‘So what are you doing? I thought I heard you say you weren’t going to Marcie’s.’
‘No, I’m not. They need to be on their own this year, just the four of them. I thought I’d go to the hospital on Christmas Day. There’s something very special about spending the day with the kids there.’
‘Why don’t you—?’
‘I’m really looking forward to it.’ Beth cut him short. She wasn’t going to risk having to say no to the offer of the one Christmas that she really wanted. ‘So what are you doing? Are you going to your parents’?’
Matt shook his head. ‘No, it’s all down to me this year. I got a bit sick of playing the wandering addition that got taken in somewhere and Jack and I decided to have Christmas in the new house. I’ve got my parents, my sister and her family all coming over on Christmas Day.’
‘That’ll be great for Jack. A proper family Christmas.’ Beth stopped herself. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean that. It can’t be. Not without his mother.’
‘Well, it’ll be different, anyway.’ Matt’s mouth twitched downwards for a second. ‘Mariska used to like to go out for lunch somewhere smart on Christmas Day, and so Jack’s used to spending the day on his best behaviour.’
That sounded a bit dull. Beth couldn’t think of a suitable reply.
‘Anyway, this year’s going to be about what we want. I’m going to try my hand at a full Christmas dinner and just hope it’s not too much of a disaster.’ His tone was almost defiant.
‘They’ll love it. Anyway, I can’t imagine your mum would let you burn the turkey.’
Matt grinned. ‘No. Or my sister.
I was thinking of barricading the kitchen door, but my sister will just climb in through the window and start stirring something.’ He grinned. ‘When she and Mum get together they’re quite a force to be reckoned with. Both think they know what’s best.’
‘Which would make you the odd man out in your family?’
He chuckled, laughter lines replacing the stress that had appeared in his face. That smile was like a strong drug, and Beth was way past the point of just saying no. ‘Actually, I am. I’m the one who listens to reason and always does as he’s told.’
‘Right.’ Beth focused her eyes on the window to make her point. ‘Those pigs flying around up there are looking very festive with tinsel around their trotters.’
Matt laughed out loud, throwing his arm across the back of the sofa in her direction. ‘Okay, you win.’ He didn’t move his hand, but his finger strayed just enough to brush her arm. ‘If I disagree then you’ve just proved your point anyway. So I’ll just have to be man enough to know when I’m beaten.’
This was past endurance. If the strong, capable Matt wasn’t tantalising enough, his surrender was beyond any imagining. She saw a glimpse of those delights deep in his blue eyes, and almost choked on a rush of sudden need for him. Beth pulled away, knowing that she could no longer breathe with him this close, and picked up the tray from the floor, stacking the plates on it to carry them through to the kitchen.
Matt followed her. Without asking, he picked up a tea towel and waited for her to fill the sink. ‘So tell me. Which of the Travers family Christmas games are your favourites? I can do with a bit of a steer for what to do after lunch on Christmas Day.’
‘All of them.’ Beth turned the taps off, swirling her hand around in the hot water to froth up the detergent. ‘Dad loves charades and he always cheats by signing behind Mum’s parents’ backs.’
‘Making use of an unfair advantage, eh? They never learned signing?’
‘A bit, when I was little. They’re not very good at it.’ She handed him a plate. ‘I like Monopoly. Adult Monopoly is great.’
The soapy plate slipped a couple of inches between his fingers before he managed to regain his grip on it. ‘Adult Monopoly?’ It was perfectly clear what he was thinking. His heavy-lidded eyes were practically undressing her right there, by the kitchen sink. Slowly.
Beth was sure that she was blushing, but that didn’t seem to deter him. At this point in time it wasn’t deterring her much either. ‘Adult Monopoly is where you don’t have to be nice and let the children win. You can be as much of a double-dealing shark of a property developer as you like.’
Light dawned and he nodded. ‘You want to show me how that’s done?’
Beth showed him how it was done all right. After they had stacked the plates away, she laid out her old, battered Monopoly board between them on the coffee table, and counted out the money. Whitechapel and Old Kent Road fell to Matt, and he began to build up a small empire of houses and hotels, but Beth managed to secure Mayfair from right under his nose. Matt spent an inordinately long time cooling his heels in jail, and then staged a late comeback, capturing both Leicester Square and Piccadilly in one circuit.
‘There! That’ll be four hundred and fifty pounds, please.’ He surveyed her diminished stack of money with satisfaction.
‘Of course.’ Beth reached behind her and drew out the money that she had been building up under the sofa cushions.
‘No! That’s cheating!’
‘No, it’s not. I just put a little away for a rainy day. Call it an offshore account for tax purposes.’ She counted the money out onto the board and pushed the dice towards him. Fleet Street and its houses and hotel lay between his counter and Go.
Matt shook the dice and she squealed with delight. ‘Aha! Gotcha! That’ll be…’ She calculated quickly in her head. ‘One thousand five hundred pounds. And no IOUs’