‘I do,’ Molly said. The thought of running along a canal in the country rather than the footpaths of London was very appealing. ‘It sounds amazing, thank you.’

All she had to do now was convince Jack it was a good idea. How hard could that be?

4

‘A weekend with Amelia. Absolutely, no way!’ Jack said next morning, when Molly told him what she’d committed them to.

Maybe, he’d have been more amenable if she’d waited until he’d recovered from his hangover. She rested a hand on his arm. ‘It would be a nice break. The hotel is on a canal, we could go for long walks, enjoy the peace and quiet.’

His eyebrows rose. ‘The peace and quiet? With Amelia rabbiting on and Tristan expounding his views on share prices?’

Jack had never quite come to terms with the fact that Tristan had made some clever and very lucrative choices, allowing him to retire in what they considered comfort, and most people including Jack considered extreme luxury. Molly lifted the cafetière and filled his mug. ‘I wouldn’t mind a break for a few days. It’s been a manic six months, between the kids, work and having to deal with everything at home since Rebecca left.’

‘I suppose that’s my fault,’ he said, his lips thinning in annoyance. ‘If you remember, you agreed we didn’t need her.’

Yes, stupidly, she had. Not one of her better ideas. Nor was letting Terry go. She should just have given her a warning, after all she had been correct, Molly had never told her she couldn’t smoke in the house. The agency she’d contacted promised they’d try to find a replacement. They’d also promised to send someone around to help with the clean-up operation that day. She checked her watch; if they’d not arrived by now, she guessed she was on her own. ‘I really would like to go,’ she said. ‘I think it would do us good to get some fresh air. We can go for a run along the canal.’

Jack ran fingers through his hair and groaned. ‘I drank way too much last night.’ He reached for the coffee and topped up his cup. ‘I don’t want to, Mol. Why not go alone? You and Amelia can sit and gossip while Tristan plays golf. And you can go for a run along the canal on your own, you know you prefer to, you complain that I slow you down.’

Molly screwed up her nose. ‘I can’t go without you, Jack.’

‘Why not?’

‘Why not?’ She glared at him. ‘Because it would look odd. Amelia would wonder if we were having problems.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he said bluntly. ‘You’ve gone on spa breaks without me before, why is this any different?’