Monday morning, I was a bag of nerves. Jake left at five a.m. as the director needed some dawn shots. I'd not been able to sleep since. Each minute dragged by like an eternity. His lawyer, Harry, had driven all the way up from London. I was astounded at the lengths Jake was going to, and quite frankly, the strings he was able to pull.

"If he wants to play games of who you know, I think I'm a fair match," Jake said, grinning.

I had no doubt about that at all. He'd promised to call as soon as he'd spoken with Harry. When Harvey woke up shortly before eight a.m., I managed to occupy myself for forty minutes as I got him ready for school. He walked over to me as I packed his lunch and threw his arms around my waist.

"Love you, Mummy," he said.

I nearly burst into tears. He was such a sweet little lad.

Jake had left his Audi here, taking my BMW instead. With what was going to happen today, Adam wouldn't be looking for me in a sleek, black Audi. Harvey was absolutely ecstatic at being taken to school in such a cool car, and with Marco and Jonny's imposing presence too, he couldn't wait to show off to his friends.

The explanation I'd given him was that I'd fallen down the stairs and hurt myself. Jake had left his friends with me to make sure I was ok, and it didn't happen again. I hated lying to him, but he was far too young for the harsh truth.

We all knew, and expected, there would be a reaction from Adam today. As a result, I'd arranged to go riding with Charlie after I'd spoken with Jake. I didn't want to be anywhere near the house; I knew this would be his first pitstop.

After taking Harvey to school, keeping myself busy for the next hour was torture. I checked my phone every couple of minutes, making sure I hadn't missed any calls or texts. I kept double checking I had a signal, so Jake could get through when he needed to. What's taking so damn long? It had been hard enough to get to nine a.m., let alone ten.

My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't had breakfast. I was such a ball of nerves, I really didn't feel like eating. Seeing Marco and Jonny stood in the hallway, motionless and rigid, I suddenly felt sorry for them having to babysit their bosses' new woman. It couldn't be the highlight of their careers.

Curious, and also hating the stony silence, I decided to find out a little more about my pitbulls. "What did you do before Jake hired you, Johnny?"

His brow arched up in surprise before Marco gave him a brief nod to answer. "I was on the security detail for an Italian politician for three years. Before that I was guarding an American model for two years. I served in the US Marines for six years before that."

"Quite a varied life then. What prompted the switch from model to politician?"

He shifted from foot to foot. "She was shot and killed. It was my fault." He cleared his throat as he finished speaking.

My cheeks flushed at his awkward admission. I felt like such a fool. "Sorry, Johnny. I shouldn't have asked. I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

He looked down at the floor, his hands clenching together in front of him. "I appreciate your kind words, Miss Simmons, thank you. Unfortunately, it was my fault because I was involved with my client and let my guard down."

Flabbergasted wasn't the word. An awkward silence fell over the three of us. I became acutely aware of the quiet now upon us. Johnny was still looking at the floor, his shoulders tense as his dark eyes wandered off into his memories.

Needing out of there, I decided to get changed ready for going to Charlie's. I headed upstairs and pulled out the tatty jeans I used for riding. I propped my phone up on the windowsill, making sure it had the best signal possible.

I pulled off my current pair of jeans and grabbed my riding pair. As I slipped my legs in and pulled the faded denim up my thighs, it suddenly felt tight. I looked down, wondering if I'd gotten my foot stuck or not unfolded all of the leg.

"What the...?"

A deep frown creased my forehead. Both of my feet were out of the bottom of the legs. The skin-tight material just didn't seem to want to come any further up my body. I pulled the waist band together, thinking it was probably just a case of they'd shrunk in the wash. But the button wouldn't come nowhere near close enough to the hole to do up.

I shrieked, my hands flying to mouth. I couldn't fit in my clothes. Had I really put on that much weight in just a week?

