“Yes, we shared a house along with four others, Will included. Angie is the reason we can all cook. She insisted we do a night each and she wasn’t willing to eat bolognaise every time.” He led her across the room and for the next hour Hayley chatted to people and got to know more about Jamie.
They were helping themselves to another drink when she happened to notice Becky hovering by the doorway. “Your sister looks as if she’d like to escape.”
“Which sister?” He followed her gaze and laughed. “Yes, Becky hates big gatherings. Any moment now you’ll look round and she will have vanished. She’ll be in her room with headphones on, doing something on her laptop.”
“She’s beautiful. I’ve never met identical twins before. It’s a little unnerving. It’s a good thing Rosie has long hair and dresses differently or it wouldn’t be easy to tell them apart.”
“Becky’s hair was long too until she was about sixteen. They played all kinds of tricks on us when they were young. And occasionally at school.”
She was intrigued. “Pretending to be each other? As a joke?”
“No, usually one of them was saving the other. I remember one occasion when Rosie was being bullied and so Becky pretended to be her and sorted them out.” He caught her questioning look. “You don’t want to know, but it got Becky suspended. Except she was suspended as Rosie, which got complicated.”
Hayley laughed. “I can imagine.”
“It worked the other way round too. Becky had to stand onstage and recite a poem at some end-of-school event or other—I don’t remember exactly. It was her idea of hell.”
“So Rosie did it?”’
“Yes. And she did it perfectly, by which I mean she was just good enough but not outstanding.” He shrugged. “She was Becky.”
Hayley felt a shaft of envy. “So they’ve always been close. In each other’s corner.”
“Always.”
She thought about what had happened earlier. The distress on Rosie’s face when she’d blurted out her belief that Becky was in love with Declan.
“Did you know Becky and Will were together?”
“No, but it makes sense to me. Far more sense than Becky and Declan.” He finished his drink and frowned. “I don’t know what made Rosie say that. Although she has always had an active imagination.”
But a statement like that had to come from somewhere, didn’t it?
“When she came to our room to help me with my dress, did she seem like herself to you?”
“Now you mention it, I did think she was looking strange when I knocked on her door to ask for help, but I assumed she was feeling awkward because she’d made a fool of herself. You might have picked up on that.”
Hayley hesitated. He was the one who knew his sister, not her. One day, maybe, she’d know them well enough to be able to form her own judgement. To know when to offer help and when to stand back.
“You’re probably right. Your sister is very kind.”
“Rosie? Yes, she is, providing you haven’t stolen herChristmas chocolate. Then she’s ruthless. Have you tried those mini quiches my mother made? They’re delicious.”
“I have. And they are. Your mother is a great cook. And so good at making people feel welcome.”
“So apart from the fallout of shocking my family with our announcement, what do you think of your first family Christmas?”
She glanced around the room, at the groups of people enjoying each other’s company.
“It has been interesting. And a lot more complicated than I imagined.”
“I did warn you that your vision of family life was a long way from reality. Chaos, isn’t it?”
Yes, elements of it were chaotic, but it was so much more than that. There was a warmth about the gathering, a lightness and air of anticipation as if everyone had left their complicated lives at the door with their coats and were just enjoying the moment.
She could have watched them forever, the interactions, the way they knew each other. They all looked so comfortable and happy.
And then she noticed that there was no sign of Rosie.
