The Truth About You by Susan Lewis

here at the house. ‘You can join the party if you like,’ she went on, going to hug Grant. ‘It’ll be easy enough to set two more places.’
    ‘Oh, we’d love to,’ Cara assured her, ‘but my gran’s expecting us and we can’t let her down.’
    ‘What have you got cooking?’ Grant wanted to know. ‘Smells bloody delicious, whatever it is.’
    ‘It’s my favourite,’ Zav piped up, his cheeky young face smeared with dirt and his mop of inky hair tumbling every which way. He was such a cocktail of Tom and Lainey that it was impossible to say where one of them began and the other ended. He was certainly more like his father in his insatiable passion for rugby, cricket and football, and had just been practising the latter solo in their paddock, waiting for Tom to come home. ‘It’s called cheesy burger bake,’ he informed his aunt and uncle. ‘Mum won’t let us have it very often, because she says it’s not healthy enough, but Dad really likes it too, don’t you Dad, so we’re allowed to have it tonight and I helped to make it.’
    ‘No!’ Cara cried, impressed. ‘Is there no end to your talents?’
    ‘It’s this big,’ Zav ran on, stretching his arms as wide as they’d go, ‘and we’ve got peach-flavoured ice cream for afters. Dad?’
    ‘Zav?’ Tom responded, abandoning his mail to twist the top off a bottle of wine.
    ‘Are you definitely coming to my match tomorrow?’
    ‘Absolutely,’ Tom confirmed. ‘I expect Uncle Grant would like to join us, if he doesn’t have to rush off before lunch.’
    ‘Count me in,’ Grant replied, taking glasses out of a cabinet and passing them to Cara.
    ‘Where’s Tierney?’ Tom asked Lainey as she emptied a bag of pistachio nuts into a bowl.
    ‘Gone for a walk with Dad and Sherman,’ she replied. ‘They should be back any minute. Bliss,’ she smiled, as he passed her a glass of wine. She wanted to ask him more about his week, whether things had improved by the time he’d left the set today – presumably not, given how pensive he seemed – however, as usual, their more personal conversations would have to wait until they were alone.
    As they raised their glasses to friends and family the hall door opened and Max ambled in, looking, Lainey noticed with some surprise, as though he’d just washed his hair and very possibly taken a shower. What a turn-up!
    Tom was eyeing his elder son with some interest. ‘Everything OK?’ he asked carefully.
    ‘Yeah, cool,’ Max responded, not quite meeting his father’s gaze. ‘Hey Grant, Cara. Are you here for the weekend?’
    ‘No, just tonight,’ Cara told him. ‘How’s life with you?’
    He shrugged. ‘Kind of, you know.’
    Tom’s eyebrows arched.
    ‘Actually, I’m on my way out,’ Max informed them. ‘Just thought I’d come and say hi before I go.’
    ‘Where are you off to?’ Lainey asked chattily as she started slicing a cucumber. ‘Somewhere nice?’
    ‘Bet he’s got a hot date, good-looking guy like him,’ Grant piped up.
    ‘He’s always got lots of dates,’ Zav informed them. ‘Are you seeing Christie tonight? I reckon she’s really ream.’
    Max looked amused by his half-brother’s use of the slang term. ‘And I don’t suppose that would have anything to do with her cousin being signed up by West Brom?’ he teased.
    Zav laughed delightedly. ‘We might get some free tickets if you go on seeing her, though it would be better if he was signed to Liverpool, wouldn’t it Dad? Just imagine, we could go to all the games, and we might even be allowed into the dressing rooms, because we know someone.’
    ‘I should think Daddy could get you in anyway,’ Cara suggested.
    ‘He can, and he did,’ Zav assured her. ‘We went last season, didn’t we, Dad? It was really cool. Max came too, didn’t you, Max?’
    ‘I did,’ Max confirmed. ‘Dad, is it OK to take the estate tonight? Crowded House are playing at Berkeley and we’ll be able to get more of us in than if I take my