Marco burst through my bedroom door, his gun pointed straight at me. I screamed in surprise. Realising my midriff downwards was exposed, I screeched in horror at him seeing me in such a state.

Doubling over, I grabbed the duvet off the bed and hid myself behind it. My entire face was reaching volcanic temperatures. How embarrassing.

"Sorry, Miss Simmons," Marco said, holding his hands up before putting his gun away. He glanced away and backed out. "I heard you scream, that's all." He closed the door behind him.

I stood there, stupefied for a few seconds before bursting into fits of giggles. Only something like that could happen to me. It didn't remove the awkwardness of the situation though. The thought of having to look him in the eye again was almost as shocking as being too big for my jeans.

My phone jumped to life, ringing with Jake's name flashing on the display. I hopped across the bundle of quilt on the floor, jeans still around my knees, and nearly chinned myself on the windowsill.

"Hey," I said.

"Good news, beautiful. Harry just emailed me the picture he took of Adam holding his copy of the injunction."

"He took a photo?"

"His assistant did as he handed the order over. Adam's face is quite something. I'll email you it. How are you doing? Feeling ok?"

"Well, I just got changed into my riding clothes," I said, a hot flush creeping through me again. "But my jeans wouldn't do up. I'm too fat for them."

"Good. That's a good thing. It means you're becoming content."

"But that's not the worst of it. I kind of had a little scream when I realised. Marco came through the door like a tornado and saw me with my jeans stuck around my knees and my underwear on show."

A husky laugh sounded down the phone. "Believe me, sweetheart, that wouldn't have bothered him. He worked for a female Russian model before me. He resigned because she kept throwing herself at him; naked. He takes business and pleasure boundaries very seriously."

I winced, wondering how he felt about Jonny's predicament. Trust me to put my foot in it. "How am I supposed to look at him again?" I said, laughing.

"Just be normal. Honestly, it's not like he's going to picture you in your underwear every time he sees you now. Maybe the first couple of times, but—"

"Jake!"

He laughed which eased my apprehension. I heard some people shouting in the background which I guessed would be the end of our phone call.

"I gotta go, sweetie, but honestly, don't make a big deal of it. He'll be fine. Have a good time with Charlie. I'll see you later."

I said my goodbyes and flopped onto the bed, staring down at my half-on half-off jeans. What was I supposed to do now? Peeling them off me, I put my previous pair back on and submitted to the fact that they were now my new pair of riding jeans. I glanced down at my boobs, if you could call them that, wondering why the heck the excess weight hadn't gone there instead.

Men, body issues, food. The three things any woman had problems with. I thought of Charlie whose perfect curvy body I'd always envied. Smiling to myself, I suddenly felt happy that I was putting on weight. Maybe I might just grow to like my body again.

***

Marco drove me over to Charlie's. The entire drive was silent. The fact Jonny held a funny smirk too did nothing for my embarrassment. Marco's green eyes were smiling with an inner joke and I guessed he was finding it strangely amusing also.

Still, I'd only known them a couple of days so being over familiar and joking about my half-dressed state was not something I was comfortable with doing.

We pulled up at Charlie's, right outside the barn doors. She popped her head out, frowning when she saw my BFG's.

"Nope," she said, walking out to greet me. "Neither has the charisma of Kevin Costner."

Laughing, I introduced her to them both. "Can you pick me back up around three, please?" I said to Marco. Jonny had already stalked inside the barn, scoping the place out.

"Miss Simmons, I have explicit instructions not to leave your side."

Me and Charlie swapped a look between us, struggling not to laugh. "We're going riding, Marco," I said, pointing to the vast empty landscape behind us. "Are you telling me you're going to get on a horse?"

He raised a sandy coloured eyebrow and twitched his lips. "With all due respect, Miss Simmons, equines are not my animal of choice."

"With all due respect, Michelin Man," Charlie said, placing a hand on her hip. "I don't have a horse big enough to carry you anyway."

