of numbers into his mobile phone. ‘Put her inside your clothes, Miranda, next to your skin. Then go and sit in my car. I’ll turn the heater up.’
Her hands shaking, Miranda did as he instructed, tucking the tiny baby against her chest and then closing her cardigan and her coat around her. ‘She’s freezing, Jake.’
‘I’ve rung Special Care—they’ll have a cot ready if we take her straight there.’
Miranda glanced back over her shoulder towards the darkness of the stairwell. ‘But the mother—’
‘The baby has to be the priority. Once she’s safely in the hands of the paediatricians, we’ll worry about the mother.’ Jake slid the car into gear and drove quickly but carefully towards the hospital.
