Free It Had to Be You by Ellie Adams Page A

pool and I almost broke your arm when I fell on to you?’
    ‘It’s one of my favourite memories of us together,’ Lizzy said dutifully.
    ‘OK. I’ll transfer the money over in the next hour. But if it does turn out to be for something dodgy you better tell Mum and Dad that I had nothing to do with it.’

Chapter 11
    Lizzy walked down the long row of Victorian terraces and turned in at number 74. She rang the bell and heard it chime down the hallway. A few moments later the front door opened.
    ‘Lizzy!’ Karen Jones gave Lizzy a big hug. ‘Good timing, I’ve just put the kettle on.’
    Karen was Lizzy’s favourite client. The single mum from Barnet was the founder of Night Night Baby, a range of bedtime products for children.
    ‘Sorry about the mess,’ Karen apologized as she led Lizzy down the cramped hallway. There were toys and boxes everywhere. Since she couldn’t afford office overheads Karen was running her fledgling empire from her dining-room table.
    They went into the kitchen, where there were more piles of paperwork covering every surface. Karen pushed a disgruntled tabby cat off the counter. ‘Shoo, Trevor.’
    Lizzy sat down at the table while Karen put the kettle on and produced a plate of delicious chocolate brownies.
    ‘I’ve got wine if you fancy it?’ she asked. ‘There’s a bottle of white in the fridge.’
    ‘I’m fine on tea.’ Lizzy was still feeling slightly bilious from the Night of Carnage.
    Karen sank gratefully into the chair opposite. ‘When you work from home people always think you sit on your arse watching Jeremy Kyle all day.’ She laughed. ‘If only they knew!’
    The inspiration for Night Night Baby had come from Karen’s daughter, Molly, who had been a very bad sleeper when she was a baby. After ten straight nights of no sleep, Karen had been at her wits’ end. Remembering an article she’d read about natural soothing remedies, she’d gone down to her garden and picked a concoction of herbs and lavender, which she’d hung in a muslin pouch above Molly’s cot.
    Amazingly, it had worked, and Karen had realized she might be on to something. What had started as a sideline had soon grown and Karen had left her job as an administrator in an electrical firm and remortgaged her house to put money into the new business. She was risking everything to go into a hugely competitive market, but she had a dream and Lizzy believed in her.
    People like Karen Jones were the reason Lizzy did her job.
    Karen showed Lizzy the latest product, a gentle oil to put into bath water. ‘I’ve been trying it out on my friends’ babies and the results have been amazing,’ she said proudly.
    It was these personal, homespun elements that were integral to Night Night Baby. Karen Jones was the kind of woman you would trust with your child.
    Unfortunately, it was proving hard to convince other people of that. A national baby magazine had promised them coverage in an article about sleeping patterns, but in the end it had gone with better-known brands.
    ‘We’ve had some great reviews,’ Lizzy told her client. ‘We just have to keep persevering.’
    ‘It’s just a bit dispiriting when you put your heart and soul into it. Not to mention all your money.’
    There were dark circles under Karen’s eyes. ‘You look tired,’ Lizzy said gently. ‘Are you taking care of yourself?’
    ‘I get sleep when I can get it. That’s about my only luxury these days.’
    ‘Let me know if I can do anything.’ Lizzy reached over and took her client’s hand. ‘We’ll get there, Karen. You have to keep the faith.’
    Karen gave a nervous laugh. ‘I bloody hope so – I’ve got everything riding on it!’
    Things had got off to a promising start with the online dating. One guy in particular called
Foxy698
had been messaging Lizzy quite a bit. She’d always had a thing for men in baseball caps, and there was a picture of him on the deck of a boat wearing one and looking really fit.
    ‘He’s asked