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His eyes widened slightly.

“It’s over,” she said again, more quietly. “There’s nothing between us. It’s… she’s… it’s done. I swear.”

He looked at her for a second. “It had better be.”

“It is.”

They stood in the kitchen face to face for a long minute, then he nodded. “Alright then. I’ll believe you.” He sniffed. “Best not tell Gio. He’ll lose his shit.”

Sophie nodded. “Right.”

“Go on then, off to bed with you. I don’t want to see you tonight.” He turned back to his chair, a can of beer beside it.

Sophie thought about saying something, but what was there to say? She turned and walked away, climbing the stairs slowly to her room.

She’d told the truth. It was all over. Even if it hadn’t been before, it definitely was now. Because even if there was a small, tiny chance that she and Tilly could make things work, her father would never stand for it. And she couldn’t stand to lose him.

Her heart hurt in ways she couldn’t describe, and it was a long time before she fell asleep.

Chapter Thirty One

On Saturday morning, Tilly woke up early. It was only when she was already in the shower that she realized that actually, she was excited about her dad coming to visit. The last few days had admittedly been terrible. She thought of Sophie all the time, and singing next to her was pure torture.

But that didn’t mean that a tiny part of her couldn’t be happy that her dad was coming. A familiar face, someone she didn’t have to try hard with. Someone who could give her a hug and tell her everything would be alright even if it wouldn’t.

It was early enough that she snuck down the stairs, not wanting to wake anyone else in the house. A quiet breakfast and then she’d go down to the station and meet the train.

She was silently creeping down the stairs when she heard the sniff. Confused, she looked back up the stairs, but no, the sound was coming from the living room. She hesitated, not sure whether she should go in or not, but then Mila had always been there for her, and the sniffing couldn’t be anyone else.

She knocked quietly on the door before she went in, and Mila was hastily wiping her eyes, blue hair tucked behind her ears, cheeks pink.

“Sorry to intrude,” Tilly said gently. “But I wanted to check that you’re alright. Is there something I can do?”

Mila gave her a watery smile. “No, love. No, I’m just being a bit silly, that’s all.”

Tilly sat down on the couch next to her. “I’m sure you’re not,” she said. She thought about all the discussions she’d heard, she thought about Dash saying his parents argued, she thought about her own break up, and she sighed. “Want to talk about it?”

“It’s nothing, really,” Mila said.

“You’ve got a free listening ear,” said Tilly, smiling. “I won’t tell a soul anything. You can rely on that.”

Tilly smiled back. “Yeah, you’re right about that. Max says that you’re by the book, that you never break a rule.”

“That includes the rules of friendship,” said Tilly stoutly.

Mila shook her head. “It’s just… Well, to be honest, it’s money.”

Tilly frowned. “Money? It’s not… You’re not… You and Max?”

Mila laughed. “Me and Max are fine, but I suppose you’ve overheard some things over the last few weeks. We’ve argued a bit, I’ll admit that, but mostly because we need to figure some things out.”

“Like what?”

“Like how we can afford a bigger house and private school fees,” Mila sighed. She rubbed at her eyes. “Ag’s talking about bringing a grand piano home. She stands a good chance of getting into the conservatory. Dash’s room is basically a cupboard. God knows where we’re going to fit a new baby in.”

Tilly’s mouth dropped open. “A… a baby? You mean… you?” She started to laugh. “I had no idea. Congratulations.”

Mila looked pleased. “Yes, well, the little one might be sleeping in a drawer at this rate. Property prices around here are ridiculous. We can’t afford to move.”