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  She thought her son was going to argue for a moment, but finally he handed Rory over to her just as Matt walked through the door.

  “Man, that weather was ridiculous!” Matt exclaimed, closing the door behind him. “The roads in the village are almost all flooded.”

  Yeah, Suzy thought. We know!

  She watched her husband shrug off his coat.

  “So, what did you guys get up to tonight?” Matt turned and grinned at her. “You look like you got caught in the rain.”

  She watched Charlie’s jaw drop and could see his cheeks grow pink.

  “Are you for real?” Charlie walked straight into his father’s personal space, and despite being six inches shorter, got right up in his father’s face. “You’d know exactly what we got up to tonight if you hadn’t pulled such a dick move and not bothered to show up.”

  The look of surprise on Matt’s face was a picture.

  “I…” He obviously had something to say, but Charlie wasn’t having any of it.

  “Save it!” Charlie stomped towards the stairs. “We’re all too cold and wet to care what excuses you’ve got this time.”

  Suzy continued to remove Rory’s clothing until he was down to his t-shirt and jeans, which were dry, thank goodness.

  She walked up to Matt and held Rory out.

  “Can you get one of his soft blankets out of the airing cupboard and wrap him in it to get him warmed up?” She started to unfasten her jacket. “Once you’ve got the blanket, give him a warm drink and a cuddle. I’m going to give Taylor a bath and then I’m going to take a shower.”

  Matt stared at her as though she was talking a different language, before finally taking Rory into his arms.

  “I’m not even sure what I walked into here.” He admitted. “Did I miss something?”

  Suzy paused on the first stair but didn’t turn around.

  “Yeah, you did.” She said quietly before carrying on walking.

  They were fast approaching the time when they were going to have to talk about whatever was going on, but right at that moment, she had kids to look after, and then she needed to try and avoid catching her death of pneumonia.

  A showdown with her husband was quite low on her list of priorities for tonight.

  Chapter 2 – Matt

  Matt looked down at his son’s pink cheeks and wondered what the hell he’d walked into.

  Rory grinned up at him, seemingly the only person in his family who appeared glad to see him.

  “D’you want some warm milk, little man?” He retrieved one of Rory’s blankets from the warm airing cupboard and wandered into the kitchen. “Did you get all wet, fella?”

  Rory didn’t seem in the least concerned that he’d gotten all wet, and he was more than happy to sit in his high-chair wrapped in his blanket while Matt heated some milk.

  Matt poured the milk into a bottle and carried his son into the den, collapsing into his favourite armchair as Rory cuddled into him.

  As his son started drinking, Matt let his head drop back onto the chair cushion and he breathed a sigh of relief at being home.

  He’d had one of those hellish days, starting with an early morning drive back up the M1 from London, to get back to his Birmingham office in time for a meeting with the football club directors.

  One of their most expensive players being on the receiving end of death threats was giving the club management palpitations, and Matt had spent several hours reassuring them that Alpha Company was going to provide the best security money could buy to ensure the teenage sensation was kept safe and well.

  A meeting with potential clients this afternoon had been stressful to say the least, not only because he hated the schmoozing part of his job.

  They were obviously aware that Alpha Company now handled the security for two Premiership football clubs in the Midlands, and they were as determined to get Matt to name-drop as Matt was to protect his clients’ identities.

  It was ridiculous that these people wanted Alpha Company to keep their own information completely confidential, but then expected him to break the confidence of other clients in order to win their favour.

  Matt had been in the business long enough to know how much or how little he could risk divulging. In the case of a potential client with a very big mouth, he was quite happy to give away nothing.

  When he’d finally gone over to the club tonight to meet with some of the players, he’d watched the youth team training from the luxury of one of the director’s boxes, while chatting to some of the new young signings.

  It was amazing how naïve some of these kids were about money and investments, especially when they were now earning six-figure salaries per week.

