The Secrets Sisters Keep: A heartwarming, funny and emotional novel (The Devlin Sisters Book 2) (16 page)

‘I just hope he’s nice to her and doesn’t break her heart,’ I said, turning off my own light. ‘And speaking of sisters, we’re having Clara to stay next week. Louise has to go to Brussels and Christelle’s away, so she’s stuck.’

‘We probably won’t even notice she’s here, the poor thing is so quiet. I hope she’ll be all right with the noise in our house,’ Harry said.

‘Noise really seems to bother her. I’m looking forward to having her over and getting to know her better. She’s always got her head stuck in a book or rushing off to some after-school activity. I’m happy that I’ll get to spend some time with her.’

‘I presume Louise will be sending you a detailed document pertaining to Clara’s routine.’

I looked at him and smiled. ‘I’d say it’ll be a thesis. I’ll have to stay up late and study it. Imagine if I get something wrong – she’ll never speak to me again.’

We laughed.

Harry pulled up the duvet and rolled onto his side.

‘Do you fancy some Friday-night sex?’ I asked. ‘It’s been a while.’

He yawned. ‘Sorry, Julie, I’m wiped out and we have to be up early for the boys’ rugby. Can I take a rain check?’

‘Fine.’ I rolled away from him to the other side of our enormous bed. At least Sophie would be having sex tonight, unlike me.

Harry fell asleep straight away. Once I heard the snoring start up, I sent a text to Dan. I was feeling cross and restless.

Juliette B is saying goodnight
.

What is JB wearing to bed?

Something French & frilly!

Stoooooop, now I really can’t concentrate
.

I giggled and typed, 
Bonne nuit
.

I’m picturing u & getting hot under collar!

Concentrate!

I can’t
.

Try harder.

Ur killing me here
. 
I’m horny as hell!

I squirmed with embarrassment and delight. It was like being a teenager again. I hadn’t flirted with anyone in decades. I knew we were being a bit naughty, but it was fun. Besides, he lived on a different continent, what harm could it do? I sent a final text, 
Easy, tiger! I’m signing off now before u get urself into trouble
.

Thanks a lot, JB! Get me all worked up and then go to sleep!

I decided to end the conversation. It was getting a bit too intimate. 
Talk soon, love, JB. Xx

I deleted the messages, lay back in bed beside my snoring husband and thought about sex with Dan.

W
hen I arrived
at my parents’ house for lunch, Gavin was already there, flaked out on the sofa watching football. ‘Not working today, then?’ I asked.

‘Don’t start. I’ve worked twelve days straight. Two of my staff have been out with the flu. I’m wrecked.’

‘Welcome to the world of responsibility. So, how are things going?’ I handed Clara her bird book and she sat on the floor beside Gavin.

‘Apart from working my arse off, it’s going pretty well, actually. My store’s sales are up by six per cent, so I’m getting a lot of high-fives from the management.’

‘Wow, that’s impressive. How did you do it?’

He winked at me. ‘I hired the hottest bird you’ve ever seen. I swear, Louise, she looks like Eva Mendez, but taller and with a bigger rack. I have her standing outside the shop in this little crop top and denim shorts. If it’s, like, really freezing I let her wear a cardigan, but it has to be open. Those knockers have got to be on view. No heterosexual dude can walk by without staring at her, and when she asks them to come into the shop and look around, they literally cannot say no. She tells them what they should buy and they just nod and obey.’

I rolled my eyes. Gavin was always going to be a man-child.

‘What’s a heterosexual?’ Clara asked.

I looked at Gavin. ‘Would you like to explain that to my four-and-a-half-year-old?’

He shrugged. ‘It’s when boys like girls and girls like boys.’

‘I’m a girl and I don’t really like boys, so what am I called?’

‘Martina Navratilova.’ He snorted.

I swiped the back of his head with my hand. ‘Stop it.’

I leant down to Clara. ‘Darling, you find boys a bit noisy and annoying now. I did, too, when I was little. But when you get older, you’ll probably see that they can be fun.’

