Chapter 14

‘Is Tom ready for these, Bella?' Daisy is balancing a tray of kebabs in her hand like a waitress – cubes of chicken threaded onto silver skewers between green, yellow and red peppers. Daisy's done a great job. She's cooked for us every night this week, while I've been climbing the walls worrying about Zelda holed up in Monaco with him. Daisy's an excellent cook, by the way, taught by her auntie Doris, from a young age.

I glance out of the window. Tom is sweating over a barbeque, warm sun on his shoulders. It's unseasonably warm today, 20c and dry. At least his mood has improved and he's talking to me again.

The morning after the dinner party, I stuck to my self-imposed promise and told Tom that Frank was indeed my personal trainer. In hindsight, it'd been easier if I'd kept quiet, seeing as I'd sacked him, but I had no other choice. After the initial shock of how much it was costing me wore off, he hit the roof – demanded to know why neither of us mentioned it the night before – what were we hiding? – he knew there was something fishy going on – he could inhale the tension between us.

Telling him I kept Frank a secret because I knew he'd blow a gasket over the cost and make me stop using him, only added fuel to the fire – he slammed me for lying, accused me of wasting money on a fitness coach to boost my ego, reminded me how we were up to our necks in debt, accused me of being selfish. In truth, I was thinking of myself for once. I remained silent about why I really quit the gym for fear of Tom losing it completely. I couldn't deal with that on top of worrying about my sister's safety. For my wrongdoings, I was sentenced to five days of the cold shoulder and snippy remarks at the dinner table in front of Daisy, who didn't know where to look, and Georgia, who didn't bat an eyelid.

Catching sight of me at the kitchen window now, Tom waves, then wipes his forehead with the back of his hand, searing the burgers over a hot grill, smudges of grease on his white apron. Theo and Frank look on, beers in hand, hairy arms poking out of their rolled-up shirt sleeves. Georgia is perched on the wooden bench behind them in her orange hoodie and black shorts, Zelda next to her looking tanned and glowy after a week in the sun, which is rather surprising, given that she just told me and Linda that they barely left the bedroom – a piece of information I could've done without.

Daisy shifts her weight onto one leg, her body language telling me to make my mind up. ‘That is a very good question, Daisy. I think Tom should be about ready to put them on the grill.'

I look at Linda, who is chopping parsley next to me at the kitchen worktop in a calf-length leopard print skirt and white shirt with long pointed collars, whilst giving me a running commentary of a house she sold yesterday. I know she'd rather be outside with the others, enjoying the sunshine, but that'd mean being in close proximity to Frank, whom she's avoiding as much as possible. Linda rang me the day after her dinner party in a state. Frank recognised her, all right. That's why he ran back to the house after we'd all left, leaving Zelda leaning against someone's wall. Linda denied having ever clapped eyes on him – insisted he was mistaken. He wouldn't have it, of course. Frank never backs down. But when Theo appeared at the door, he backtracked and scuttled off after Zelda who, according to Linda, was wobbling along the street in her new stilettoes like a drunken nineteen seventies prostitute.

‘I thought the newly-wed couple were going to put an offer in for the period style house I showed them earlier in the week,' Linda blabbers, gold earrings dangling against her cheek. ‘But they went for the new build in the end. I don't know what it is with young people today. The older house needed a bit of work but it would've been a better investment. All they're interested in is flashy new kitchens and plastic lawns.' Linda shakes her head at the vibrant parsley, earrings swinging. ‘It really gets my goat,' Linda complains, then pauses, and looks from me to Daisy. ‘What?'

‘Sweetheart, I could listen to your shop anecdotes all day long, but could you take the kebabs out to Tom and then finish setting up the table outside? I need Daisy to give me a hand with the dips and salad.'

Linda holds up a knife, which has bits of wet parsley stuck to it, grabs her Stella Artois and gives me a look that says do you want to die while sucking on the beer bottle. ‘Daisy, will you take them out to Tom, please?'

Daisy nods and in a heartbeat, she's gone, sauntering along the freshly mowed lawn, in a polka dot red and white dress, high ponytail of red tresses swishing with each stride.

‘Daisy, come over,' Georgia calls out, her voice as sharp as the blade of the knife I'm slicing into the red onion.

‘Isn't she lovely?' I say to Linda, admiring Daisy from the window, as if she were my daughter, even though I'm only twelve years her senior. ‘I don't know how I'm going to cope without her when Maggie comes back,' I muse, dicing the onion like a pro – something Daisy taught me on her second day here. ‘Not that I don't want Maggie back,' I add quickly, sniffing. I take a step back and sneeze into the crook of my arm. ‘Bloody onions,' I grumble, eyes streaming.

