Page 54 of Unapologetic Love Story

The fans had been so incredible about the news. Raina had cried in her bathroom while scrolling through all of the beautiful messages. Win, lose or draw, they were adamant that this should be considered a breakthrough.

‘It’s going well,’ she added.

‘Good,’ her father said, also sitting down at the table. Meggie sat as well, bringing a fresh bottle of chardonnay with her.

‘How’s Pepper?’ she asked, daintily piercing a baby tomato with her fork.

The dogs trotted into the room, having sensed that everyone was sitting down to eat. The begging began, with wide eyes and low grumbling. Raina’s father quickly opened the door to the garden, ushering them out.

‘She’s great,’ Raina said.

‘I saw her picture in a magazine somewhere,’ Meggie remarked, letting her cutlery fall to her plate as she tried to recall where. ‘Where was it, Peter?’

‘Dentist?’

‘No. Well, anyway. Doesn’t matter where I saw it. She looked fabulous. So thin.’

‘Mm,’ Raina said in acknowledgement. ‘I’ll tell her.’

‘Do.’

A few moments of silent dining. Raina wondered if it was safe to add a little salad dressing to her portion. When she eventually summoned the courage, Meggie’s eyes followed the movement.

‘It’s homemade salad dressing,’ she said. ‘Less calories that way.’

‘Wow,’ Raina said, unsure of how else to respond. She took a bite of lettuce with the dressing and grimaced at the taste. It managed to be searingly bitter while also pretty tasteless. ‘Very good.’

‘A success,’ Peter said proudly, though Raina noticed he didn’t drizzle any over his own salad.

‘How’s work, Mum?’ Raina enquired, downing more water in the hope it would remove the aftertaste.

‘Fine,’ Meggie said offhandedly. ‘The same.’

‘Mm.’

When the sound of the front door opening caused the dogs in the garden to go wild, Raina exhaled and relaxed just a molecule.

Solana was home.

She could hear the music pumping through her sister’s headphones before the young woman appeared. She was wearing athletic clothes but had clearly showered at the gym.

‘Rai,’ she cried, leaning down to plant a wet kiss on Raina’s cheek. ‘Good to see you at this table again. Happy birthday for tomorrow.’

‘How was the workout?’ Meggie asked, staring up at her youngest daughter expectantly.

‘Good, until some guys started offering unsolicited advice on my technique,’ Solana replied.

She helped herself to what little food was left and then sat down beside her elder sister.

‘I’ve been looking at flats in London,’ she said excitedly.

‘Oh, really?’ Raina asked, around a mouthful of croutons – the closest she would get to proper carbohydrates in their house. ‘Why is that?’

‘I want to move there when I’m finished with Oxford.’

‘Now, you have plenty of time left before you graduate,’ Peter said evenly, and Meggie made a noise of agreement. ‘Besides, you might want to go for your Masters.’

‘Yeah,’ Solana said slowly, sharing a look with her sister. ‘In. London.’