“I was going to say exactly the same thing myself,” Jackie said, pushing him away. “What are you doing back? I thought you were going to be up in Scotland until mid-January.”

“I know,” Dan replied, walking over to the sideboard and unhooking two mugs. “Do you want a cup of coffee?”

“No thanks.”

“How are the girls?”

“Fine. They both spent last night at Jessica Napier’s house.” She bit at the side of her mouth. “So why are you back?”

Dan spooned coffee into the mug. “My contract finished early,” he said, realizing that he had just told Lie No. 2. “So I thought that I would just come back and see if I could find myself a job.” He flicked his head over to where the letter lay on the table. “Things look promising, as well. I’ve been asked to meet some guy from Broughton’s.”

“But what about Christmas? The girls are meant to be joining you and Josh in Scotland.”

“I know. I’ve been thinking about that.” Dan poured water into the coffee cup, and then took a spoon from the drawer and gave it a stir. “I made a bit of money with Seascape. Not a huge amount, but I never spent anything, so I thought that I might check out the Internet for a cheap skiing holiday somewhere.”

“What about Josh?”

“Josh didn’t want to move out of Scotland. He’s totally settled up there. I left him with the dogs and the car, and he’s as happy as Larry.” He dropped the spoon into the sink. “But you can come skiing if you want.”

Jackie shook her head. “You know I can’t. Rebecca’s got this charity auction, and I have to be there.”

“Of course.” Dan took a sip of coffee. “So, tell me, what’s been the news with you? Are you taking a bit of a break at the minute?”

Jackie leaned her shoulder against the doorpost and fixed him with a steely glare. “Dan, I want to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“How long have you been having an affair?”

The mug jigged in Dan’s hand and boiling coffee spilled over his wrist. “What?” he exclaimed, transferring the mug to the other hand and flicking his wrist to cool down the scald.

“You heard me. How long have you been having an affair?”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

Jackie pushed herself away from the doorpost and pulled a chair out from the table and sat down. “Dan, I know that you’ve been having an affair. You’re not a very good liar, you know. You never were. Your face has gone beetroot, and so has your hand, thanks to that coffee.”