Clara shook her head. ‘I don’t think so, Mummy.’

Gavin interrupted. ‘Clara, you like me, don’t you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, when you’re a big girl, if you’re really, really lucky, you might meet a boy like me.’

‘But you’re not a boy, you’re a man,’ she pointed out.

‘That’s debatable.’ I smirked.

‘She’s impossible to argue with – she’s like a genius in a tiny body.’

I smiled. ‘So what does Shania think of your hot new staff member?’ I asked, presuming Shania wouldn’t be as thrilled about her as Gavin was.

‘She quit. She’s working with Sophie now.’

‘Did you break up?’

‘No, we’re totally together. Sophie offered her some modelling work. The money was better, and it’s a lot more fun than folding T-shirts, so she left.’

I was glad: despite Shania’s dodgy American accent, she was a sweet girl and for some reason she seemed to think Gavin was great. Also, if I’m being honest, the fact that her father was loaded was also a bonus. While Gavin seemed to be doing well and was enthusiastic about Stars and Stripes, he could change his mind easily and get bored. So if he did end up with a rich girl, it would take the pressure off us having to bankroll him.

Dad came in. ‘Ah, there you are. How are things?’

‘Good, thanks.’

‘How’s my little pet?’ he said, bending down to say hello to Clara, who kept her head stuck in her book.

‘Say hello, darling,’ I urged her.

She kept reading.

‘Never mind, she’s just like you were. Once you had your head stuck in a book, you never looked up.’

Sophie and Jess arrived. Sophie was wearing a black fur coat.

Dad stared at her with disapproval. ‘How many animals died for that?’

‘It’s 
faux
-fur,’ Sophie replied.

‘It’s a bit much for a Sunday afternoon,’ Dad said.

‘No offence, Dad, but I’m hardly going to take fashion advice from a man wearing a brown jumper with a golf ball on it.’

‘What’s wrong with it?’

‘Everything,’ Sophie and I said, at the same time.

‘I’ve given him some cool stuff from the shop, but he won’t wear it,’ Gavin said.

‘For God’s sake, I’m not going around with a T-shirt that’s sprayed onto me or some stupid sweatshirt with a surfboard on it.’

‘To be fair, I don’t think Dad would do your brand any favours,’ Sophie said to Gavin.

‘We’re always looking to expand our market,’ he drawled.

I laughed. ‘Seventy-five-year-old men might be a little off the mark.’

Dad sat down beside Gavin to watch the football.

‘How’s Andrew?’ I whispered, making sure Jess couldn’t hear me. I needn’t have worried. Jess was, as usual, sitting in the corner with her headphones plugged in. I thought kids became antisocial in their teenage years, not at nine. I hoped Clara wouldn’t turn out like that in a few years’ time. Julie had told me all about meeting Andrew, and he sounded awful. I was worried about Sophie.

‘Brilliant.’ Sophie’s eyes sparkled at the mention of his name and she couldn’t stop smiling. ‘It’s the first sex I’ve had since Jack. Can you believe it? It’s been too long. God, it’s great.’

‘You certainly needed that!’

‘I really did. Honestly, Louise, I was like a lunatic. I couldn’t get enough. I hadn’t realized how much I missed it. I’d kind of forgotten about it. Isn’t that terrible?’

‘It’s like riding a bike, though – you never forget!’ I winked at her.

‘He’s just so … well … perfect.’

Sophie was radiant. I hadn’t seen her so happy in years. Maybe Andrew was just like Jack. None of us had liked Jack all that much, but he had made Sophie happy. Until he’d messed up.

I really hoped Andrew was keen on her – I could see she was besotted. If he wasn’t, the rejection would be unbearable for her.

‘It’s amazing, Louise. I don’t even care about Jack and Pippa and their baby any more. I’m just really happy for the first time in ages.’

I hugged her. ‘You deserve it.’ I meant it, but from Julie’s awful description of him, I couldn’t help wishing she was with someone who deserved her more.

