‘Nothing? Liv, I’m a medical professional. I know babies aren’t conceived out of thin air. Oh God, he didn’t…’
‘No, nothing like that. It was a one-night stand, OK?’
‘But you told us he was your boyfriend!’
‘I didn’t want Dad to worry or think badly of me, not so soon after losing Mum.’
‘But you got married!’
I managed a small smile as shock lengthened Cass’s face. ‘Yeah, I know. Weird.’
‘Liv, why the hell did you marry a man you weren’t even dating?’
‘I decided I needed to tell him about the baby. It was the right thing to do. At best, I thought he’d tell me to get on with it by myself. At worst, I thought he’d call me a liar.’
‘But?’
‘I’ve never really known why he reacted like he did. Part of me has always wondered whether he married me to piss off his parents. I was nothing like girls he’d taken home before. He knew before I did his parents would hate me.’
‘What happened when you told him you were pregnant? Did he get down on one knee straight away?’
‘No, not quite. I found him doing some last-minute cramming in the library. I’m not sure he even recognised me when I walked up to him. Anyway, I told him outright why I’d come to see him.’
‘How did he react?’
‘He shouted “shit” at the top of his voice and we both got kicked out by a terrifying librarian. Then we went to the pub. He was kinder than I’d been expecting and honest, too. He admitted he’d never thought of me as more than a one-night-stand and had had no intention of calling me.’
‘What a romantic.’
‘I told him I didn’t expect anything from him, but he would be welcome to be a part of his child’s life if he wanted to. He said he’d think about it. He came to me the next day with a proposal. No,’ I said, Cass’s mouth hanging open even wider. ‘Not that kind of proposal. He said he’d always believed a child should have two parents. He suggested we spend a month getting to know each other and see how things developed. So that’s what we did. At the end of the month, we’d grown to like each other. He’s not all bad. There’s a decent guy in there somewhere. That’s when he suggested marriage.’
‘Marriage still seems quite the leap.’
‘Remember, Cass, I was twenty-one. I’d just lost my mum and was facing a future as a single parent. This good-looking, intelligent, half-decent man came along and suggested we team up and get married. As options went, it wasn’t the worst.’
‘True. I just can’t believe you lied to us. I was so jealous of you!’
‘Jealous of me?’
‘Yeah, you inherited the Latina looks, the big brain, found yourself a rich man. I thought you were up in Oxford enjoying some whirlwind romance that was the cherry on the top of an already perfect life.’
I stared at my sister in shock, then burst out laughing. ‘My God, Cass, you have no idea. I hated most of my time at Oxford. I never knew how to act around the posh kids and plenty of them openly expressed their belief I didn’t deserve to be there. I spent most of my time alone in the library. I was so jealous of you, mybig brave sister living in a house with her friends, training for one of the most important jobs in the world.’
‘Come here,’ said Cass, pulling me towards her on the sofa. ‘One day I’ll tell you all the jobs they palm off on trainee nurses, but I think you’ve had enough shocks for one week.’
‘I love you, sis. Thanks for looking after me.’
‘I’d be a crap big sister if I didn’t.’
‘True, but thank you anyway. I promise we’ll get out of your hair as soon as possible.’
I meant what I said, the only stumbling block was that I had no idea how to do it.
Chapter Nine
My alarm went off at five. During the week I’d been staying with my sister, I’d calculated not only what waking time would get me into the bathroom before the queue began, but also the time it took for my puffy, tear-stained eyes to return to normal.
All week Cass and Jasper had been complimenting my inner strength, how well I was coping. What they didn’t see were the tear-mangled tissues I flushed down the toilet before they woke up, or how I packed my pillow away before anyone noticed how damp it was.
