Page 115 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

‘Michael, I am perfectly capable of serving a restaurant-quality lunch in my home to your guests. However, if you’re having doubts, then feel free to go elsewhere.’

‘No, no,’ he said hastily. ‘It’s cool.’

Cool. What a plonker. Just who did he think he was? Patrick wouldn’t ever use the word cool because … because he knew how to age gracefully, whereas Mike seemed intent on hanging on to his youth.

‘You’ve added an extra guest,’ Liz said shortly. ‘Harriet?’

‘Yes, Harriet.’ His voice softened. ‘My assistant. Smart as a whip. Charms the pants of anyone that girl, a real asset.’

Liz could imagine, she thought wryly. ‘The garlic prawn salad will stretch to an extra portion. The problem is the lobster. I only bought enough for eight, as previously agreed.’

‘Oh, don’t worry, she’s vegan,’ Mike casually informed her.

‘What?’ Liz almost dropped the phone.

‘Vegan,’ he repeated. ‘No meat, fish or dairy.’

‘I know what it is!’ she bristled. Oh God, she was having a flashback to that bloody oyster sauce. She shuddered. At least she wouldn’t make that mistake again, tempted though she might be. ‘But we dealt with dietary requirements in an earlier email. You’re an absolute birdbrain, Michael Marriott, and I’ll be very tempted to shove your lobster where the sun don’t shine.’

‘Oh, Liz.’ He laughed then, properly laughed, and suddenly she was right back in that lecture theatre when they’d done that killer presentation together and he’d picked her up, whirled her around and kissed her.

Then she joined in the laughter and for the next couple of minutes they hooted and wheezed until he couldn’t speak, and she had tears running down her cheeks.

Finally, she got her breath back. ‘Look, leave it with me, I’m sure I can rustle up some deep-fried tofu balls.’

‘Ouch,’ Mike sniggered. ‘Sounds painful.’

And they were off again.

‘Haven’t laughed like that in ages,’ said Mike once he’d recovered enough to speak. ‘I bloody love you, Liz.’

Heat rushed through her and before she could think about all the things he did to wind her up, her reply was out. ‘I love you too. See you later.’

‘Love who too?’ Clare called from the stairs.

‘Your dad,’ she said, still smiling as Clare entered the kitchen.

‘You love my dad?’ Clare looked bemused. ‘Aww.’

‘Of course I do.’ Liz felt herself redden. ‘But not like that. He’s my oldest friend. We’ve been in each other’s lives for forty years.’

‘Gosh, yes, I suppose you have,’ Clare said in odd voice.

‘Right.’ Liz pushed herself from the table. ‘Time to get cracking. I’m going to impress Mike Marriott today if it kills me.’

‘You’ve just said he’s your oldest friend. Surely you don’t need to impress him.’ Clare headed for the coffee machine and switched it on.

Something in her tone made Liz anxious. ‘Today, he’s a paying customer. I want him to be happy. That’s all.’

Her stomach flipped as she recognised her own white lie. She knew she was meant to be falling out of love with him, but some habits were hard to break.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Skye

‘I wish you all a beautiful day.’ Marta bowed to her class, her hands in prayer position over her heart space. ‘Namaste.’

Skye and everyone else repeated the blessing back to Marta and the session was over. People took their time to get to their feet; some stretched, others stayed where they were, eyes closed and faces tilted to the sky. She didn’t blame them; there was something about the setting and the feeling of togetherness and the sense of well-being Marta created in this class that made you want to stay longer and eke out every second of it before flipping the reality switch and rejoining your day. But this time Skye wished they’d all pack up and disappear so that she’d have Marta to herself.