It took Jamie a while to settle back into a routine after the events of the past few weeks. As much as she loved writing, it wasn’t easy spending so much time alone. She was grateful for the bakery, for having a day job that forced her to leave the house and see people.

Part of her feeling of flatness had to do with disappointment. She’d been convinced that the offer to publish from Magnum Books was just the tip of an iceberg. More attractive offers were supposed to come pouring in afterwards. Surely she was owed some kind of reward for her strong-mindedness in turning down the Magnum offer?

But there’d been nothing. A howling silence had descended on her inbox. Her secret fear was coming true. The Magnum deal was the best and only offer she’d ever have.

Yes, her blog posts about the rats and pigeons had attracted a lot of readers, but as the days slipped into weeks and nothing more happened, those readers went away. Even Jamie had stopped worrying about what her stalker might do next. She no longer approached her front gate with trepidation when she got back from work.

A security company had duly arrived and installed an electrified fence all the way around her house and garden. At first it had felt like living in a prison. The fence was the first thing Jamie noticed when she looked outside. But soon she stopped seeing it at all.

Someone else who had dropped out of sight was Tom. Jamie had hardly laid eyes on him in weeks. On the day the electric fence was being installed, he’d shown up to express his approval. Jamie had started to ask him how he was, but the job foreman had claimed her attention. When she’d turned back to Tom, he had disappeared. And he’d stayed that way ever since.

In the absence of anything exciting going on in her own life, it was good to have Pumla’s drama to concentrate on.

“Today is D-day,” Pumla announced as Jamie arrived for her shift one morning.

“You said that last week.” Jamie tied her apron into place.

“No, but today really is. We’re going out to dinner – a small place close to where he stays so it’s easy to get back late at night.”

“Again, this sounds remarkably like last week.”

Pumla shrugged. “I don’t know what was wrong with him last week. I practically threw myself at him and he was all, ‘Let’s not rush into things. I really like you. Let’s take it one step at a time.’ Maybe he’s just not attracted to me.”

Jamie found this unlikely. Men were always attracted to Pumla. She was curvy, with a tiny waist and long legs. And she had huge, brown Bambi eyes set in a pretty, pixie face.

“Which one is this again?”

“Dumisani.”

“Oh, yes. My pick. Well, listen. Unless Dumisani is blind or gay, he is definitely attracted to you, so it’s just a matter of time. Maybe he’s a decent guy who respects you as a human being and wants to get to know you better before he jumps into bed with you.”

Pumla snorted. “Yeah, right. He’d probably had too much to drink and wasn’t sure he could perform. I should have chosen Chester the Supersperm.”

“Always pick the nice guy. That’s my motto in life. Nothing beats niceness in a guy.”

“Hmmm. We’ll see how nice he is once he’s had his way with me. That’ll be his cue never to call me again. In fact, I’m counting on it. I don’t want him interfering with how I raise the baby.”

“What if he wants to stick around and be involved? What if he decides he’s in love with you?”

Pumla smiled. “I’ll shake him off, don’t worry. Remember Kate Hudson in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?”

“Uh huh.”

“My role model. Dumisani will be thanking his lucky stars to be rid of me. But it won’t come to that. I’ll just be all needy and clingy after we’ve had sex, and watch him start calling me a taxi.”

“You are ruthless.” Jamie couldn’t help admiring her single-mindedness. “You are utterly lacking in ruth.”

“Damn right I am. Now, what do you think? Should I put the lamingtons in front of the Florentines or vice versa? This gloomy weather should draw them in like flies today. I want them to see something yummy the second they walk in the door.”

“Pile the lamingtons in front and then arrange the Florentines like wagon wheels behind them. I’ll bring the doughnuts through from the kitchen.”

They arranged pastries in silence, trying to get the optimum blend of style and temptation. Back in Jamie’s days in the hotel industry, they’d called this “food porn” – making food look so delicious that customers would reach for their wallets regardless of diets and good intentions.

The lunch crowd would be coming in at any moment, but Jamie couldn’t get her mind off Pumla’s baby mission.

“You realise you’re probably going to have to sleep with him more than once,” she said as they washed their hands and retied their aprons.

“No, why? What for?”

“To get pregnant. What are the chances of it happening on the first time?”

Pumla gave her flat tummy a rub. “It’ll happen, don’t worry. I got one of those ovulation tests from the chemist. I’m as fertile as a bunny rabbit this week.”

“Yes, but still. You shouldn’t be over-confident. You should prepare yourself for disappointment.”

“Why?”

The bald question annoyed Jamie. Pumla was always so sure of herself. Anything she wanted just fell into her lap. Infertility was something that happened to other people.

“Most couples try for months before they fall pregnant.”