‘Yes, she's very sweet,' Linda agrees. ‘You okay?' Soaping my hands at the sink, I tell her that apart from obsessing about how I'm going to manage to warn Zelda off Frank today, I'm fine, just allergic to everything. ‘Daisy's very easy on the eye too,' Linda continues, a tinge of warning in her tone. ‘Tom seems quite taken with her by the look of things.' I follow her eyes as I dry my hands on a tea towel, then dump it over a chair at the kitchen table. Tom is taking the tray from Daisy's outstretched arm, a warm smile on his lips. A kind, fatherly smile.

‘We all are,' I say, watching Theo grabbing a skewer off the tray as it slides off and almost stabs Frank in the neck. Frank darts out of the way, without even bothering to look up from his phone. But when Daisy turns on her heel and slowly makes her way back to the house, I don't miss him eyeing her up discreetly. If only we could film with our eyes.

Linda burps. ‘Oops, sorry. It's the beer.' She cocks her head at Daisy. ‘Does she look at Tom with those do you want to fuck me eyes?'

‘Linda!'

‘Look, I know you're doing your good Samaritan thing, but I'd keep an eye on her if I were you – cooking for you, chauffeuring your daughter everywhere, keeping the house spick and span. She's making herself indispensable. Classic signs of husband snatcher.'

‘Oh, stop it,' I protest, ‘Tom's like a father to her.' Linda raises her eyebrows, taking another swig of beer. ‘Technically, he could be.' Another look. ‘A much older brother then,' I say, slipping back next to her at the island worktop. ‘Besides, Tom isn't like that.'

‘He's a man, isn't he?' Linda says dryly. ‘Men's brains work differently. Usually from the comfort of their underpants.' I give her a side glance. Linda can be so cynical at times.

‘Never mind about all that,' I reply, tetchily. Did you see the way Frank was eyeing Daisy up just now?' I wave a cucumber at her. ‘That just proves he can't be trusted. Tom agrees.' When I first relayed my theory to Tom about how Frank and Zelda met, he wasn't sure, said it could've been a coincidence. But when I told him I'd shown Frank Zelda's Instagram account and brought in some samples, at his request, he agreed, called him a snake.

‘You've been moaning at her to leave Chris for ages and now that she has…'

‘Yes, but Frank's not right for her. He's too young for a start off.'

‘Fourteen years is nothing these days.'

‘I want her to be with someone safe, like Tom.'

‘You mean boring?' Linda laughs lightly but my face is deadpan. ‘Look, let her have her fun with her bad boy. He is very cute, isn't he? Enough to make any woman commit adultery.'

‘Linda.'

‘I'm joking. Just let them be. Look, she's happy. It'll fizzle out.'

‘You know I can't do that,' I say smoothly, ‘not after what he's done.' Tom suggested texting Zelda in Monaco and telling her all about her sleazeball lover, the sooner the better, he said. But I could hardly let rip about her boyfriend while she was on holiday with him. What if she'd confronted him and ended up having a steaming row? Zelda's spirited, like our father, and Frank's got a vicious temper. There are a lot of cliffs in Monaco. It was too risky.

‘Zelda's had her fun in the sun, Linda. She needs to know the truth about Frank.'

Linda shakes her head at me incredulously, a faint smile on her lips, then goes back to slicing a tomato. ‘She won't thank you for it, trust me. She might even take his side, not believe you. Look how she reacted when you told her he was your trainer.' The moment Zelda arrived back from Monaco she phoned me, excited to tell me all about her holiday and to see if we were still on for today. I'd been waiting all week to spill the beans about Frank, including the incriminating bits I'd kept from Tom, and couldn't wait a moment longer.

‘Zelda, I need to talk to you about Frank.' The words spat out of my mouth urgently, like coins from a jackpot fruit machine. ‘Can you pop over this evening? Alone?'

‘If this is about you hiring Keiko, I already know and it's fine.'

My heart sank. Frank had got in there before me, told Zelda I was one of his clients – claimed he had no idea we were sisters – what a coincidence, then played the hero – said he didn't mention it at the dinner party because I said no one knew I'd hired him – that it was a finance thing – something to do with my husband. Zelda was a bit miffed with me for not confiding in her but completely got why I kept it from Ebenezer.

‘Whatever you tell her now, baby, she'll question it, and he'll find a way to worm himself out of it. After all, you didn't even bother telling her you'd hired him, he did. One, nil, my friend, one nil.'

I huff in exasperation, dicing half a cucumber as if it were an Olympic event. ‘What am I supposed to do, Linda? Turn a blind eye? Pretend Frank didn't hit on me, didn't turn up at my house and hurl abuse at me, didn't kick the wheel of my car? Didn't stalk my sister? The man's a maniac. I've seen his darker side, remember. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to Zelda.'

‘There is another way.'

I stop chopping and look at her. ‘I'm listening…'