There was the sound of shouting and thumping from outside. It was Julie, late as usual, with the boys. As she walked through the front door, Mum came in from the kitchen.

‘Hello, everyone.’ She kissed us all. She told me I looked tired; she told Sophie she was wearing too much makeup; she told Gavin to get his feet off the couch; she told Julie to send the boys straight out into the garden, then asked where Harry was.

‘Playing bloody golf,’ Julie muttered.

‘Again?’ Sophie said. ‘He’s always playing these days.’

‘He’s obsessed with it,’ Julie huffed.

‘Ah, well, now, to be fair, it is an addictive game when you first take it up,’ Dad pointed out.

Julie’s phone beeped. She grabbed it from her jacket pocket and texted back. I was surprised as she usually ignored her phone or had it buried at the bottom of her bag.

‘So we have no men at all today, then?’ Mum said.

‘Don’t I count?’ Gavin waved his hand.

‘Sure you’re only a boy,’ Mum said.

‘No, Granny. Gavin is a man. He’s over eighteen, so he’s a grown-up,’ Clara corrected her.

‘Thank you, Clara,’ Gavin grinned. ‘It’s nice to have someone defend me in this house.’

Ignoring them, Mum complained, ‘Three daughters and not a man in sight! You’d want to watch Harry,’ she warned Julie, who was still texting.

‘What?’ Julie looked up.

‘I said you’d need to be careful of Harry up in that golf club. He’s very eligible now. They’ll all know about his big windfall and, mark my words, the women will be all over him.’

‘I think I’m safe enough. The only person he seems to be smitten with is Donald McGreegan. He’s in awe of him. Honestly, it’s like a teenage crush.’

‘Donald is a good businessman, but he has a huge ego,’ I said. I’d met him once at a business lunch and he was an insufferable bore. But he certainly knew how to make money. He was one of the only businessmen who hadn’t been stung by the recession. He’d seen the property slump coming and sold everything.

‘Well, Harry thinks he’s God,’ Julie said, with a hint of anger in her voice, which wasn’t like her.

Julie’s phone beeped again and she started texting.

Mum frowned. ‘That’s enough of that, Julie. Lunch is ready. Phones off.’

Julie finished her text, then put her phone on silent and placed it beside her on the table.

I sat Clara beside me and put her food on her plate the way she liked it. No food touching and the chicken cut up into very small pieces.

‘No, Mummy, no chicken. It’s too chewy.’

‘Just a few very small bits,’ I said. ‘Look, I cut it up really small.’

‘No, Mummy. I don’t want it.’

‘All right. Eat some peas and your mashed potato, then.’

Mum clicked her tongue. ‘It’s ridiculous, Louise. You indulge Clara too much. She only ever picks at her food. You need to stop pandering to her and let her get on with it. If you don’t nip that in the bud now, you’ll have trouble later.’ Turning to Clara, she said, ‘Come on now, eat up. Chicken is good for you.’

Clara shook her head. I could see she was clenching her fists under the table and I was worried that she might have a tantrum.

‘Mum, drop it. She’s getting upset,’ I said firmly.

Mum raised her hands. ‘Fine, she’s your child, but I think you need to be a bit firmer with her.’

I needed to change the subject. ‘Gavin said Shania is working with you now, Sophie. How is she getting on?’

‘Really great. I must say, she’s a very sweet girl, Gavin. You did well there. I’d hang onto her. She’s a natural on the catwalk, too. We did a big show for Style Central last night and she really stood out. All of the Style Central team commented on how good she was.’

‘I knew she’d rock it,’ Gavin said, through a mouthful of food.

The triplets, followed by a frozen-looking Tom, tumbled into the room. Leo – well, actually, I’m not sure which of them it was: I can never tell them apart – complained to Julie, ‘Mum, it’s freezing out there. We’ve been out for ages. We’re starving.’

‘Sorry. Here, sit down and I’ll get you some plates.’

