Page 64 of A Little Bit More

“I can’t think of anything.”

His mother nodded and bent over Ambrose’s seat so he could press a kiss to her cheek.

“Don’t forget you have a dentist appointment tomorrow. We’ll leave here at ten. Good night, darling.” She disappeared from the frame.

“Bloody hell,” Keir said.

“Tell me about it,” Mairi muttered. “But here comes the best bit.”

“It’s crucial that my wife understand she is never to touch my valuables.”

“Going to be hard to have sex twice on a Sundaywithouttouching them,” Keir said.

“Stop it.” But Mairi was laughing. “He means his collector’s crap. There’s a Captain America shield above his bed that’s still wrapped in plastic to ‘keep it good’.”

“He showed you his bed?”

She nodded. “As well as every single figurine he’s collected over his lifetime. He has the entire cast ofLord of the Rings. And his wife isn’t to touch any of it. Ever. Or it’s divorce.”

“Good to know she’ll have an easy out.”

“This is serious,” Mairi said. “How am I going to match him? I wouldn’t wish him on anyone.”

NowthatKeir could agree with. He folded his arms and sat back in his chair while considering the man in front of them.

“What you need,” he said, “is a transition woman. Someone who’ll knock all this crap out of him before you present him with a prospective wife.”

“But that wouldn’t be fair to the first woman. It’s times like this that I deeply regret my motto of ‘We turn no one away. There’s a match out there for everyone.’ I really need to take that off my website.”

“I’ve got it!” Keir sat up straight, beaming at his own genius. “Hire one of the Benson Security women. Nothing fazes them. Somebody like Megan Raast would knock sense into this guy over a weekend.”

Mairi cocked her head to one side as if considering it. They’d met most of the Benson Security team, as Mairi’s eldest sister, Isobel, was married to one of the partners.

“I suppose it could work…” She scrunched up her face with worry. “You don’t think it’s mean?”

“No,” he assured his soft-hearted wife. “I think it’s cheaper than the guy paying for therapy, and it will help him in the long run.”

“It still feels a bit evil,” she hedged.

“So does setting him up with some unsuspecting woman.”

Mairi nodded. “Okay. I’ll talk to Izzy and see if she has any ideas.”

“And if that doesn’t work,” Keir said as he lifted his wife out of her chair and into his lap, “you could try matching him up with his mother. He might get the message then.”

“Terrible, awful man.” Mairi leaned in to kiss him.

Yeah, but he washerterrible, awful man.