Page 31 of The Game

“How long have you even known her?”

“Long enough to be sure.” The ten-second glimpse in the warehouse had done it.

My daughter eyed Emmeline again. “Do you think you’ll have more kids?”

Their mother had a newborn. The girls had stayed with me for a month straight as no one was getting any sleep, and the transition for them had been rough. “No. We have you both. That’s plenty.”

She sniffed. “Whatever.”

I hugged her, getting an elbow to the ribs for my trouble. “When the time comes, I might need your help.”

“Seriously, Dad, you’re so cringe.”

I definitely was. Emmeline couldn’t be left in any doubt at the end of our thirty days. I’d show her all the crazy I’d tried to conceal. The world would know she was mine.

Chapter 15

Emmeline

Christmas approached fast, bringing the end of my and Malachi’s mandatory time together. Though he didn’t act like anything was going to change, I’d become entirely chicken and couldn’t ask.

I’d had the formal appointment interview for Dr Manley’s consultancy and a date to start the new position in January. A replacement had been found for my substantive post, so I’d been awarded another ten days off to spend with Malachi—a fact I hadn’t told him yet. Just in case I needed the days to mope at home alone.

For the rest of the time, we’d fallen into a life-as-usual kind of deal.

A joyful time together.

I’d gone from feeling like I was on holiday to being more at home than in my own place. We went food shopping together, and I loaded the trolley with things we needed. No takeaways in sight. Malachi stocked the bathroom with all the products I used in a remarkable display of how well he noticed me. More of my clothes migrated over, and my framed pictures, too. They graced his shelf next to those of his kids, like we were a happy family.

We talked to his parents over video call—they ran a pub called the Wheatsheaf, which explained the tattoo on his arm—and both were so sweet. His girls stayed another weekend, and Petra and I discovered a shared love of singing competitions, something I rarely got to watch with any regularity but binged with her. I’d yet to crack the hard shell of her sister, but Maisie was polite enough.

I hoped in time she’d like me. I hoped for a lot of things beyond reasonable.

It was perfect, all except for one strange incident at the house.

One night, an alarm woke us in the small hours. Malachi had leapt from bed and checked the cameras, then had me lock myself in while he investigated. A security team turned up in what felt like no time at all, but between their and Malachi’s hunt, nothing was discovered. A shadow on a camera was inconclusive. The security team dismissed it as an animal, but I knew this didn’t reassure Malachi. For days after, he was ultra-cautious, especially with me.

The whole time, I felt the thirty-day time limit creeping in like a spectre.

Tonight was the Christmas party with my old team, and I’d asked Malachi to come so I could introduce him around. The stares of amazement on the faces of my colleagues were something I’d never forget. The women smirked at me for my catch, and the men ogled him and the way his suit fitted those thick muscles.

It almost made up for the fact that Annie had called off our dinner altogether, citing the fact that her husband had to work unexpectedly. I assumed that he was disgruntled on behalf of Ian who Malachi had told off. It hurt that she’d cut me. I hadn’t yet got the nerve up to tackle her about it.

At the end of the Christmas meal, Malachi took out his phone and frowned at the lit screen. “It’s Maisie,” he said over the din of a large number of loud doctors packed into a small space.

His daughter always messaged, so a call was unusual.

“Pick up,” I said.

“I won’t be able to hear in here and I don’t like leaving you.”

“I won’t budge from the table. Go talk to your girl.”

He kissed my forehead and stepped outside.

When he returned, his scowl had deepened. “She’s at my gym. I said I’d train with her there tomorrow and teach her a specific knockout move, but she’s got the day wrong. Bill is looking after her but…”

“You want to go to her. It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

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