Julie went into the kitchen and Mum called after her, ‘Not my good ones, Julie. Anything chipped or old will do.’

The boys squashed in at the end of the table and noisily hoovered up the food Julie handed them.

‘Slowly, boys, you’ll give yourselves indigestion,’ Mum said.

Ignoring her, they continued to shovel large forkfuls of food into their mouths. Julie glanced at her phone and smiled. She texted back under the table so Mum couldn’t see her.

‘How’s school, Jess?’ Dad asked.

‘Boring as usual,’ she replied.

‘Jess!’ Sophie frowned at her.

‘“Boring” is a silly word,’ Mum said. ‘You need to participate more and then you’ll enjoy school.’

‘I love school,’ one of the triplets said.

‘Me too. It’s deadly. We get to play rugby every day,’ another added.

‘I like school too,’ Tom said. ‘And when I’m a big boy, I’m going to school with my brothers and I’m gonna play rugby too.’

‘No, you won’t. You’re a midget,’ his brother said.

‘Yeah, no one’s going to pick you for their team. You’re too small and skinny,’ said another.

Julie put her phone down. ‘Leave Tom alone. He’s a perfect size.’

The triplets laughed.

‘Poor Tom,’ Sophie said, patting his head. ‘Ignore your mean brothers.’

Gavin put his fork down with a bang. ‘Well, now you see what it was like for me with you three witches picking on me all the time. I was the Tom in our family.’

‘No, you weren’t,’ I said. ‘You’re always coming out with this rubbish. The truth is you were spoilt rotten.’

‘I was tormented by you. Remember when you all told me I was adopted, and that if I looked closely at the milkman, I’d see he was my dad? Or the time you babysat me, put the clock forward three hours and made me go to bed at five o’clock? You also told me that when the microwave pinged we had ten seconds to get out of the house before it exploded. You told me I was lazy –’

‘Poor Gavin,’ I interrupted. ‘Having the run of the house when we all left home. Having your choice of bedroom, the TV all to yourself, the fridge full of your favourite food. You had Mum fussing over you, washing, ironing and cooking for you. Dad giving you pocket money even when you were finished college and should have been working. Poor you.’

‘Not to mention the money I gave you in the good times,’ Sophie said.

‘And all the times you cried on my shoulder and I comforted you when your mad ventures didn’t work out,’ Julie reminded him.

‘And all the jobs I helped you get,’ I added.

‘OK, OK!’ He put his hands up. ‘Maybe it wasn’t quite so bad. But you three were no picnic.’

‘I want money from Granddad and Sophie,’ a triplet said.

‘I want a TV all to myself,’ said another.

‘I want a fridge full of my favourite food,’ the third added.

‘I wish I was Uncle Gavin,’ Tom said.

Sophie, Julie and I smirked at Gavin. He shrugged. ‘I guess there were times when it was worse than others.’

The lunch went well until one of the triplets pushed another off his chair. He fell against the sideboard and smashed Dad’s golf trophy.

Dad was livid, so we all left shortly after. Julie promised to replace it, but Dad told her it was irreplaceable and that her children were like wild animals. Julie was in tears leaving.

I followed her outside to her car. ‘Don’t mind Dad. He’s just upset.’

‘I’m sick of people saying my kids are animals.’ She wiped away a tear. ‘They’re my children, for God’s sake. How would you like it if they said Clara was a nightmare all the time? I know they’re a handful, I live with them every day, but I love them and I’m fed up with people giving out about them.’

I felt bad. I thought the triplets were a nightmare too, but Julie was right: they were her kids and she adored them. It wasn’t fair that everyone gave out about them. I hated anyone criticizing Clara in any way. I’d have to have a word with Mum and Dad about their attitude to the boys. They were tough going and they had broken a lot of things in Mum and Dad’s house so I did understand their frustration, but I felt bad for Julie.

L
ater that evening
, when I was putting Clara to bed, she asked me, ‘Mummy, if cutting onions makes you cry, are there any vegetables that make you happy when you cut them?’