I picked up my first follower, so thank you to that person!

CHAPTER EIGHT

Imogen hefted her folder before looking across at Mark, who was about to head out the door. "What time are you going to be back from work?"

Mark paused, hesitating. "I'm not sure. I might head round to see Mum afterwards."

"Right. So should I order us a takeaway? I still can't bear to try and use your kitchen system."

"I moved the bread bin nearer the toaster for you, didn't I?" Mark considered the matter. "How about we go out?"

Imogen looked amused. "You sure you're willing to be seen out with me?"

She said it lightly but Mark felt a pang of guilt. They'd been living together for two days now. Not long, but long enough that the fact he hadn't told anyone had become the elephant in the room. "You know I'm not ashamed of you, right? I do want to tell my family that we're together, it's just I want to get used to the idea before springing that one on them."

"Hey, I can't complain,"Imogen pointed out as she closed the distance between them. "My family don't even know I'm back in the country." She sighed. "They are not going to take this very well."

"Paige and I would be over even if we weren't together,"Mark insisted.

"Yeah, I get that,"Imogen confirmed. "Still doesn't mean she's going to be happy about me taking her place. And Dad's always really protective of her, like he's trying to make up for missing all those years, and even Mum loves her. Piper gets on better with her as well. If they're going to have to pick sides…"

Mark nodded slowly. "Yeah, Aaron and Tyler were always closer to each other and to Chloe than me. Guess that's another thing we've got in common."

Imogen managed a smile. "I guess it's a good job we've got each other then."

Mark smiled back. "Guess it is. So, should I book us into that Italian place I told you about?"

"Why not? Our turn to be a bit sophisticated."

Mark helped Imogen out of her jacket and held her chair for her to sit down, stopping a moment to take in how absolutely gorgeous she looked in a subtly flattering black dress. It occurred to him that this might actually be their first proper date. When they'd been together in LA, they'd been too busy testing out the domestic arrangements to do anything special.

"So, do you come here often?"Imogen asked as Mark took a seat opposite her. She stopped and winced. "Sorry, that's a bit of a loaded question."

"What, you mean cos I might have come here with Paige?"Mark asked, hoping the question would relieve the tension rather than increasing it. "I think we came here for a family meal a few times, never on our own though." He laughed. "At least we're unlikely to end up anywhere where I went with Elly."

"Hmm, I only ever really saw her at the trial but she didn't really seem your type. And I would definitely never have taken Daniel to a place like this." She laughed. "So, now that we've covered the awkward issues of ex-husbands and wives, are there any safer topics?"

"Crime?"Mark suggested.

Imogen pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Yeah. I mean, we're kind of on the opposite sides when it comes to that. What if we're facing each other across an interview table, or in court?"

"I don't know. But I mean, we managed to stay friends during everything that happened with Finn."

"Yeah, but we weren't living together then, we had that buffer."

"Well, I guess all couples disagree on things. We just have to promise to not fall out with each other even when we don't agree on cases."

Imogen reached across the table and took his hand. "I think I can give that a go. But you should know, I'm a very opinionated person."

"Well, fortunately I can be just as stubborn as you."

Imogen smiled fondly at him, then seemed to remember where she was and looked down at her menu. "Right, order first, mutual appreciation later."

"Okay, I'll look forward to it."

Piper looked on nervously as Paige inserted her key into the lock. "Are you sure we should be doing this?"

"Mark's still my husband, it's still my house,"Paige argued as she led the way in. "Well, sort of."

Piper had learned over the years that it was very hard to stop Paige when she got an idea into her head. She decided to try anyway. "Yes, but, isn't it normal to ring him up first and let him know you're coming around? And why didn't you do this when he was out of the country?"

"Because it only just occurred to me, okay? I was too busy being upset. Now…now I'm angry. And I'm going to make sure I remove every single thing that's mine from his house. And maybe a few things that aren't."

"And what if he's here? It's his day off, right?"

Paige checked her watch and then showed it to Piper. "It's 9am, right? Mark would have had his shower, had his bowl of muesli and gone out for his run 15 minutes ago. Trust me, I lived with him long enough to know his schedule. And the very fact he had a schedule should have been a red flag in the first place."

Piper sighed. "Okay. Do you want to start with the kitchen?"

"No, bedroom first. I want to make sure I didn't miss any shoes." Paige headed down a corridor and wrenched open the door, but then stopped in the doorway. When Piper came up beside her, she saw why.

Mark and Imogen were curled up in bed together, their lack of clothes (and the fact said clothes were scattered around the floor) making it clear just how they'd spent the previous night. And even though they were both fast asleep, they must have been able to sense the hostility being projected at them because they both snapped awake at the same time, their mortified expressions meeting the furious ones of her sisters.