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And secondly, my mother would dismantle him piece by piece and smile sweetly whilst doing it. She’d say being a teacher is a noble concept but not exactly a lucrative career, despite the fact that one of my favourite things about Tom is his dedication to his students. Or make comments about how his family wasn’t good enough, despite Kath having been one of my best friends for years. She’d break him to the point where he’d hate me and everything my family represents. Or worse, he’d stick it out, pretending it was fine, until he’d finally snap and leave me when he realised I wasn’t worth the hassle.

It’s happened before with a guy I’d been seeing at university. He met Mum once, she picked him apart all evening, and then he stopped returning my messages. Maybe the two things weren’t connected, but I’ve never been able to convince myself they weren’t.

So, no. No matter how great The Kiss was. No matter how much I enjoy hanging out with Tom, this cannot be a thing.

“Hi guys,” I say cautiously as I walk into the living room.

Don’t be awkward, I tell myself. Don’t be awkward.

I smooth my hair which is somehow a mixture of both sweaty and frizzy. Great.

“Hi.” Tom smiles. “How was yoga? I’m impressed you were up so early.”

“It was good.”

My sister grins at me behind his back, of course she does.

“Sophia… can I chat with you for a moment?”

“Sure.” She hops up before turning back to the kitchen counter. “Tom brought you a coffee. Your usual. That disgusting concoction that I hate. But anyway it’s cold now. Though honestly, it probably tastes better this way.”

Of course he brought me a coffee. Stupid Tom, being annoyingly nice and considerate. I’m still sweaty and he looks like a normal, put-together human. His arms look great in his T-shirt too. Stop looking at his arms, you idiot.

“Cool,” I say curtly.

Sophia follows me into my bedroom, and I shut the door.

“I can’t believe you let him in,” I whisper-shout. “This cannot be a thing. We cannot be a thing. It’s inappropriate and—”

“Why?” she interrupts, folding her arms and looking infuriatingly calm. “Why is it inappropriate?”

I gape at my sister in shock. How dare she disagree with me? She’s meant to fully participate in my thought spiral.

“Because he’s Kath’s brother,” I explain. “Which means that firstly I am betraying a sacred rule of girl code and secondly, if anything goes wrong it will blow up in my face.”

Sophia raises an eyebrow. “I don’t think it’s as big a deal as you think it is. You know Kath better than anyone. You honestly think she’d be upset over you dating Tom? Have you even asked her?”

“It doesn’t matter!” I take a deep breath. “It’s like… rule number one of friendship. Thou shalt not lust after thy friend’s brother.”

“Was that in the Bible or The Bachelor?” Sophia taps her fingers against the bedside table. “And, you did already break that rule with the kiss. And now the full-blown emotional tailspin.”

“That was a blip.” I pace across the room. “It doesn’t count if there was wine involved, and I panicked immediately afterwards.”

She gives me a look. “Claire. You went to hot yoga to sweat out your feelings, not church.”

I groan and sit down on the bed. “I can’t do this. It’s not just Kath. It’s everything.”

“Everything being…?”

“Our mum, Sophia.” I wave a hand vaguely, like that explains all of human suffering. “You know what she’s like.”

Sophia raises an eyebrow. “Controlling, highly strategic, obsessed with appearance and status? Oh, and perfect teeth.”

“Exactly.” I gesture wildly. “You’ve seen her interrogate my dates like they’re applying for the secret service or something, and she’s done the same to you. You think Tom is going to breeze through that?”

“Honestly?” she shrugs. “He’s smart, kind, has a real job, and actually cares about kids. She’ll still hate him and his lack of prestigious pedigree, but that’s not on him.”

“She’ll eat him alive,” I mutter, pulling a cushion into my lap. “And he’ll resent me for spending time with them. Nobody other than you gets how complicated it is. And then he’ll leave me, because why wouldn’t he, and I’ll have ruined things with one of my only true friends over a fling.”