To Have and to Hold by Jane Green

you.”
    “That’s why I love you.” Emily puts her arms around Alice and gives her a brief hug. “You always know exactly the right thing to say.”
    “Tea for three.” Harry comes back into the living room holding the tray, Dharma running around his heels, joined swiftly by Humphrey, the pair of them clearly sensing the rest of the Bourbon biscuits on the tray. “Dharma, down!” he says, as Dharma collapses to the floor. “Good girl!” He turns to Humphrey, who is currently weaving between his legs. “Humphrey, down!” Humphrey jumps up, placing his paws on Harry’s thigh. “Emily,” he says sternly, “I thought you said you’d been practicing.”
    “Ah yes.” Emily is embarrassed. “It looks like I still have some work to do.”
             
             A lice snuggles under the duvet, book in hand, and smiles to herself. She is having the nicest time she has had in ages, with nothing and no one else to worry about.
    Part of her is dreading Joe coming up tomorrow. Brianden is tiny, but the three of them—Emily, Harry, and Alice—fit perfectly. The house feels just the right size, and Alice is nervous that Joe’s arrival will cause the house to shrink, will give her the sense of claustrophobia that she feels so often these days.
    And she knows Joe won’t be comfortable. He’ll moan about the lack of a shower, the shared bathroom, the bed, the
everything.
She knows he’ll want to move, will try to convince her to come up with some excuse and go to a fancy hotel on Saturday night, but, she determines now as she lies here, she will not be swayed. For once she will do what
she
wants to do.
             
    D ownstairs, Emily and Harry are lying on the sofa, smiling at one another as they gently kiss.
    “So what do you think of Alice?” Emily strokes his cheek as she marvels at finding such a lovely man in such an unlikely place.
    Harry smiles. “She’s not what I expected,” he says. “She’s really down to earth and sweet.”
    “She is, isn’t she?”
    “What’s her husband like?”
    Emily frowns. “I like him but I think he’s probably a bit of a bastard. You kind of have to like him, he’s incredibly charming, but also very controlling with Alice, and I’m sure he’s unfaithful.”
    “Why would anyone want to be unfaithful if they were married to someone like Alice?” Harry is confused.
    “I know. Alice swears he’s just an old flirt and would never do anything, but I’m not so sure. But the Alice you met today is the real Alice, just incredibly loving and natural and playful, and you’ll see how she changes when Joe’s around.”
    “In what way?”
    “She’s much quieter, she allows Joe to be the center of attention, and she’s much more careful.”
    “Do you think they’re happily married?”
    “Oh God. I don’t know. I know that I would never have expected her to marry someone like Joe, or live the life she’s living with Joe, but who really knows what goes on behind closed doors?”
    Harry leans forward and kisses Emily again. “That’s enough about Alice. I’m far more interested in you right now.”
    “Oh, good.” Emily shivers as Harry lifts her hair and softly kisses her neck. “I was hoping you would say that.”
             
             T he cab takes a hard right around a corner, causing Josie to slide sharply into Joe.
    There’s an intimate silence in the cab. Josie is wondering whether she should have stopped drinking Cosmopolitans a few hours ago, while Joe is wondering whether they should go to her place or his. Have to be hers, he decides. However much of a bastard he is, he’s too careful to bring anyone back to the house. You never know what they might accidentally on purpose leave behind.
    “Just here on the left.” Josie leans forward, gathering her coat and bag as Joe starts to rise. Josie turns to him, knowing what she has to do. The air is filled with promise, she is so attracted to him and he to her, and