‘No, it’s OK, honey, I’m really not that hungry.Must be the drive, I get car sick sometimes.’
‘Well, I’ve never noticed it,’ said Harry.‘You’ve always travelled well as far as I can remember.’
‘He’s just not feeling like eating tonight, are you, Alex?I get like that sometimes, especially when it’s cabbage,’ said George, frowning at his mother and earning himself a grateful glance from Alex, who sat down at Leo’s computer.
‘I’m going to check my emails now.We need to get together in the morning, Dad, with Leo, and talk business.Let’s do it over breakfast, shall we?I’ll start getting the French toast and bacon sandwiches going about half seven and we’ll have an early start,’ said Alex, clicking away busily.Harry looked alarmed.
‘Is something wrong, lad?Have you come down here to tell me the business is going down the pan?I don’t know, you turn your back for a minute…’ Alex laughed.
‘Stop panicking, Dad, it’s the opposite if anything.Josh has got some great plans for the future and everything’s fine at the moment.I was just looking to see if Josh had emailed me his list of ideas.’
‘What about Den?How’s he doing?Did he finish the job in Morpeth?’
Alex smiled at Leo.‘I think the Morpeth job’s about done, don’t you, mate?I’ll fill you in at half seven tomorrow, Dad.Be there or be square, eh?Bathrobes or tasteful silk dressing gowns optional.’
Everyone seemed exhausted by nine o’clock, and it didn’t take much persuading for George to set the wheels in motion and get everyone moving towards their various bedrooms.Nina and Harry had at last vacated Leo’s room and gone to Nina’s house, arm in arm.Mab watched them go, feeling slightly melancholy even though she was pleased to see them looking so contented.At least Leo could get his bed back now.
Mab could sense that Leo had tried everything he could think of to get her alone tonight but she had avoided all his careful manoeuvring, saying that she hadn’t been sleeping well and would be glad of an early night.Leo managed to give her a hug and a discreet peck on the cheek before she escaped and Mab leaned against him briefly, letting herself imagine just for a moment what it would be like if there was no baby.But even as that thought came into her mind, a sharp pang of guilt followed it.The baby hadn’t chosen to be conceived, had it?And whichever way you looked at the problem, it only had one real mother.
As Mab passed the window on her way to bed, she heard the sound of the outside door closing gently.Leo shot over to join her as she peered out, just in time to see Alex emerge from the shop and look up and down the street.Leo lifted his hand to rap on the glass but stopped as he saw a car pull up next to Alex.Mab couldn’t see the driver from this angle, but she noticed how eagerly Alex jumped into the passenger seat.How odd.Where was Alex going and, more to the point, who did he know in Clayton?
Mab eventually climbed into bed, sighing with relief.She heard the others saying loud ‘goodnights’ and making their way to their own beds.It all sounded very cosy, like an old episode ofThe Waltons.But not everyone was at home, were they?Mab wondered about Alex as she tried to drift off to sleep.Had he thought to take a key?Sighing, she pulled herself up into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes.What if Alex had left the door unlocked?With George around, especially after that spooky phone call, she didn’t want to leave her new family unprotected.Mab got out of bed reluctantly.In the living room, only one lamp had been left burning.Everywhere looked very cosy, thanks to Mab’s efforts with throws, cushions and rugs, but the sofa was untidy.It was a mass of blankets and pillows.She padded over to the key bowl – a giant brass affair placed on a small table near the stairs door – smiling as she remembered Leo’s difficulties in explaining to George why this should be called an occasional table.
‘So, what is it when it’s not a table?Is it sometimes, like, a chair, or a cupboard?’George had asked.George had a habit of taking things literally.Leo had been complaining earlier that the council’s closure of the shop had left him ‘up the creek without a paddle’, and George, when he finally grasped what a creek was, had been angry to find that they weren’t really going sailing.
Mab peered into the brass bowl, apparently one of Angelica’s many junk shop finds.Everything small that might otherwise get lost was now routinely being tossed in there, and she knew that the spare outside door key had been there earlier on its novelty cat key ring.Now it had gone.At least Alex had used his common sense, but where could he be?As she pondered this problem, Mab heard a discreet cough.She froze.Oh no, Leo.He must have given Alex his room now Harry had decamped to Nina’s.She turned slowly, aware of the flimsy nightshirt that only just covered her bottom.The pile of blankets moved and Leo’s tousled head appeared.
‘Are there no lengths you won’t go to, Ms Millington?’
‘What?’
‘If you wanted to be alone with me in my bedroom, you only had to say.’
Mab felt her face burning.‘Oh, Leo, I was just…’
‘Yes, yes, of course you were.’
He stood up, and Mab’s eyes were irresistibly drawn to his beautifully muscled body, slim but powerful-looking in nothing but soft grey boxers.She tugged down the hem of her nightshirt and two poppers pinged open at the front.Leo chuckled quietly and came over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders.
‘Oh, Mab, you’re so beautiful…’
He lifted Mab’s chin gently and kissed her on the nose.She was unbearably moved by his tenderness.Tears trickled down her face and she wrapped her arms around him, trying to hold back her sobs.
‘Mab… shhhh, you’ll wake the others.Just tell me quickly.What’s wrong?’
Leo guided Mab over to the sofa and sat her down, wrapping a blanket around her heaving shoulders.Gradually, soothed by his arms around her and the soothing noises he was making, Mab got control of herself and wiped her face with both hands.
‘I need a tissue,’ she gulped.
‘Hang on, don’t go away.I’ll get some kitchen roll.’He was back in seconds, snuggling down next to Mab and enfolding them both in the biggest, softest blanket.‘Right, you’re going to have to tell me what the problem is, pet.I can’t let you go off to bed knowing you’re so upset.Come on… spit it out.’
Mab wondered if it would be wrong just to pretend for a moment that she was free to lean into Leo’s arms; to run a hand down that marvellously taut stomach to where the faint black line of hair disappeared into his boxer shorts.He seemed to sense her mood, and pulled her closer, kissing her hair, her cheek and finally her lips.Mab shivered and kissed him back, feeling his tongue flicking gently into her open mouth.With one arm he held her tightly to him but she felt his warm fingers teasing her already sensitive nipples into tight buds, making her gasp with pleasure and pull him down on top of her.She gave an involuntary cry of pain as their bodies met, and he drew back, alarmed.
‘Mab, are you OK?’he whispered.‘I didn’t mean to… but you’re so…’
Mab was lost to reason, oblivious to the prospect of the others appearing from their rooms, she moved against him, their hips meeting in an explosion of sensations.Hot and heavy, they pushed against each other, as frantic as teenagers alone for the first time.
Leo’s hands were under Mab’s nightdress, stroking, teasing, and she moaned ecstatically, guiding his hand to where she knew it should be.Suddenly, they heard the grate of the key in the lock and the outer door of the flat banged shut, light footsteps coming up the stairs two at a time.
