Soon everyone was back inside, along with Becky’s luggage.
Her father and grandfather had emerged from the study, and everyone seemed to be talking at once.
Rosie felt a moment of satisfaction as she saw Jamie put his arm round Hayley and introduce her to Becky.
“Hey there.” Becky was about to shake hands but Hayley stepped forward and hugged her.
Rosie grinned. Obviously, their family had already had an impact on Hayley.
“Good to meet you.” Becky smiled awkwardly. “And this is Will, er—family friend.”
Their mother hugged Will. “It’s good to see you. Thank you for driving Becky.”
“Hey, I drove us half the way.” Becky bent to make a fuss of Percy. “I’m in love with Will’s car. It’s the same one that Finn bought, Declan. Remember?”
Declan smiled. “Yes. As I recall, he was too afraid to drive it so it spent most of his life in the garage.”
“And someone bumped into it when they were parking.” Becky winced at the memory. “Remember when he came intowork with red eyes and you thought someone in the family must have died?”
“Yes.” Declan was laughing too. “We couldn’t stand his misery, so we all clubbed together to get the paintwork fixed.”
“And he chose a bright yellow, so that everyone would see the car.”
“It looked like a psychedelic banana.”
They were both laughing so hard they could hardly stand up.
Watching them, Rosie was again reminded of how much history they shared. Far more than she and Declan shared.
Jamie clearly noticed too. “I forget that you and Declan know each other really well, Becks.”
“Yeah.” Becky made a fuss of Percy. “We worked together for five years. I was the one who introduced him to Rosie, remember? I was his work wife.”
Work wife.
Rosie looked at her sister, her attention caught by her tone and facial expression. And suddenly she knew. It all fell into place.
It wasn’t only Declan she needed to worry about. It was Becky.
Becky had feelings for Declan. Strong feelings.
The ground shifted beneath her feet and she reached out to grab the back of the nearest chair for support.
Her sister hadn’t stayed away from them because she wanted to give them space—she’d stayed away because she found it difficult being around them.
Why hadn’t it occurred to her before? This was what Becky did. When she found something difficult, she avoided it. As a child she would hide behind the sofa rather than talk about what was bothering her. She shut everyone out, including Rosie.
The last few months had been the equivalent of Becky hiding behind the sofa. Not because she was giving her sister space, but because she was hurt.
Rosie had fallen crazily in love with Declan and she hadn’t even paused to wonder if her sister might have feelings for him too. To be fair, she’d been given no reason to suspect it.
But in the end it didn’t matter that it hadn’t been intentional. It had happened. She’d married the man Becky was in love with.
This was why Becky had changed jobs. Not because she wanted more money or a bigger challenge. But to put distance between herself and Declan. It was the reason she’d refused to share their apartment and had instead chosen to live with a stranger.
“You’re in love with him.” The words spilled out of her with no filter.
The room fell silent. Her grandmother’s teacup rattled as she turned to put it on the table.
