Redemption: A British Stepbrother Romance by Jessica Ashe Page B

“These things happen. If I’d got to them earlier I wouldn’t have even booked them. No need to ruin your evening.”
    “Thank you, but it was about time we stopped drinking anyway. There’s only so much of that beer I can handle.”
    Hodgson laughed. “Did he make you drink English bitters? They can take some getting used to.”
    “No, I had lager tops in the end.”
    “Ah, lager and Sprite. Now there’s a refreshing drink. That’s just what I like after a long day.”
    I sensed Hodgson was about to leave, but I wanted to find out what the deal was with the officer who threatened Oliver. “What was all that about with the other detective?” I asked. “The one who spoke to Oliver.”
    Hodgson laughed. “Oh, don’t worry about Winston. That guy has had it in for Oliver for years. He’s one of your lot actually.”
    “American?”
    “Yeah. Moved here when he was young though, so he doesn’t have much of an accent. He’s convinced Oliver had something to do with an illegal betting syndicate and is trying to bring him down. I can assure you, that’s complete nonsense. Oliver’s as straight as they come. Anyway, I had better be going. You have a nice evening, Ma’am.”
    “Thank you again, officer.” Hodgson passed me her card and told me to call if there were any issues with Maisie and then walked off.
    I turned to smile at Shaun, but didn’t know what to say to him. We hadn’t spoken a lot and he was a shy kid, the complete opposite to Maisie.
    “It’s not true,” Shaun said. “What Superintendent Winston thinks about Oliver.”
    “I know,” I said. “Oliver would never do anything like that.”
    “My dad did,” Shaun said. “And Oliver was his friend. That’s why the cop thinks Oliver was involved, but he’s not.”
    Shaun sat down on a bench and remained silent. I looked into Hodgson’s office and saw Oliver leaning forward and talking casually to Maisie. He said something that made her smile, and then something else that made her laugh.
    I smiled too, even though I had no idea what they were laughing at. How could Oliver have changed so much? Shaun probably had a lot to do with it. Adopting your dead friend’s child certainly would force you to grow up.
    Maisie had a similar effect on me. I wasn’t her mother, but she looked up to me and I earned most of the money that supported us. It had made me serious and a touch grumpy, whereas Oliver had taken it all in stride. It probably helped that he earned millions a year playing sports, mind you.
    They stood up and I moved away from the door so they wouldn’t know I’d been watching them. Oliver had his arm around her, and there were signs of tears on Maisie’s face, although whether that was from laughter or sadness I didn’t know.
    “Sorry, Michelle,” Maisie said. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”
    “Don’t let it happen again,” I said, sounding more Mom like than ever.
    Maisie came up and threw her arms around me for a hug. Damn, it was hard to stay mad at her.
    Hodgson quickly processed Maisie’s paperwork and it looked like she was in the clear.
    “You going to be at the game on Saturday?” Oliver asked Hodgson.
    “Nah, going to have to miss that one. This place doesn’t run itself.”
    “Well next time you’re free, give me a shout. I’ll sort you out with some good seats. Don’t tell Winston though. He’ll do me for trying to bribe a police officer.”
    Hodgson gave a hearty laugh. “Depends on how good the seats are. I hope you two are going to the game?” she asked Maisie and me. “Rugby’s a real sport, not like that silly one you play with all the body armor. I tried to watch a Super Bowl once, but gave up after ten minutes. It just looks like an excuse to play adverts.”
    “That about sums it up,” I admitted. I didn’t actually hate football, but I didn’t have a lot of love for it either. It seemed easier just to agree with her for the time being.
    “Anyway, I’d better get back to work.