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‘Really?’ Holly’s brow arched.
‘So,’ Dad began, taking the reins. ‘As you know, we were both mortgage advisers at the same bank, before I became manager.’
‘Yes.’ Where is this going?
‘Well, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. For your mum, at least.’
‘Harry,’ Mum chided. ‘You’re making me out to be the villain, one sentence in.’
‘Sorry,’ he conceded with a chuckle. ‘It was my fault. You see, when your mum started at the bank, I was engaged to someone else.’
‘No, you were not!’ Holly blurted, so loud the surrounding trees emptied of birds.
‘It’s true,’ Mum said, sounding wistful.
‘I’m not overly proud of it, but the heart wants what it wants. I knew as soon as I saw your mum that I couldn’t marry Helen, so I broke it off.’
‘Six months later he admitted that he liked me, but I’d never seen him that way. We weren’t even really friends, to be honest. I’d not long started and we weren’t in the same social circles.’
‘So what did you do?’ Holly asked Dad.
‘Nothing, really.’
‘So glad you told me: all my problems are solved,’ Holly teased.
‘Now, now,’ Dad replied with a hoarse little laugh. ‘The moral of the story is that it pays to be honest. If I hadn’t told your mum how I felt she never would have even considered me.’
‘What changed your mind, then?’ Holly asked, peering around Dad to see her mother’s face.
‘It was the Christmas party and I’d had a few Babychams. I figured, why not? If we don’t click it will be a fun one-night stand.’
‘Mum!’ Holly exclaimed. She’d never heard her mum speak like that.
‘Well, it’s the truth.’
‘I can see why you’ve never told me the full story now.’ Holly’s cheeks burned.
‘But you see my point now?’ Dad asked, looking embarrassed too.
‘Kind of.’
‘You need to be honest with her. What did we always tell you?’
‘I have no idea. I’m still processing the whole Babycham thing.’
Mum giggled before turning serious, wagging her finger in time with her words to emphasise her point. ‘Liars always get caught.’
‘Meaning?’ Holly asked, confused.
‘You can’t tell Jen you just want to be friends when really you don’t.’
‘I wasn’t going to tell her anything.’
‘Holly, we didn’t tell you this just for you to miss the point entirely,’ Dad jibed.
‘Honesty is the best policy. Got it.’ Holly’s eyes widened, a question bobbing to the surface of her mind. ‘What about poor Helen?’
‘She’s happily married with four children,’ Dad stated, pleased to prove she had a good ending.
‘So it worked out for her too,’ Mum added.
‘Guess I need to be honest, then,’ Holly said with a huff.
