She let out a long breath, felt that she owed him an explanation if they were going to put this behind them and get on with the meeting. ‘Oh, I had a row with Matt before work this morning and it’s thrown me. He’s completely focused on setting up his business and… well, my full-time month comes to an end in a couple of weeks but he says we can’t afford for me to stop and I need to be more supportive. I’m so worried about money, but then there’s the kids…’ She halted, embarrassed, her mind in knots. ‘I feel so torn.’ Her voice clogged with tears. ‘I don’t know what to do for the best.’

He took a cookie, then held out the plate to her. ‘Special recipe. Low sugar, high fibre, apparently.’ She watched him take a bite and nod appreciatively. ‘Not bad.’ He gave her a reassuring smile and she noticed, for the first time, that he had dimples.

‘Okay, well… I’ve been meaning to talk to you about hours. Other than Christmas, this is the busiest time of year for Dad’s business, so I really have to be there more over the summer months. I’ve already spoken to Fiona and said that I can only do a day a week for the foreseeable future, and she’s agreed to continue your full-time hours until September.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘I was going to talk to you about it when we’d gone through these papers, but you beat me to it. Does that help?’

Sara sighed, threw up her hands. ‘But the point is, I can’t do it. I’ve got the kids. I can’t do everything.’

‘Well, I don’t think you’re in a position to refuse, are you?’

She looked at him, startled. ‘What do you mean?’ Is he going to force me to do it? Can he do that?

‘If you’re the breadwinner at the moment, the show must go on, mustn’t it? It’s just how life works, unfortunately. If you and Matt have switched roles, then childcare is surely his concern, not yours.’ He finished his cookie, wiped crumbs from his lips with a tissue. ‘Looking at things in the round, if the two of you are a team, then I’d say, however much you don’t want to hear this, you need to work full-time.’ He held up his hands. ‘Your call, although Fiona was insistent that you wanted full-time hours, and if you decide that you will do the job over the summer… well, you’d be doing me a favour.’