Page 107 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

No way.

Was this real or were her eyes playing tricks on her?

She blinked and focused again. Definitely him. Her stomach, her legs, her chest… everything felt weak as her brain processed the sight of him. He was as tanned as ever, his muscled arm resting on the open window as he manoeuvred the car forwards.

‘Jesse!’ Skye yelled, clapping her hands over her mouth.

The brake lights of the car came on and he turned to her, his blue eyes wide in surprise. And then he was out of the car and sprinting towards her.

‘Skye! It’s you!’ He scooped her up and swung her round, his mouth finding hers. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’

He tasted of mint and cola and she could smell the faint eucalyptus scent of the soap they used in Kampala. The smell of home-her old home.

‘I’ve missed you too,’ she said, her voice choked. ‘You look great.’

‘You too.’ He pulled back to scan her face as if he was trying to absorb every detail of her. He caught hold of her hands. ‘You look … radiant, glowing, gorgeous.’

She couldn’t take her eyes off him. She had missed him. He was probably the best friend she’d ever had – and the last person she’d expected to see here, causing chaos in this little Devonshire town.

Her brain kicked into overdrive. What was she going to say to him? And – oh God, Liz and Clare, what was she going to tell them? She had no choice but to take him to Clemency House. But should she talk to him alone first? Tell him her decision?

‘Mate?’ the driver of the van wedged behind Jesse’s car yelled out of the window. ‘This is all very romantic, but can you move your bloody car?’

‘Of course.’ Jesse held his hand up apologetically and then nodded to the assembled crowd. ‘Sorry, everyone. I’m used to African dirt roads – these narrow streets have defeated me.’

‘Excuse me, let me through!’

Skye turned towards the voice to see Liz, elbowing her way to the front of the crowd. She stopped in her tracks and stared, no doubt surprised to see Skye holding hands with a strange man in the street.

‘Skye? Ooh hello, who’s this?’

Oh hell. This wasn’t how she’d planned it; Skye felt her knees tremble, but thankfully Jesse had his arm around her waist.

Skye swallowed. ‘Jesse, this is Liz, my godmother. Liz, meet Jesse.’

Liz extended a hand for Jesse to shake. ‘So you’re Skye’s boss! Welcome! We’ve heard a lot about you.’

Jesse’s gaze slid from Liz to Skye, a look of confusion on his face. ‘Her boss? I’m a lot more than that. I’m the man who wants to marry her. Her fiancé, if she’s decided to say yes.’

‘Fiancé?’ Liz stared at her in amazement. ‘Skye, is that right?’

‘Well.’ Skye opened her mouth to speak, but there was nothing there. No words, no excuses, no explanation. She couldn’t do this to him. She couldn’t be so heartless, not while Liz was looking at her, while Jesse was waiting for her to confirm that he was telling the truth. ‘Yes. That’s right. Jesse’s my boss and my boyfriend.’

But you don’t love him, a voice in her head yelled at her.

Marta’s words flashed up in her mind: It’s always better to be honest with those we care about. So why had she just lied to the ones she cared about most in the world?

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Skye

JUNE 2022

Someone cranked up the music and within seconds we were all on our feet, whooping and clapping to the beat. Friday nights at the Hope Foundation Camp in Kampala were often like this. School was finished for the week, and it was a time to blow off steam. Someone would light a fire, a speaker would be rigged up, and a cooler filled with bottles of beer brought outside.

It was impossible not to dance to African music. Everyone joined in. Even the new gritty-eyed volunteers who’d only just arrived and were disorientated and dazed and still trying to work out if the crackling noises were coming from the fire or from the thick bush which bordered the camp.

Jesse appeared at my side, ready to party. He smelled of his lime shaving oil and smoke from the fire; his eyes were shining as he twirled me around, much to the amusement of the children from the village who’d crept into the party as soon as they heard the music.