  He’d left them watching a power-point presentation that Hannah and Luke had put together on how to keep their money safe from sharks. It not only showed them basic stuff, like how to move their money away from their current accounts, where it was an easy target, but how to invest it sensibly in the short term, so that it earned a good rate of interest until they were ready to make a bigger investment, such as property or investment bonds and the like.

  Some of these youngsters barely understood the concept of banking beyond having a shiny card they could flash around to buy anything they wanted.

  Matt closed his eyes and sighed.

  It was no wonder so many of these highly paid sports people ended up bankrupt when their careers were over. None of them had the first clue how to manage their money.

  The gentle snoring sound in his right ear was the first indication that Rory had finished with his bottle.

  He glanced down at his sleeping son and smiled.

  Rory had almost drained the bottle, but he still wasn’t ready to let go of it, his teeth holding it just tight enough that the teat wouldn’t slip out of his mouth.

  Matt was so tempted just to close his eyes and fall asleep holding his son. Rory was warm and cuddly, and he loved having the little guy snuggle into his shoulder.

  Unfortunately, if he didn’t get his son down in his cot soon, he’d probably wake him trying, and they’d be up until three in the morning with Rory full of energy, like he’d had a power nap followed by a caffeine infusion.

  Matt eased the bottle from between Rory’s teeth, shushing him softly when he grumbled in his sleep.

  He stood up slowly so as not to jostle him, and climbed the stairs holding his son close and rubbing his back in a soothing circular motion.

  He’d just gotten to the upstairs landing when he heard a loud belch over his shoulder, and Rory’s stomach suddenly became much softer.

  Matt grinned to himself. Yeah, the kid was a Johnson, through and through.

  Mat walked into the nursery without turning the light on and carried Rory over to his cot.

  He pulled the bedding back and lay him down carefully, keeping one hand on his son’s belly while he reached around him for a fresh nappy, some wipes, and one of Rory’s sleep suits.

  He blessed his organised wife who kept everything you needed for bedtime within reaching distance of Rory’s cot.

  Matt might not have had as much experience of caring for their kids as Suzy did, but after three kids, he’d done plenty of nappy changes, feedings and bedtime lullabies to know how to get a kid to bed.

  Within two minutes, his son was snuggled under his bedding, the night-light glowing, and his mobile spinning quietly above his cot, sending shapes of planes and animals across the walls and the ceiling.

  Matt switched on the baby listener, and picked up the soiled nappy and dirty clothes, closing the door quietly behind him.

  He made his way downstairs, checking the rooms to see if Suzy had come back down.

  There was still no sign of her, so he guessed she was still showering.

  He disposed of the nappy and dirty baby clothes, and grabbed a bottle of wine from the refrigerator, along with a pair of wine glasses.

  Suzy had looked tired and thoroughly fed up when they’d come in. Maybe a glass of wine and a c
uddle in bed while watching some TV would cheer her up?

  He genuinely wished he had the energy to offer her more, but truth be told, he didn’t think he could get it up for a troupe of half-naked burlesque dancers at that moment.

  He was just too damn tired.

  Matt flicked the lights off downstairs and headed up to their bedroom.

  He set the wine and glasses down by the bed and switched on the baby-listener, before emptying his pockets and setting his phone on the charger.

  He was already stripped down to his boxer shorts and t-shirt when Suzy walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a big fluffy towel.

  She stopped short when she noticed him sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “I thought you’d be downstairs with Rory.” She murmured, reaching into a drawer for some panties, before retrieving her nightdress from underneath her pillow.

  “He finished his bottle and was fast asleep, so I put him down for the night.” Matt smiled. “He’s got a full tummy and a clean bum, so he should sleep for hours.”

  Suzy smiled tiredly.

  “It doesn’t take much to make a Johnson male happy.” She pointed out.

  Matt snorted a laugh.

  Well, it was half true at least. Although Charlie was a Johnson male, and he’d looked far from happy tonight.

