Page 24

‘You’re welcome.’

‘I know this isn’t something you and I have done before, but I’d like it if maybe we could do it more often.’

‘Maybe,’ Holly said, only to realise how lame her answer sounded. ‘That would be nice.’

Sienna laughed. It was far more genuine and chestier than the earlier chuckle she had offered.

‘You’re a terrible liar,’ she said. ‘But I mean it. I know it’s strange for us, this relationship, but I think it would make Giles really happy if you and I could be friends. Proper friends, you know.’

‘Yes, I’m sure you’re right.’

‘He thinks the absolute world of you, and Hope too. I mean, you’re practically family.’

Holly’s throat tightened as her pulse picked up. She wasn’t sure why Sienna was suddenly making her feel so nervous, but the tension she’d assumed would fade when they started talking was now worse. ‘You know what our friendship group is like,’ she said. ‘We’re all very close.’

‘Yes,’ Sienna said. ‘But it’s different with you and him. He was in love with you for a long time, right?’

24

Holly was sure she was being set up. This had to be some kind of trap, right? How the hell was she supposed to give an answer that Sienna would actually want to hear?

‘Did Giles tell you that?’ she asked, eventually.

It was Sienna’s turn to take an unusually long sip of wine.

‘Sort of. Not directly. He said there was someone he had been in love with for a very long time. Someone who couldn’t be with him. He said that it had been difficult to fully open up his heart again after she rejected him. Repeatedly. That’s you he’s talking about, isn’t it? You’re the one who didn’t want to be with Giles, even though he was in love with you?’

‘It wasn’t quite that simple.’ Holly felt like she was being attacked. The way Sienna had said the word ‘repeatedly’, like it had been dozens of times and it wasn’t anything like that at all. She could count on one hand the number of times she and Giles had really spoken about their feelings for one another. ‘There was a lot going on in my life. Having Hope with Ben, and there was Evan and?—’

‘Holly, I’m not judging you. Really, I’m not, and I hope it doesn’t come across that way. I just wanted you to know that I understand now that this is probably difficult for you. I think for a long time you’ve been his number one and now that’s going to change.’

‘Well…’ Holly began, not sure how she was going to continue, but as it happened, she didn’t get a chance.

‘It has to change. You understand that, right?’ Sienna carried on. ‘And if there is a chance that you do have feelings for Giles… if this proposal has suddenly made you feel like you were wrong in rejecting him and you’re going to come after him, I need to know that now. I don’t want to be anybody’s pity prize, but I’m not letting you ruin what we have, just because you think you have some sort of entitlement?—’

‘What?’ Holly’s tongue lolled uselessly in her mouth. ‘I don’t feel like that at all. Giles and I… We’re… We’re… Giles is just a friend. A really good friend, but that’s it. That’s all we’ve ever been. All we ever will be.’

Sienna’s relief was palpable. ‘You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that. Honestly, because I really like you, Holly. I want to get to know you properly. You probably think it’s silly, but I was so worried about having this conversation. I must have written at least a dozen messages trying to make sure I got the tone right.’

‘That doesn’t sound silly. Not at all,’ Holly replied.

‘Thank you. So… with that out the way, I should tell you the other reason I wanted to talk.’

‘There’s another reason?’ Holly tried not to show her horror, yet she obviously didn’t do a great job, as Sienna let out a little chuckle.

‘There’s a wonderful little spa hotel up in Norfolk. Very exclusive. In fact, I had to book the rooms two years ago just to get in, and I had no idea who I was going to take. I just didn’t want to miss out on the chance, you understand?’

‘I think?—’

‘Well, the booking is for two weeks’ time and it’s definitely not Giles’s type of place. So I thought that maybe you and Faye could come instead. You were saying at the hospital how you hadn’t had a chance to catch up properly in ages, and Giles said she’s not had a proper break since the children were born and I thought it could be a really great chance for us all to bond? What do you say? Please say yes. It’ll be just perfect. I know it will.’

Holly knew what she wanted to say. What single-syllable word was teetering on the end of her tongue. But she couldn’t do it. Not with Sienna looking up at her wide-eyed and hopeful. Like it or not, she knew there was only one answer she could give and so she smiled as high as her cheeks would allow, wondering if Sienna could feel how fake it felt.

‘Sure,’ she said. ‘That sounds great.’

25

‘It sounds terrible,’ Holly said to Jamie as they sat in the garden, watching the children make a den for woodlice out of leaves and twigs and anything else they could find. It had been almost a fortnight since Sienna had suggested they go away for a weekend with Faye, and since then, it had been all guns blazing. A group chat had been set up, in which Sienna informed them she had not only booked the rooms, but the train, and even a taxi back from the station to the hotel. She was also bringing a selection of books that they would be welcome to borrow, unless they wanted to buddy read, in which case they would need to get their own copies to join in. According to her, there was nothing for the others to do but enjoy themselves and this was the part Holly was finding the hardest to accept.