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She’d gone fo r the most tasteful decorations she could find, knowing that he hated anything that could ever be described as remotely tacky. Effie looked around the living room again. She’d done her best, and that was all she could do, so when she heard his key in the lock earlier than usual, she pushed her doubts out of her mind and went to greet him at the door.
    She threw her arms around his neck. ‘What are you doing back so early?’
    He grinned, his trademark cheeky grin that had beamed at her from across a packed-out bar and changed her life forever.
    ‘I was let off early for good behaviour.’
    She melted as his lips met hers.
    ‘Now that,’ she replied between kisses, ‘I find hard to believe.’
    He grinned. ‘Court was adjourned early, so I thought I’d come back and keep my wife company.’
    It was music to her ears, and Effie smiled before leading him into the living room. ‘Dinner’s already cooked and . . . it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.’
    ‘Well, aren’t you the perfect little housewife?’
    If it had come from anyone else, it would have sounded condescending, but she knew it was a compliment. Since their wedding , she’d tried her best to keep the house perfect and dinner ready for when he returned from a hard day at work. She wanted to be the perfect little housewife, and she hoped the decorations would do her efforts justice. She pulled at her little finger and held her breath as he shook off his long black overcoat.
    ‘It looks great.’
    A satisfied smile pulled at her mouth, and she silently sighed with relief. She’d been right to go with the blue and silver colour scheme. The white fairy lights gave a warm glow to the room, contrasting with the darkness outside, and the scent of cinnamon-scented candles on the windowsill wafted through the air. A bottle of wine with two sparkling glasses sat on the coffee table, and she’d draped the freshly washed woollen blanket over the impossibly large mocha-brown sofa.
    ‘Not sure about the lights on the window, though,’ he said, throwing his coat on the sofa. ‘Looks a bit . . .’ – he scrunched his nose up – ‘tacky, don’t you think?’
    Effie looked at the window, and her body sagged. Tacky. It was the one word she’d been trying to avoid hearing him say. She thought it looked nice and homey, but she had noticed that only two other houses on the street had done the same.
    ‘I wasn’t really sure,’ she said, ‘but I think you’re right. I’ll take them down.’
    ‘You can do it later.’ He kissed the side of her head and pulled at his tie as he walked into the kitchen. ‘What time’s your mum coming tomorrow?’
    ‘About seven,’ Effie replied, following him.
    ‘I’ll make sure I’m back in time. I’m looking forward to it.’
    She took two plates from the cupboard and laughed. ‘Why can’t you despise your mother-in-law like a normal husband?’
    ‘Because, firstly, it’d be hard to despise someone I’ve never even met, and secondly, she can’t be any worse than the mother-in-law you’ve been landed with courtesy of me.’
    ‘But your mum’s lovely.’
    ‘Okay, she can’t be any worse than your step mother-in-law then. Now, enough about your mother. What do you say to us eating this dinner, and then I’ll run you a bubble bath?’
    Effie grinned and lifted the lid from the saucepan. Just when she thought he couldn’t get any more perfect.

    ‘Hello, Sweetpea,’ Penny said, pulling Effie into a hug as soon as she opened the door.
    Effie stiffly hugged her back. ‘Hi, Mum. Did you find the house alright?’
    ‘No problem at all.’ Penny unwound the chunky scarf around her neck as she stepped inside, and Effie tried not to sigh when she took her coat off.
    Of course it was silly to have expected her mum to make an effort for dinner, but she was wearing dark green Aladdin pants and a long-sleeved hemp sweater that looked like it had been picked up in a flea market somewhere. In