Page 19 of The Summer That Changed Us

The two friends smiled at each other and Claudia gave Robyn’s leg another squeeze.

She glanced at Robyn’s chest hidden under her jumper. ‘I think your new boobs look good. What do they feel like from the inside?’

‘My foobs? Weird,’ said Robyn. ‘Like not part of me. They’re a second behind me whenever I try and move too fast.’

She’d never given her own boobs much thought until they were gone. Now, she realised how attached she’d been to them.

‘You’ve still got a lovely figure,’ Claudia continued. ‘Not like my hormonally ravaged one. Do you still get hormones?’

Robyn gave her a warning look. ‘Yes, Claude, I still get hormones.’

Just then Betty produced the cutest burp, opening her eyes wide with shock and then closing them again and they both laughed.

‘Do you mind taking her?’ Claudia deposited Betty in Robyn’s arms. ‘I feel like she’s been glued to my bosom all day.’

Robyn cradled the little girl to her, letting her tiny head rest under her chin, and inhaled her sweet baby smell. The door from the kitchen opened and Finn came in. He sat on the arm of Robyn’s chair and kissed the baby’s head.

Claudia dashed out to the loo while she had a child-free moment and as soon as she’d gone, Robyn turned to Finn.

‘Everything OK?’

He nodded without taking his eyes off Betty. ‘Bills, bills and more bills. I think we’re going to cut our week off short and get back to work a day early.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, leaning her head against him.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. ‘Hey, what have you got to be sorry about?’

Everything. Scarcely working last year. Putting the financial burden on you. Pretending to want children because you said you did, then being relieved when it couldn’t happen. Not being the woman you married anymore …

But she stayed silent. Betty made a cooing noise and Robyn turned her around and placed her in the crook of her arm so they could both see her face.

‘Look at those tiny fingernails,’ she said, changing the subject. ‘They don’t seem real. Isn’t she just the most perfect thing?’

‘Perfect,’ Finn agreed. ‘Can Betty have a cuddle with her Uncle Finn then?’

‘Sure.’ Robyn smelled the newness of her one more time before handing her to Finn.

‘Well, hello, little one,’ he whispered, holding her up to his face.

Betty opened her eyes and looked hazily at him, her lips twitching into a lopsided smile.

‘She likes you,’ Robyn laughed.

‘Course she does. There’s nothing to her, she’s tiny,’ said Finn, lifting her up and down as if he was weighing her.

‘True,’ said Callum, joining them in the living room. ‘If she was a cod, you’d throw her back.’

Finn kissed Betty’s downy head. ‘Don’t you listen, Bets, he doesn’t mean it.’

Callum picked up his phone and knelt down in front of them. ‘One for the family album, cheesy grins please.’

Robyn tilted her head close to Finn and the baby while Callum took a picture.

‘Let’s see,’ said Finn, beckoning for his brother to hand the phone over. ‘She’s an absolute stunner. And the baby’s not bad-looking either.’

Robyn and Finn smiled at each other.

‘Aww, you two, that’s so romantic,’ said Claudia, arriving back and resuming her place on the sofa.