The laughter bubbling beneath Marco's professional exterior was evident. The corners of his mouth turned up in amusement and his eyes were full of glee. He stared straight ahead, refusing to look at me or Charlie.

I wondered if this was how the Queen's Guards felt having to be solemn faced for their entire shift. "You can laugh, Marco. I won't tell anyone."

Before he could respond, Charlie's faithful German Shepherd, Tyson, came padding outside. "He'll be coming with us," Charlie said. Tyson plonked himself in between us both, a few inches in front of us. "Does that make you feel better?"

Marco cleared his throat. "Is he a trained guard dog, Miss...?"

"Charlie," she said, smirking. "To answer your question, no, he's not. But I dare you to touch me."

He glanced down at the huge dog sat between me and Charlie. Tyson stared back at him, unmoving. After a couple of seconds, Tyson stood up and took a step forwards, the beginnings of a growl forming in his throat.

Marco broke his eye contact with Tyson and looked at me. "I'm satisfied," he said. Jonny reappeared and gave Marco a single nod. "We'll compromise seeing as horse riding is a skill neither myself nor Jonny possess."

"Is there somewhere we can park to remain on site but not too far away?" Jonny asked, looking at Charlie.

Her cheeks flushed bright red before she nodded. "If you drive back around the front of the barn, there are some old stables and a brick outbuilding near the agricultural store. Is that ok?"

Both men nodded. "We will move there once you are mounted and off the premises," Jonny said.

Charlie shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you got two choices. You can stand out here doing your tough guy act or you can follow us around the barn and make yourselves useful at the same time."

I stifled a laugh and reached forwards to pat Tyson. Charlie's confidence never ceased to amaze me. Glancing back up, I giggled as I saw both Marco and Jonny looking down at their suits and then at each other.

"Western saddles weigh over two stone each. Might be nice to have a break from lifting one for once. If you ask nicely, I'll even let you take your jackets off."

They both allowed the smallest of smiles to break through their serious exterior. Charlie had a good time for the next twenty minutes as she had them both fetching and carrying saddles, bridles, boots, brushes, and riding hats. Jonny's dark features held a permanent amused look. It didn't go unnoticed that he did everything for Charlie and left Marco to fetch and carry for me.

After waving goodbye to the entertained duo, we finally strolled through the April sunshine with Doc and Roxy. We headed out across the grassy spring fields, basking in the midday heat. Tyson followed behind in a rhythmic jog, his dinner plate sized paws thudding against the earth. Mostly walking, it gave us the chance to have a long overdue catch up.

Normal chat consumed most of the thirty-minute ride to the bottom field of her land. As I expected, the Spanish Inquisition appeared regarding Jake.

"How do you feel about him having to kiss other women?" she asked, stretching her legs out of the stirrups. "Especially seeing as you two haven't done more than hold hands and kiss."

"I'd not thought about that, but thanks for pointing it out, Charls," I said, giggling. "I don't know. I guess it's a part of his job, and considering it's been like ten days, I really don't think it's something I can get in a bother about just yet."

"But what if he ends up falling for one of them? I mean they're all dressed up, looking gorgeous, flaunting around in sexy underwear, doing sex scenes and whatever else. It's not like it's never happened before—actors getting together on set."

"You really know how to make someone feel comfortable don't you?"

She laughed. "I'm just being realistic. I don't want to see you in a mess because he's been seduced by some fake boobed Barbie. Just want to make sure you've thought everything through properly."

"I'm not thinking long term. I'm just taking each day as it comes. That's about all I can deal with along with everything else."

"Good. Just don't lose sight of yourself again, Lou. I don't want to lose my best friend now I've got her back."

I smiled, fighting back my happy tears. "You won't. I'm back for good. Anyway, with regards to Jake and actresses in sexy underwear, he's shooting a period drama remember. I don't think baggy bloomers and layers of clothes count as sexy."

