Page 77 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

‘Dad! You didn’t talk to her.’

‘She didn’t speak!’ Mike said indignantly. ‘What was I supposed to say?’

‘Hello, Ivy, this is your grandad, I love you, maybe?’

‘She doesn’t know who I am, what’s the point?’ he said tetchily.

‘Dad! The point is that you need to make an effort.’ According to Clare, he’d shown little or no interest in his first grandchild. If she ever had kids, Skye was sure that their kids would instantly become the most precious creatures in her life.

‘When you’ve had your own children, maybe then you’ll be in a position to lecture me,’ her dad replied as if he’d read her mind. ‘Any sign of that, is there? Settling down and getting married? A good man could be the making of you. Just something to bear in mind. Now, is Liz free please?’

Skye was speechless. A man could be the making of her? What century was he in?

‘He wants to talk to you,’ she said grumpily, walking to the kitchen island where Liz was working.

Liz held up her sticky hands. ‘Put it on hands-free, darling. Hello, Mike.’

‘Hello, old girl.’

‘Less of the “old”, Michael Marriott, I’m six months younger than you.’

‘You’re only as old as the woman you feel, as the saying goes,’ Mike laughed lustily.

Skye looked at Clare and they pretended to gag.

‘So that makes you what, these days – thirty-eight?’

‘Nilla’s forty-five,’ Mike retorted. ‘Anyway, I’m calling about my business event.’

‘What business event?’

‘The one I booked you for, remember? Over lunch?’

‘Just testing,’ said Liz, wincing. She waved at Skye to pass her the diary. ‘Remind me of the date.’

‘Didn’t Dad ask to speak to me?’ Clare asked after Skye had passed the diary to Liz.

‘He’s tight for time,’ she replied vaguely. ‘But he was quite concerned about your arm.’

‘You’re a terrible liar.’ Clare reached for her glass of water, sipped it and then closed her eyes. ‘But thanks for trying.’

‘How many people?’ Liz was asking. ‘And what time?’

Skye tuned out of the conversation and returned to what her dad had said about marriage. As if marrying a man was all she was good for.

That was why she never confided in him, or her mum, about her love life. Because whatever she decided to do, whoever she decided to spend the rest of her life with, she needed to be absolutely sure that it was what she really wanted. She knew that if there was any doubt in her mind, she’d be swayed by her dad’s opinion. The desire to please her father, to make him notice her, had been at the heart of everything she’d done since becoming aware that she was being judged by a standard set by Clare. Clare wouldn’t marry someone for Dad’s approval, Skye mused. And when it came to it, neither should she.

The tone of Liz’s voice brought her back to the moment.

‘No, Mike. Absolutely not,’ Liz was saying. ‘Not at your house. You wouldn’t have asked us to do that if Jen were still here, so don’t ask me now.’

‘What’s going on?’ Skye hissed to Clare.

‘Dad wants Liz to cater for an event at his house. Liz says no.’

‘Liz,’ Mike’s voice was cajoling. ‘That’s no way to run a business.’

‘It’s how I run my business,’ Liz snapped back.