Michelle and Steve on the rocks
Things between Steve and Michelle don't always run smoothly. She's lost the love of her life and the father of her child. And then she finds out that her son was swapped at birth and Steve's left dealing with not one, but two sons and more teen-angst than you can poke a stick at.
Steve's not without his baggage. There's daughter Amy and he also shares the Rovers with his mother Liz and her hubby Vernon, and as well as the pub he's got StreetCars to keep an eye on.
He may be successful in business, but Steve doesn't always make the smartest decisions. Little things have a way of spirally out of his control. His spat with Dan over a lost race and a scratched car nearly landed him in prison (and put Dan in hospital) and if that wasn't complicated enough - he throws a drunken one-night stand with Becky into the mix.
And if Michelle was upset over his behaviour with Dan, she's not going to be happy if she finds out about Becky.
The story
Steve wakes up at Becky's to find that Roy's put his shirt through the wash. Roy's clearly not convinced by Becky's claim that he slept on the couch. Steve heads to Lloyd's for a clean shirt and an alibi.
Michelle's upset that Steve's been out all night and worried, but she quickly spots the shirt. The more Steve tries to extract himself the more suspicious she becomes.
Meanwhile when Becky breaks up with Jason, Lloyd warns Steve that Becky might have designs on him.
When Dan drops the charges Steve tells her he needs a break and is heading to Spain to visit Andy. Michelle's not pleased at being left alone, but lets him go. When Steve sends flowers Michelle is convinced he's covering something. With Steve gone, Michelle turns her attention to Lloyd.
Lloyd tries to avoid her, but eventually Michelle traps him. Lloyd lies that they went out gambling and Steve is covering up after loosing a lot of money. Michelle is put off for now but soon calls Steve and is convinced Michelle phones Steve and is convinced he's covering up something, and it's not the casino.
When she hears Leanne chatting on the phone to Steve and Liz mentions how they've been close for years Michelle jumps to the conclusion that Leanne is the mystery woman Steve's been hiding. After an angry confrontation in the Rovers Leanne storms off.
Left red faced and short-staffed by Leanne's departure, Michelle asks Becky to cover at the Rovers. Michelle again corners Lloyd, who tells her that the "real" reason Steve's been lying is because he's planning to propose; and he's in Spain looking for a Castle for them to marry in and to ask Andy to be best man.
The proposal
Assuaged Michelle returns to the Rovers and begins to share her "secret" good news. Steve returns unaware that Michelle is awaiting a ring and his proposal. When Lloyd confesses what he's told Michelle Steve is furious, but Lloyd maintains he has no other option. Eileen is angry at Lloyd for raising Michelle's expectations and worries for Ryan and Amy if they break up. Eileen urges Lloyd to tell Michelle that he lied about the proposal.
As the days pass since since Steve's return with still no proposal Liam puts the hard word on Steve not to mess his sister around. Steve eventually takes Michelle aside and proposes - in the smoking shelter out the back of the Rovers. He admits the location is not what he had planned but as long as she says yes it will be perfect. Michelle accepts.
However Lloyd, feeling guilty decides to come clean to Michelle and tells her that the proposal story was just him having a laugh at Steve's expence. Michelle is heartbroken to learn that Steve proposal was based on a lie, but she plays it cool and doesn't let on to Steve.
Instead she asks him about the ring and Steve takes her to a jewellery store to collect the "one he's ordered". As Steve squirms Michelle tells him she knows there is no ring and picks out the most expensive one in the store.
Back at the Rovers Steve proposes again and Michelle says she wouldn't marry him if he were the last man on earth!
The split
Michelle throws Steve out, but he refuses to accept defeat and tries to convince her to take him back. She agrees to meet him to hear the truth. Steve tells her that he was with a girl but swears that nothing happened and he slept on the sofa.
Michelle throws the ring into a rubbish skip leaving Steve to fish it out.
Steve tries another tact, appealing to Liam to intervene. He also tries playing the devoted father, using Amy to get to Michelle.
Becky returns from her holiday with Jason and is worried when she hears that Steve and Michelle have split.
Steve's feeling the pressure having both Becky and Michelle behind the bar, and the better the two girls get along, the worse Steve feels. Becky and Michelle head out for a girls' night out with Sean and Marcus to a karaoke bar. Michelle enjoys singing and runs into an old band mate JD who asks her to sing at a gig with him.
Michelle brings JD back to the Rovers for a night-cap, parading him in front of Steve. JD sleeps on the couch, but Steve's angry that she would bring a fella back to his house. Steve issues an ultimatum - either it's over and she and Ryan need to move out, or they get back together and he moves back in.
Michelle considers her situation and Becky tells her that Steve's a good bloke and urges her to give him another go.
Michelle agrees to take him back, but tells him that she's going to Belgium on tour with the band. Steve's not pleased but doesn't want to rock the boat. Liz warns Steve that he is being taken advantage of.
More to follow...