  He noticed Suzy hastily pull up her underwear and yank on her nightie just as she loosened the towel and let it drop. She quickly picked up the damp towel and dropped it in the washing hamper.

  “I thought we’d have a nice glass of wine and watch some TV, snuggled up in bed.” Matt pointed to the bottle.

  “Don’t bother with any wine for me.” Suzy shrugged. “I’m so tired, I probably won’t stay awake long enough to drink it.”

  Matt looked at the bottle. It suddenly didn’t seem so appealing to open a whole bottle just for him to have one glass.

  “So, what do you want to watch?” He climbed into bed and grabbed the TV remote. “We still haven’t watched the latest series of Vikings. D’you fancy it?”

  Suzy pulled the duvet back and climbed under.

  “I don’t know if I can stay awake for a whole episode.” She plumped up her pillows. “If you’re not going to stay awake either, you’d better put the TV on timer to go off.”

  Matt found the first episode of Vikings and set the TV to go off after an hour.

  He flicked off the lamp and waited for Suzy to do the same on her side before lifting his arm up for her to snuggle into him.

  “Come here.” He pulled Suzy into his side, but as she snuggled closer, he could feel how cold and tense she was. “I thought you were having a shower to warm you up. You’re still freezing.”

  “I was too tired to stay in there long enough for it to do much good.” Suzy admitted. “I just wanted to crawl into bed.”

  He turned into her, and wrapped Suzy’s tiny body in his arms, rubbing his big hands across the skin of her back and arms.

  “Let me know when you’re warm enough.” He grinned, knowing that he was smothering her.

  “Matt.” Suzy growled at him. “Stop suffocating me. Just lying next to you will warm me up quickly enough.”

  As she pushed him away, Matt reluctantly let her go.

  “Why do I get the feeling everyone except Rory is pissed at me tonight?” He grumbled. “Taylor wouldn’t make eye-contact with me, Charlie was in my face over God knows what, and now you’re acting all stand-offish with me. Did I run over the cat on my way out yesterday, and nobody bothered to tell me?”

  He watched Suzy sit up and turn to face him, trying to figure out whether she was about to yell at him or not.

  “Do you know why we were all like drowned rats when we got in?” She asked, quietly.

  Matt shook his head.

  “You got caught in the storm?” He guessed.

  “Yeah, we got caught in the storm, walking home from the Rock and Fountain pub.” Suzy nodded. “And do you know why we were walking home from the Rock and Fountain?”

  Matt’s heart sank. He hated when Suzy told a story backwards like this, because he just knew that when she got to the punchline, it was gonna be a major kick in the nuts for him.

  “No. Why were you walking home?” He asked, obediently.

  “Because I didn’t have any cash on me to pay for a taxi, and the cash machine around the corner from the pub was out of service.” Suzy explained patiently. “And do you know why I didn’t have any cash on me?”

  Matt shook his head.

  “Why didn’t you have any cash on you?” Suzy always carried cash.

  “I didn’t have any cash because I had to use what I had to pay for our meal, because apparently, the pub’s card machine knew a storm was coming and stopped working.” Suzy explained.

  “Clever card machine.” Matt’s lips twitched. “But if you knew the weather was going to be bad, why didn’t you take your car?”

  Matt watched Suzy’s face harden for a second, as she turned to face him fully.

  “What’s the date today, Matt?” She asked, the question not fitting with the story she’d been telling him.

  “Umm, the sixteenth?” He guessed, trying to figure out if it was a trick question.

  “Exactly.” Suzy nodded. “And did you have anything in your calendar for tonight?”

  Matt leaned over to grab his phone and called up his calendar.

  “Not really.” He glanced at his appointment list. “If the gates at the football club hadn’t been hit by lightning, I’d have been home about two hours ago. I hung around with the players a while longer hoping they’d get the gates fixed so I could get my car out.”

  Suzy frowned at him.

  “Do you have anything at all in your calendar relating to the family this week?” She asked. “If not for today, then for the weekend, maybe? Something Claire arranged?”

