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her empty G&T glass into the dishwasher just before he reappeared. Well, there was no point in keeping it out as she wasn’t having any more.
    “Hi, sweetie. That smells nice. What is it?”
    “Salmon in white wine sauce,” she said, glancing at the packet. Bloody hell – more wine. She hadn’t noticed that. Blimey, it was going to be difficult to cut down if manufacturers were putting the stuff in food. How irresponsible. She turned to smile at him. “Mum phoned. I invited them for dinner Saturday week, is that okay?”
    “Sure. Are we having wine now? Or is that a silly question?”
    What on earth was he on about? They didn’t have wine every night. SJ frowned. Actually, yes, they did.
    “I think there’s some Chardonnay left over. I might as well finish that off.”
    “Okay, I’ll get it.” He raked a hand through his rumpled dark hair, which looked damp from his shower. “If we’re having fish, SJ, I might join you. I fancy a glass of white with fish.”
    This throwaway line caused her to drop the serving spoon in alarm. “I don’t think there’s much left,” she called after his retreating back. There certainly wasn’t enough for him – not if she was going to have her three quarters of a bottle. Not that it would matter if she had a glass less, of course, but she’d psyched herself up for the full three quarters. She was allowed it – she was entitled to it. Kit had said so – she had it in black and white on her form.
    “Don’t panic, I can always open another one,” Tom called over his shoulder. “You’re not going to miss out.”
    That was an even worse idea. If he opened another bottle she might be tempted to exceed her limit. SJ gave herself a little shake – for goodness’ sake – get a grip. It’s not like you need to drink a certain amount. You could skip it altogether if you wanted and then the problem of when to stop wouldn’t arise.
    Then she remembered the glass she’d had at lunchtime. Thinking about it, that probably counted towards the three quarters – so technically it’d be better if Tom did have a glass. Having finally got that sorted out, she relaxed.
    Then Tom ruined everything by coming back with a bottle of Moet in his hand. “I thought we’d open this as well, as it’s a special occasion.”
    His whole face was a smile and she smiled back cautiously, pleased he was pleased, and wondering if she’d forgotten something. Anniversary? Birthday? Nothing sprang to mind; surely her memory hadn’t got that bad.
    “Don’t look so worried.” He waved the bottle in the air. She hadn’t seen him so animated for ages. “I wasn’t expecting to hear so soon, but I got the nod from old Wilson today. I got the promotion.” He put on a silly voice. “Hey, babe – you are looking at Barton Aerospace’s new regional sales manager. How cool is that?”
    SJ smiled, delighted for him. Despite the fact he was a very good salesman he was touchingly modest about his own success. He’d always been like that. It was one of the things she really liked about him. “That’s brilliant news, congratulations. Why didn’t you tell me as soon as you got in?”
    “I only got in twenty minutes ago. Do I get a hug?”
    “Course you do.” She felt torn in two as she went into his arms. She was thrilled for him; he’d worked hard for this – he deserved it. It would mean more money too, which would be helpful as they had a humungous mortgage. It would also mean he’d spend more nights away and she tended to get herself in trouble when he was away. The time she’d told Tanya about hadn’t been the first.
    More pressingly, there was the little matter of the champagne. The gold foil glinted tantalisingly. She loved champagne – why, oh why did they have to celebrate just when she’d decided to cut down? Perhaps she could have one glass and then revert to wine. It was probably about the same strength – and made from grapes, so it wouldn’t be counted as ‘mixing your