The South West Series Box Set Read online

  Contents

  Dedication

  The Worst Christmas Ever?

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Lawyers and Lattes

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Feeling the Fireworks

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  For my husband Josh, who always supports my writing no matter what.

  To hear about new releases, see pictures of my dog and generally hear about my writing, you can sign up to my newsletter here: http://mailchi.mp/3da78979e3c7/newsletter-sign-up

  The Worst Christmas Ever?

  © Rebecca Paulinyi 2020

  Chapter 1

  It had been a good day. The sun had appeared after a frosty start, and Lee found herself quite enjoying the crisp air and the excuse to wear her new winter coat. She almost felt festive, although she knew her husband Nathan would say she was being ridiculous - there were still six weeks until Christmas, far too early to feel festive.

  As she walked to the bus stop, Lee mused that it had been a good day for reasons other than the weather. She had won the case that she had been working so hard on for the past few months, and had enjoyed an after-hours glass of wine with her colleagues at Phillips, Jones and Sharpe to celebrate. At nearly thirty-one, she was the youngest of the three partners in the law firm, but she got on well with the two older women - Gemma Phillips and Tania Sharpe.

  Kids had been the topic of discussion in the office that afternoon. Well of course they had - the case had revolved around two children, and both of Lee’s colleagues knew she wanted kids sooner rather than later. She had waited for so long - getting through law school, finding a job, working so damn hard to make partner at thirty. She wasn’t really sure where she’d found the time to meet a man, to get married - and yet somehow she had. Nathan, luckily, was as married to his job (as a doctor in A & E) as she was - and so despite their conflicting schedules and hectic lives, they muddled along well enough. But kids… they had been on the back burner for a long time, and Lee could feel the clock ticking.

  Gemma had regaled them with stories of her new grandson Oliver, and Tania had told stories of the fabulous parties she and her husband had attended. She for one was not interested in having children - she was all about the child-free life.

  Despite only being 52, Gemma had grown up children who had begun to have children of their own, and so the three women’s lives were vastly different. And even so, they got on like a house on fire.

  Finally at the bus stop, Lee sat herself down on the cold, narrow bench and glanced at the digital sign above her head. Three minutes to wait for the bus - and she could be home by half past eight. That was early for her - for the last three months she’d been surprised if she’d been home by half nine. With Nathan on nights every other week, that meant they barely saw each other.

  But today was a good day because she’d be home by eight thirty; Nathan was not on nights and she had the takeaway menu hovering in her mind already. A night in front of the telly was definitely what they both needed.

  The heavens opened as Lee sat on the bus, but she didn’t care - at least she was in the warm and dry and on her way home. She brushed her dark brown hair from her face, and thought that it was getting cold enough to start wearing a hat - although she never liked how her poker-straight hair looked after wearing a hat. Static was not even the word.

  She looked out of the rain spattered windows, and yet again felt a tingle of the festive season as the red and white lights from the cars got distorted by the raindrops. She loved this time of year. Whilst not a big fan of Hallowe’en, she was always excited when it arrived for after it she would start to get involved in the festive season. She wasn’t sure why she loved it so much; she was the only one in her family who got quite so warm and fuzzy about the holiday time. Her younger sister hated it - complained constantly about the commercialisation, the consumerism, the waste… and Lee knew she had valid points on all those topics. But still, Lee really felt the magic in the winter months. Well, she hated January - when everything was over and yet the dark nights and miserable weather remained. But that build up to Christmas… that was enough to make all of the weather, darkness and money spent worth it.

  Lee had loved Christmas for as long as she could remember - even as a child before she had shortened ‘Shirley’ to Lee and was still being dressed in matching dresses to her sister. And even though her family never found the magic in Christmas that Lee had, it had still been a family event, as she imagined it was in most houses. A massive dinner, beautifully wrapped presents, Christmas films on the television… even her cynical younger sister had not had complaints back then. Well, not until she had found out the truth about Father Christmas, and decided the whole holiday was done for.