  Matt flicked forward and backwards but couldn’t find anything family-related.

  “Nope, nothing.” He frowned. “So, what did I miss? Charlie’s school concert? I explained to him the other day that sometimes work shit has to come first. I thought he understood that.”

  He watched as Suzy’s eyes grew big and round, and Matt had a feeling he’d put his size twelve’s right in it.

  “I could probably accept you missing things if you had some big business meeting you couldn’t get out of.” She said reasonably. “But you’ve just admitted you had nothing in your calendar for today.”

  “I was delayed because of the gates.” Matt reminded her.

  “True, and of course, unfortunate.” She nodded. “But, to get back to why I didn’t have my car… I shouldn’t have needed my car tonight, because I was supposed to be able to have an alcoholic drink with my meal, since it wasn’t going to be me driving home. We took a taxi to the pub because I was supposed to be enjoying the evening with my family, and you were supposed to be driving us home.”

  “I was?” Matt frowned. “Whose idea was that?”

  He watched as Suzy’s eyes widened.

  “Yours, Matt.” She slipped out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown. “You made the plans yourself last Sunday. ‘Book a table’, you said. ‘Taylor and Rory can play in the ball-pit, we can all have a nice meal, you can unwind and have a few drinks, and I’ll chauffeur us home.’ Don’t you remember? It was only four bloody days ago.”

  Matt could vaguely remember saying something along those lines, but he’d been so damned busy since, surely, he could be forgiven for forgetting.

  “I kinda remember something.” He nodded. “Look, I’m sorry Suzy. I’ve just been so busy, my mind’s been all over the place. It’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, is it? If it was that important you could’ve rung me.”

  Suzy stared at him for a second, and he could see the bright pink spots high on her cheeks that were a tell-tale sign she was pissed at him and ready to explode.

  “I did ring you. I rang you about thirty times before Rory managed to throw my phone across the room
and smash it to pieces.” Suzy growled. “So, instead of our family meal, we had to eat without you. I then had to pay for the meal with the last of my cash, which meant that your kids and I had to walk three miles through a horrendous storm, arriving home freezing cold and soaked to the skin because I couldn’t afford a taxi, and because you, the designated driver, failed to show up. And you wonder why everyone except Rory is pissed at you?”

  Matt’s heart sank. He’d completely forgotten the meal. Still he could always make it up to them.

  “I’m sorry, Suze. Sometimes I don’t even know which way I’m facing, I get so busy.” He shrugged. “I know it’s no consolation, but how about we try again next week? I’ll make sure Lacey puts it in my calendar, so I can’t forget.”

  Suzy’s eyes filled with tears.

  “Don’t bother.” She murmured. “I wouldn’t want to put your PA to any trouble.”

  Matt scowled. Suzy seemed to have a bee in her bonnet about Lacey, and he couldn’t help noticing that there was a touch of the green-eyed monster coming out, every time Suzy mentioned his PA.

  “For God’s sake Suzy, not that again.” He growled. “If a family night was that important, why didn’t you check with me to make sure it was in my calendar? Or if you couldn’t reach me, why didn’t you check with Lacey? She has access to my calendar from her desk. Or do you just prefer to ignore her and pretend she doesn’t exist?”

  Suzy glared at him like she was ready to slap him.

  “I shouldn’t have to remind you about family nights.” She said icily, turning and walking to the door. She reached it and pulled it open before turning back to him. “And I seriously shouldn’t have to book an appointment with your PA for you to turn up to your son’s first birthday party.”

  Suzy glared at him long enough to see the truth kick him in the ass before turning away and closing the door behind her.

  He stared at the door for a moment longer as the realisation crashed down on him.

  He’d made the plans, so they could all celebrate Rory’s birthday together, and then he’d forgotten all about it.

  He’d FORGOTTEN his baby boy’s first birthday!

  Aww fuck!

  What kind of douchebag, lame-ass father did that make him? No wonder Charlie was so pissed at him.