In the blood

Emma Cox, 31, Spalding, Lincolnshire

Anxiety churned in my tummy as I smiled at the young girl, Bethany, then 11, and boy, Tommy, 13, in front of me.

I’d known them for most of their lives. Had even been in the same class at school as their eldest sister.

But now, in May 2009, things were on a different footing.

Because I’d just started dating their dad, Thomas James Manning, then 40. Everyone called him Jimmy.

And I didn’t quite know how the kids would view me.

After all, I was the new woman in their dad’s life.

I was