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"Well" I can’t quite meet his eye "I do have this… this credit card"

"The one you keep hidden in your bag?" says Luke withouta beat "I checked that too"

Oh God

There’s no way out of this

"Actually… not that one" I s hard "Another one"

"Another one?" Luke is staring at me "You have a second secret credit card?"

"It’s just for eency silk dressing gowns? Eaers are all twisted in knots behindit off secretly, is that it?" He looks at es "You haven’t been paying it off?"

"The thing is…" My fingers twist even tighter "They gavelimit"

"For God’s sake, Becky--"

"It’s OK! I’ll pay it off! You don’t need to worry about anything I’ll take care of it--"

"With what?" retorts Luke

My face flaht now But he doesn’t have to rub it in

"When I startto have an income, you know, Luke I’m not some kind of freeloader"

Luke looks at ently He holds out his hand "Come here"

After a moment I pick my way across the crowded floor to the sofa I find a tiny space to sit down and he puts his arm round me For a while we both look silently at the ocean of clutter It’s like we’re two survivors on a desert island

"Becky, we can’t carry on like this," Luke says at last "Do you kno much our honeymoon cost us?"

"Er… no"

Suddenly it strikeshas cost It was ht the round-the-world airline tickets, but apart fro

Has our honeylance sideways at Luke -- and for the first time see how stressed he looks