  While that particular seasonal truth had been disappointing, Lee had never let it dampen her Christmas spirits. In fact, she thought to herself as the bus pulled up outside the house, perhaps she could persuade Nathan to watch a Christmas film that evening. It was, after all, November…

  ***

  “Nathan!” she called as she let herself in to their two-bedroom Clifton home. She loved it here; from the shiny black door out front to the wooden floors of the hallway; the multi-coloured staircase and the massive king size bed. It was a mixture of modern and old-fashioned: a very modern bathroom with a shower to die for; an aga in the kitchen; a fifty-inch screen in the living room; exposed beams in hallways. It had taken a long time - what with both their work schedules - to get it looking exactly right, but she felt like they’d got there. Inspiration from magazines, the internet, her friends - she’d taken it all on board and created the home of her dreams. Well, their dreams, she supposed. Although thinking about it, she couldn’t remember Nathan having much input in the design.

  She stood at the bottom of those multi-col
oured carpeted stairs and listened for a moment; she could hear the shower running. Heading to the fridge, she pulled out a bottle of white and poured them both a glass, before grabbing the stack of take-away menus they kept on the side. With so many hours put in at work, and decent pay slips to accompany those hours, when the Joneses were home together they often ordered a takeaway. Lee remembered cooking as a kid with her mum, but not much since then… Perhaps at the weekend she would bake something, she thought as she perused the options on the Indian menu.

  It was only a few minutes later - when she’d made her choices and was waiting for Nathan to confirm his usual order - that Nathan walked into the kitchen.

  “You’re home early,” he said, reaching over and grabbing the second glass of wine. He was wearing only a towel, wrapped around his waist, and beads of water were still glistening on the dark skin of his chest. His short, dark hair was spiked from being freshly shampooed and the muscles from his thrice weekly gym sessions (which Lee could not understand how he fit in - she was barely awake enough when she got home to talk, let alone work out) were clear in his arms and legs.

  “Well hello to you too,” Lee said, leaning in for a kiss and tasting the white wine on both of their tongues. It was only brief, but as she pulled away she saw Nathan smile that smile she had fallen for five years ago. Perfect, straight, white teeth and a sparkle in his eye. Unbidden, a thought popped into her head - when did we last have sex? She thought it was concerning that she even had to think about it… things had been hectic lately, but surely it hadn’t been that long? She counted back while Nathan told her some tale of his day… three weeks, she thought. Well perhaps that could be remedied tonight.

  The takeaway arrived within an hour and - although Nathan pulled a face at the idea of a Christmas movie in November - they spent the evening together on the sofa, catching up on a crime series that they’d started months ago and not got a chance to finish.

  “It’s nice to be home together,” Lee said as she sipped her second glass of wine. She was comfortably full from the curry and naan bread, and was lazily curled up on the grey sofa, leant against Nathan’s chest.

  “Mmmhmm,” Nathan agreed. “It’s rare these days.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not complaining - we’re both out a lot.”

  “And I’m afraid this is a one-off,” Lee said. “Next week I start a new case, sounds like it’s fairly high-profile - lots of late nights at the office by the sounds of it.”

  “I’m on nights anyway,” Nathan said. “So it doesn’t matter.”

  Lee felt a prick of hurt at the words ‘it doesn’t matter’, but brushed the feeling away; he was right. It was better if he was on nights, because then she wouldn’t feel guilty about being out late.

  Nathan stretched his long arms and yawned. He’d worked a twelve hour shift from six in the morning, and then put in an hour at the gym on his way home from work. “I think I’m going to head up after this episode.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Lee said as the credits ran. She climbed onto Nathan’s lap, stretching her skinny work trousers to the limits as she straddled him with a grin. She leant her head until their lips met, and moved her lips with his. She let her fingers run through his now-dry hair and pressed her chest up against him.

  Until he pulled away. “I’m exhausted, Lee,” he said, looking apologetic.

  “Oh. Okay.” Lee removed herself from his lap, feeling far less sexy than when she’d climbed on. Indeed, the trousers limited her so much she fell slightly onto the sofa, feeling embarrassed.

  It wasn’t so much that she was desperate for sex - they weren’t newlyweds, she wasn’t expecting sex every five minutes. And it wasn’t as if she weren’t exhausted now - she’d put in her usual thirteen hour day, plus a couple of glasses of wine at work and at home - she was done. But she thought they should at least try…

  They followed their usual bedtime routine - one changed while the other used the bathroom, and vice versa. They had never been those people who would use the bathroom together - occasionally they might brush their teeth at the same time, but only when in a real rush.

  As they got into their usual sides of the bed and turned the lamps off, Lee shivered a little in the cool air of the bedroom.

  “Night,” Lee said, snuggling down under the thick winter duvet.

