Page 51 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

Adam nodded and together they shuffled to the door. The icing was sliding off the cake, the candles floating down one side like slalom poles down a ski slope.

‘Mmm, yum. Everyone’s going to be clamouring for a slice of this,’ Adam said, squinting at her, his face dripping wet.

‘Don’t make me laugh,’ Skye said, trying not to giggle, ‘I’m on the edge of hysterics already.’

‘OK.’ Adam looked over Skye’s shoulder. ‘Ready for the threshold. The step is right behind––’

Adam faltered as Skye lifted one leg to clear the step. The cake started to sag between them. Adam made a grab for it, but Skye tripped over the step and fell backwards into the kitchen. The cake landed with a splat on the kitchen floor.

‘What the …?’ Adam’s voice sounded gruff as he stared over her shoulder.

‘Ouch!’ Skye hit her head on the corner of the dresser and landed on the tiled floor, one foot skidding in the cake. Pain shot through her. ‘Adam, help!’

But she’d lost his attention.

‘Saskia!’ he cried. ‘It is you. It’s me, Adam. Remember?’

‘Who?’ Skye rubbed her head. Where had she heard that name recently? And who was Saskia?

‘Oh my God. This is a bloody nightmare.’ Clare shook her head in disbelief.

‘Saskia, did you hear me?’ Adam repeated.

Skye was going to have a massive bruise on her bum and her head was already thumping. Clare was right; this was a nightmare, and the sooner they could extract Liz, the better.

‘Let’s go.’ Clare grabbed hold of her arm and tugged, but the combination of Skye’s wet skin and the icing on the floor proved too much for her. Clare’s shoe scooted sideways from under her, and she fell heavily onto her right arm, landing with a sickening crunch on the floor beside Skye. ‘Oh-oh-oh. Noooo!’ Clare gasped, her eyes wide in terror. ‘I think I’ve broken my arm.’

Skye clambered to her knees, took one look at Clare’s arm, which from the elbow down was facing the wrong way, and felt dizzy. ‘Definitely not looking good.’

Adam knelt in front of Clare and studied her face. ‘I can see this isn’t a good time, but it is you, isn’t it?’

‘Skye, help me.’ Clare’s face had gone deathly white, and her voice had diminished to a whisper. ‘Tell him to leave me alone.’

‘Thanks, Adam,’ Skye said firmly. ‘I’ve got this. Come on now, easy does it.’

‘Clare?’ His brow furrowed, clearly confused. ‘Please, can we talk?’

‘I think I’m going to faint,’ Clare groaned as Skye helped her to her feet.

‘Let me help you get her to a chair,’ Adam insisted.

Skye shook her head. ‘She’s my sister; I can manage.’

‘Half-sister,’ Clare murmured through her obvious pain. ‘And we’ve got to get back to the car – I’ve left Ivy in it.’

Skye glanced around at the press of people, the mess on the floor and Liz weaving her way through the crowd. How could she possibly leave now? Then again, how could she not?

‘OK, let’s do it.’ She manoeuvred Clare through the kitchen, clearing a path by waving an arm in front of her.

Together, they headed out of the front door and into the rain, where Clare had parked her car beside the van. Skye opened the car door for Clare to get into the passenger seat. Ivy was still fast asleep in the back.

Clare cradled her injured arm to her chest, her face still white. ‘What the hell are we going to do?’

Skye’s whole body was trembling, she was soaking wet, covered in birthday cake and her bum was going to be black and blue in the morning. ‘I’m going to take you to hospital.’

‘You can’t drive my car!’

‘Ivy certainly can’t, and Liz is shit-faced, so have you got any other bright ideas?’ Skye snapped.