She giggled. "These A-listers have some weird fetishes. Hey, there's people out there who find clowns sexually appealing. Anything is possible."

"Seriously," I said, laughing. "How do you even know that? You really need help."

Flashing me a beaming grin, she said, "Would you have me any other way?"

I shook my head, still laughing. This right here was serene bliss, a piece of heaven on earth. I couldn't ask for anything more or be any happier without bursting. My life really had taken a turn for the better.

Having reached the boundaries of her land, we picked the pace up and had a steady canter around the forty-acre field we were currently in.

Tyson bounded through the grass alongside us, his ears pricked forwards and tail high in the air. His long, thick legs seemed to cover metres at a time as he kept pace with our canter. He was only three and had been a wedding present from John. With how much he travelled, John knew Charlie would appreciate the company and safety net Tyson would provide. The huge dog had grown to be extremely protective of Charlie and anyone in her company, particularly children.

Now he was more or less past his pup stage, they were looking at taking on another to join him. Having several dogs was always more formidable than just the one. It was something I'd been considering myself, especially as Adam hated dogs—German Shepherds in particular. After recent events, it was something I was going to seriously look into.

Slowing to a walk as we turned to head back towards the barn, I quizzed Charlie over her thoughts on a dog. The reason money was an issue for me was because I'd been looking into personal protection dogs. Something that would literally act on my command. But anything that well trained came at a price of three thousand pounds upwards. It was money I didn't have.

"Get a rescue," Charlie said. "Something that's already been through the pup stage and is house trained. If anything, you'll find more loyalty from a rescue than a purpose bred dog anyway. People say animals don't have emotions, but they damn well do. Any rescue animal will appreciate a good home more than a bred pup."

"But what if their issues are just too much? What if they're more of a piping hot mess than I am?"

She laughed and shook her head. "It's not like you're going to walk into a rescue, pick the one you think is prettiest and walk straight back out with it. They'll do home visits, reference checks, see how you all interact for a few occasions on their property first. It's worth looking into in my opinion. Save you a shed load of money but gives you what you want."

"Am I doing it for the wrong reasons though?"

"You mean to have something with teeth and the power of a bear to protect you? Hell, no. What's the main reason people have dogs these days? It's not to play fetch and tickle their bellies. You'll have pick of the bunch as well; big dogs are much harder to rehome."

I pondered over her points as she filled me in on how she trained Tyson, and the other breeds she was considering to join him. Half an hour later, we arrived back at the barn. Marco and Jonny appeared in the car. Without a single word, they got out and stood by, waiting to take everything back into the tack room for us. When the sweat patches on the horses glistened under the sun, I couldn't help but giggle at the thought of the pair of them now being covered in wet horse hair.

"Reckon we can get them to hold the horses while we hose them down?" I said, grinning.

Tying Doc up in one of the wash bays, she raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you trying to make me internally combust or something? Could you imagine them with wet shirts?"

Laughing at her, I tied Roxy up next to Doc. "Sweat scraper?" I said, realising we had nothing to scrape the excess water off with. It was always one of those things I forgot about until I had a dripping wet horse. I mentally congratulated myself on remembering it before we showered them both.

"Darn," she said, uncoiling the hose pipe. "In the grooming box in Roxy's stable."

I waltzed inside the barn, finding the cool shade a brief reprieve from the boiling sun. I opened her stable door, humming to myself in a happy daze. All my problems were nothing short of a million miles away. This was exactly why I loved horses.

Nearly tripping over the plastic grooming box, I was jolted from my daydream. Looking down, I frowned, pretty certain I hadn't left it in the middle of the doorway. I couldn't have, or I wouldn't have gotten Roxy out of her stable without her kicking it everywhere. Just as I put it down to Marco or Jonny tidying up, I saw it.

I screamed.

There, laid out on her bed of shavings, was atoy horse; its yellow head decapitated from its body and a pool of red paintseeping out of the jagged hole.