He swivelled to face her. “Tough day?” He kissed the tip of her nose.
She raised her head and smiled. “Better now I’m home with you. How was Georgina at bedtime?”
“She missed her mummy, but we got over that hurdle.”
“You’re so good with her. I wish I could be a better mother to her, that’s my biggest regret taking on this role.”
“Don’t think that way. You’re an exceptional copper, you deserve to be an inspector not a sergeant. It’ll take you some time to settle into your new role. How’s your new partner doing?”
“I think she’s going to be an asset to the team, the signs are good so far. Something smells nice, what are we having?”
“I thought you deserved a treat so splurged on a nice piece of fillet.”
“You shouldn’t have, but it’s most welcome. Have I got time to get changed and pop my head in on Georgie?”
“Go for it, I can delay things for ten minutes.”
“Great. Thanks, love.” She kissed him and, forgetting how tired she was moments earlier, sprinted up the stairs. Creeping into the nursery, lit by a carousel night light, she crept towards the small lilac princess bed. Her heart filled with a mixture of joy and disappointment. Will it ever get any easier? She knelt down beside the bed and swept back the stray hairs covering Georgie’s rosy-cheeked face. Her eyes fluttered open. Damn, I’ve woken her. “Go to sleep, baby.”
“Mummy, is that you?” Her eyes closed again.
Katy smiled. “It is, darling. See you tomorrow.” It was a struggle to leave Georgie’s bedside, and she would have willingly curled up in a ball on the floor and gone to sleep if her stomach wasn’t grumbling angrily. She jumped up and crept out of the room again and made her way into the bedroom. After having a quick wash, she changed into her leisure suit and returned to the kitchen to find AJ had a glass of red wine waiting for her.
“I thought you could do with one of these.”
“You’re a mind reader. Hey, you, what was that phone call about earlier? You have an idea you want to run past me.”
“No, it can wait, you’re exhausted.”
“I’ve always got time for you. Go on, hit me with it.”
“After dinner, okay? And no, that’s not me skirting around the issue. The dinner needs to be served up now or it’s going to be spoilt.”
“My tummy is agreeing with you, so you win this bout.”
A few minutes later, AJ placed a delicious meal in front of her which consisted of steak in a peppercorn sauce, grilled tomato, corn on the cob, mushrooms and chips. “Bloody hell, I’ll never be able to eat all this.”
“Do your best, what you can’t eat I’ll have to force myself to finish.”
“How come you never put on weight, even though you’re always chucking food down your neck?”
“Great genes, I suppose.” He grinned and savoured his first mouthful of steak. “Eat up, you have cupcakes for afters.”
Katy sniggered. “I can’t wait. This is scrummy. Thank you for taking care of me so well.”
He roared. “Idiot, you don’t have to thank me, we’re a partnership. You do all the hard graft, and I get to spend time with our adorable daughter, making cakes and having a blast every day. What’s not to love?”
“Don’t, I can feel my envy gene twitching. Come on, tell me what you were hinting at earlier.”
He placed his knife and fork down and picked up his glass of wine, delaying his response. Katy had a feeling what he was about to say was going to turn their world upside down.
“God, the trepidation is killing me,” she whispered.
“Okay, it’s nothing big, not really. What am I saying? It’s huge, that’s what it is…”
“AJ, will you spit it out? Oh my God, you’re not pregnant, are you?”
“I think that would be taking the role reversal situation a tad too far, don’t you?”
“Yes, possibly. I’d have a dozen kids if it was achievable, however.” She grinned and scooped up a forkful of buttered mushrooms.
“Right, well, I don’t know how to tell you this really.”
“Just say it. Oh God, joking aside, you’re not going to tell me you’re leaving me, are you?”
His mouth gaped open for a second. “Now you’re seriously being ridiculous. Do you not think I would’ve done that before we got married at the weekend?”
“Married people have more rights.” Her rebuttal came before she had a chance to engage her brain. The hurt expression told her she’d said too much. She covered his hand with hers. “I was joking.”
“Some things shouldn’t be said in jest. I can’t tell you how much I love our life.”
“I know, I feel the same way. Forget I said it. Now stop teasing me and tell me.”
“Okay. I was sitting here the other day, thinking about what I could do to bring in some extra cash while Georgie is at nursery. You know I’m not one for sitting around doing nothing all day.”
“All right, and what have you come up with?”
“A kids’ entertainment package.”
“A what?”
“Starting up a business to entertain the kids at parties.”
Katy thought over the idea and chewed on her bottom lip. “What would that entail exactly?”
“Hiring clowns, jugglers, people who make animals out of balloons, that sort of thing.”
“It sounds expensive to me. How much will it cost to set up, love?”
He waved a hand. “I need to work out the intricacies of it yet, but I’m sure I can make a go of it.”
“You know you’ll have my backing for whatever you decide to do in the future, but we haven’t really got the funds, not right now. Any form of business will involve setting-up costs. You’ll need to buy equipment for a start, how much will that be?”
“That’s just it, I won’t. I’ll hire the experts in. All I’ll be doing is acting as an intermediary, if you like.”
“Oh, I see.
