Page 122 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

Skye whistled. ‘That is some attitude.’

As Harriet sat down, she squeezed Mike’s arm. He in turn stood up, topped up some glasses and turned to come inside.

‘Did you see that?’ Liz’s eyes widened. ‘If she’s his assistant, then I’m Mary Poppins.’

‘You are kidding me,’ Clare murmured.

‘Unbelievable. I knew she was lying when I caught her coming out of the bathroom at Dad’s.’ Skye strode off to fetch the starters.

‘Excuse me, ladies, little boys’ room,’ Mike announced, striding through the room and out to the cloakroom.

‘Harriet seems … ambitious,’ said Liz when he reappeared.

Mike nodded; his eyes were focused on his assistant. ‘She’s great, isn’t she?’

‘Hmm,’ Liz said. ‘And she’s young and attractive. How fortuitous.’

Mike pulled a wounded face. ‘Her talents got her the job and nothing else.’

‘How old is she, Dad?’ Skye piped up.

‘Twenty-five. Almost. It’s her birthday in a couple of weeks.’ There was a smug tone to his voice, which made Liz want to shake him.

‘What a dedicated employer you are, memorising her birthday,’ Clare said, over-brightly. She slurped loudly from her water bottle. ‘Good for you, Dad. Right, I’ll be upstairs if anyone wants me, shielding my injured arm from our delicate guests.’

‘You lot are scary when you’re all together.’ Mike blinked nervously and ran a finger around his collar. ‘I’d better get back out there.’

Liz shook her head; he didn’t change.

With the starters out of the way, Skye cleared the table while Liz plated up the main course.

Mike was in full flow as she and Skye carried out plates of lobster and bowls of Jersey Royal potatoes tossed in herb butter. There were grilled asparagus spears for Harriet. Liz had had second thoughts about the deep-fried tofu balls because of the last-minute cooking requirements. She was glad she hadn’t gone to too much effort now that she’d met Harriet.

‘Family is very important,’ Mike was saying to his guests. ‘Both to us as individuals and to the Good Vibrations company. I’m a family man myself, as you know. Skye is my youngest daughter.’

‘Hi.’ Skye nearly dropped the tray; Liz knew she hated to be the centre of attention like this.

‘Skye has been working in Uganda with her boyfriend, helping families who haven’t had the same advantages she had,’ Mike said proudly. ‘Just back for the summer. And I’m sure she’ll be starting a family of her own soon.’

Oh no. Poor Skye, talk about bad timing.

Liz coughed in an attempt to attract Mike’s attention, but he simply looked at his daughter and nodded encouragingly. ‘Isn’t that right, darling?’

Skye swallowed as everyone looked at her, waiting for her to respond.

‘Skye?’ Mike gave an awkward laugh and Skye seemed to shake herself.

‘Actually, it’s not right. I’ve left Uganda and my job,’ Skye said. ‘And I’ve left my boyfriend too.’

‘What?’ Mike’s eyes bulged in surprise. ‘Ah well, perhaps that’s something we can talk about later.’

‘No, it’s fine. Seeing as you asked, I’m not sure about starting a family,’ Skye said, ignoring him. ‘Because it’s early days with my new relationship and I’m not sure how she feels about kids.’

Liz felt a squeeze of panic; Skye was rigid with tension and after the stress of the last twenty-four hours, she wouldn’t be surprised if she let rip at her father.

‘Shall we leave our guests to eat their lunch,’ Liz suggested quietly, as people around the table began to shift awkwardly in their seats.

‘How she feels?’ Mike stuttered. ‘Don’t you mean—’