  “Good night.”

  Their backs touching each other, they were asleep in record time, as the hard work of the day took its toll.

  Chapter 2

  It started off like any other day. Lee got up at the same time as Nathan (the ungodly hour of 5am) and had a lovely, scorching, powerful shower to get herself ready for the day. She dressed while watching the news in the background, leaving her high heels off until the second she walked out the door.

  Today she was wearing one of her ‘power outfits’ - one of three outfits she wore to interviews or particularly important days at work. And today, she thought, justified this power outfit (a skirt suit in navy with a crisp white blouse). After a weekend of relaxing, and a meal out with Nathan to celebrate winning the case, today was the start of a new case. The first high-profile case she had ever led.

  The client was a famous soap star, who was in a long, drawn-out and well-publicised custody battle with his equally famous ex-wife. The story had hit all the tabloid papers, as had the astounding news that both parties had left their lawyers and decided to seek new representation. Of course, Phillips, Jones and Sharpe were first on the phone to his ‘people’, and before she knew it, Lee had ended up as the lawyer in charge of hammering out the details.

  Power outfit on, Lee walked carefully down the stairs in just her tights to the kitchen, where as usual she made a large mug of tea and left it to brew while she packed her laptop bag and checked she had everything she needed for the day. Then it was off to the bathroom to put on her make-up, the bedroom to dry and attempt to style her hair (it really did not do anything but poker straight. No matter what she applied to it, what heat she used, it was always poker straight), and back downstairs for a final coat of lip gloss and to slip those high heels on.

  Lee got the bus every day, as Nathan took the car and her law firm was in the centre of Bristol, so it made more sense for her to use public transport. The cost of two cars seemed silly, not even considering the environmental impact. Besides, parking in Bristol was never easy - no, the buses were much easier.

  Today, however, her bus was late. She could not believe it, as she stood under the thin and dirty plastic shelter, tapping the toe of her beige heels. Not today! The electronic board had told her the bus would be three minutes - eight minutes ago. Now it was stuck on ‘due’ - and the app on her phone wasn’t telling her much different.

  This did happen occasionally - ‘phantom’ buses that never chose to show up, disappearing somewhere into the electronic board’s system - but Lee was never usually too stressed by it. She was always in work early - mainly due to the early hours Nathan tended to keep, either getting up or coming home at some horrendous time of the morning - and so a fifteen minute delay was never a huge issue.

  But today she knew that her new client would be in at 8:30 and she most definitely could not be late. She looked desperately at the board and considered calling a taxi. But how long would that take?! Never usually one to be indecisive, today she simply could not make the decision. Wait? Call a taxi? Start walking?

  Finally, finally, when she had begun to give up hope, the bus appeared around the corner and stopped at her stop. She considered asking the driver where on earth the other bus had vanished to, but took a deep breath and decided against it. It wasn’t the bus driver’s fault, after all - probably just a technical hitch.

  It was as she stepped on to the bus, following her cleansing deep breath, that she heard a crack.

  “Surely not…” she muttered to herself, swiping her pass so the disgruntled looking driver could continue on the journey. When she took a step forward, she knew she had
been right: the heel of one of her power shoes had broken.

  She slid into the nearest seat and pulled off the offending shoe. A clean break, right where the heel met the base of the shoe. How the hell had that happened?

  If she were honest, she felt like crying. Rain hit the sides of the bus and no longer did it remind her of the festive period. No, it reminded her that the five minute walk from the bus to her office would be a wet walk.

  Thankfully, she kept a pair of thin black pumps in her handbag at all times, and so she switched out the shoes (ignoring how ridiculous it made her outfit look) and thanked her lucky stars that she would at least be able to walk into the office, instead of hobbling in with two different heights of shoes. And tears would not help - she knew that. She pulled out her notes on the high-profile client (Brandon, his name was) and read through them again, wanting to be as prepared as possible when he stepped in to her office.

  It was eight o’clock before she stepped in to her office, wet from the persistent drizzle and wearing emergency shoes. She was, of course, well behind Tania and Gemma who got in by half past seven at the latest - as Lee normally did.

  They both happened to be stood in the lobby, wondering where she’d got to, when she walked in. They both looked at her, puzzled looks on their faces.

  “Please don’t,” Lee begged. “It’s been a nightmare of a morning. Let me go and get myself sorted before Brandon comes.”