ICE9: Mind reader are you?

Jackdaw44: You seemed a bit nervy last night.

ICE9: a) It was freezing b) We were in the park opposite your house!

Jackdaw44: I like to take a risk.

ICE9: You’re not kidding.

Jackdaw44: Exciting though, wasn’t it? I know it turned you on, the risk that we might get caught.

ICE9: That wasn’t what turned me on.

Jackdaw44:

ICE9: I take back the comment about you not being immature!

Jackdaw44: I’m good though, aren’t I? In bed.

Jackdaw44: *coughs*

Jackdaw44: *coughs louder*

ICE9: Yes, you are. You cocky bastard.

Jackdaw44: Let’s go to Weston tomorrow. Get a hotel.

ICE9: I need to work and you need to go to school.

Jackdaw44: Skive!

ICE9: You live in a dream world.

Jackdaw44: And you need to have more fun.

Chapter 33

I keep expecting the phone to start up again on the drive back home but it sits silently on my lap the whole way. I should have known Stephen would eventually try and ring when he didn’t get a response to his text message. If he’s looking to kick everything off again I’m going to have to tell Mark what he said when I went into Wilkinson & Son.

I’m not surprised to see Jake’s van still parked in the street but I am surprised to see Mark’s car. If he comes home early it normally means one thing – he’s off to a conference or training day and he’s come back to shower, change and grab an overnight bag.

Sure enough, when I walk into the kitchen with Kira, Mark is sitting at the table, a mountain of paperwork piled up on one of the chairs beside him. He gets up when he sees me and pulls me into a tight hug before holding me at arm’s length and looking into my face. He looks so tender, so loving, so like the man I fell in love with that all the concerns I had about him and Edie Christian flit from my mind.

‘Good day?’ he asks.

‘Interesting.’ I lower my voice as Kira slips past us into the hallway. ‘I went to collect her from college so I could talk to her about Jake. Ian rang this morning. If Jake doesn’t go back to work soon he’s going to get someone else in.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake.’ He raises his eyes to the ceiling, then sighs. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not going to go off on one. I just wish …’

‘I know.’ I reach a hand to the side of his face. ‘We’ll get through this, just like we’ve got through everything else.’

His eyes soften. ‘You’re a good woman, Claire Wilkinson. You know that, don’t you?’

‘Where did that come from?’