Male Review by Lillian Grant Page A

to their feet.
    The taller of the two patted her dad on the shoulder. “Thanks for the pizza, but I think I better get going. Marion wanted some help hanging the new curtains.”
    The other man scurried out the front door without a word. Meg’s dad got to his feet, stubbed his cigar out on one of the saucers from her mother’s favorite tea set, and pocketed the cash. “I knew it was too good to last. Is she with you?”
    Meg used the fact that Sam had draped himself over her, intent on getting a handful of anything he could, to propel him to the sofa. They landed together, but she was too quick for him and left him lying alone while she stood and turned her attention back to her father.
    Meg put her hands on her hips. “No, she isn’t, which is just as well. Do you have a death wish?”
    He chuckled. “You remind me of her when you get mad. She can be one hell of a woman.”
    “If you want a smack upside the head you’re going the right way about it.”
    A groan that appeared to be a result of unrequited lust floated up from the semi-comatose body on the sofa.
    “Seems young Sam agrees with me. There’s something really sexy about a woman intent on getting her way.” He let out a loud sigh.
    Meg crossed the room and wrapped her arms around her dad, accepting a big bear hug before looking up at him. “You do still love her, don’t you?”
    He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “For my sins. Why don’t you put the kettle on and make lover boy a coffee while I clean up?”
    The house was looking almost normal by the time she had filled three cups with coffee. She crossed to the sofa, placed a coaster on the table and deposited the cup before helping Sam into a sitting position. Her dad grinned as she removed Sam’s wandering hand from inside her T-shirt.
    “He’s a cute drunk.”
    “If you think he’s so cute, why don’t you let him grope you?”
    Her dad chuckled as he pulled a chair out from the freshly polished dining table and sat down. “Not sure I have the equipment to keep him amused for long.”
    Meg sat in the chair next to him and rested her chin in the heel of her hand. “What are we going to do about Mum?”
    “People have been asking me that ever since I married her, poppet. She’ll come around. Give her some time to digest what I told her.”
    “What did you tell her? Did you fight because of me?”
    “Yes and no. Have you seen the paper?”
    Meg let out a loud sigh. “Not the newspaper thing again. Mum mentioned it, but she wouldn’t actually tell me what they’d printed. What does it say?”
    Her dad got up, retrieved The Clarion, and set it open on the table at page two. Meg read the headline and stared at the picture, which was definitely not a shot of her best side. Maud looked good, though. The article made the whole episode sound way more sordid than had been the case, although Laura hiring Michael to work as a prostitute, and then taking a booking from Maud, was pretty gross. Even worse, she used an up-market hotel for the illegal tryst and left Meg to come to the rescue when the whole episode went tits up.
    “This wasn’t my fault.”
    “I’m not judging you, Meg. You’re an adult, as is Maud. No matter what you do, you’re still my baby girl. Your mother needs to realize sex happens. She was hell bent on us selling up, kidnapping you, and moving away to start a new life so we could save your reputation.”
    “She wants me to go to a women’s retreat with her.”
    “What about Sam?”
    Meg glanced over at her lover, who was intent on drinking his coffee, apparently oblivious to his surroundings. “I don’t think he could pass himself off as a woman.”
    Her dad chuckled. “I said some harsh things to Vivienne, but it was time someone set her straight. She’ll come around, but like I told Sam, we need to play the long game.”
    Meg wrinkled her brow. In all her years she never once recalled her dad putting his foot down and telling her mother anything. What had been