TAISIE SHOVED HER HANDS INTO HER POCKETS AND her shoulders drooped. How was she going to get through this? She had never fallen out with Nick before, and it made her feel lonely. If he had apologized she would have forgiven him, but he was so arrogant. Pansy and Freya were great, but once she was back in London she would be at a loose end. Rosa wouldn’t be back from California for another week – not that she would call her anyway, after what she had done – and she wouldn’t be able to hang out with Nick either. It was all spoilt between them now. He had spoilt it.
She knew what she was going to do. It took a day to figure it out, but it was the perfect thing. Nick didn’t much like being alone – growing up, he was always in their house – so they would pretend he wasn’t there. The others took some persuading, but when Taisie told Pansy and Freya what a two-timing bastard he was, they were on her side. The boys could be bribed. Izzy required more work.
‘What’s he done?’ she asked. ‘I thought you liked him.’
‘I might have done once, but that was before he decided to treat me like shit.’
She frowned. ‘Nick’s not like that.’
‘So you like him better than me?’
‘No. But it’s not fair. We’re supposed to look after each other, not leave someone out. Mum won’t let you do it.’
‘Oh, but that’s the fun of it, Izzy,’ Taisie groaned. ‘When the adults are around, we behave normally. Like nothing’s happened. You can act, can’t you?’ She heard a note of desperation in her voice and pulled it back. ‘It’s just that he hurt me a lot, and he needs to know that you don’t treat girls like that. You don’t ask someone out then get off with their friend.’
‘Did he really ask you to go out with him?’
Her scepticism was irritating. ‘Are you saying I’m lying?’
It suddenly felt overwhelmingly important that she got all of them onside. He had made her feel small and insignificant, like her mum always did. She was neither of those things; she just wanted to be respected.
Izzy scrutinized her. ‘But you told me you didn’t even want him in the first place.’
‘That’s irrelevant. Grow up.’
Izzy mulled it over, her tongue caught between her teeth, her eyes all frowny and worried. Then she took a deep breath, as if she was about to dive into the sea. Taisie loved her little sister, but she was like a nun, or a headmistress, all high principles and over-developed conscience. She nearly died when she was a baby and it made her some kind of saint or something. It was so annoying.
‘How long for?’ Izzy asked.
Taisie smiled. ‘Until I decide to stop.’
‘Tell us about Tom Gale,’ Taisie said. ‘Is he hot in real life?’
They were in the garden lying on rugs and sunloungers after a morning spent messing about on the river. She ached from kayaking and had been sunbathing. Freya and Pansy lay beside her, their whispers making her drowsy. The twins were petite and pretty, not identical but very alike. They had freckles and great figures, thin enough to have a gap between their thighs. Taisie was closest to Pansy, but they came as a pair.
Her brothers were expertly manoeuvring a football around the apple trees, while Nick sat a little way off, reading a book. She wished she knew what he was thinking.
‘Tom?’ Tim brushed grass off his bony feet. ‘He’s a great kid.’ He smiled. ‘Maybe you’ll get to meet him one day.’
‘Has Nick met him?’ Pansy asked.
Hearing his name, Nick turned his head.
‘Yeah, Tom’s been round to the house,’ Nick said laconically, as if it was nothing.
‘Wow,’ she said. ‘You’re so lucky.’
Taisie frowned at her, and Pansy caught her eye, mouthed, ‘Sorry’, then rolled over and dropped her head into her folded arms. Taisie sat up, leaning back to feel the sun on her face. She was wearing a bikini and she felt Nick’s eyes on her, but when she looked, his head was in his book. Tim, though – he had seen. Taisie wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them close.
Tim was a cross between David Beckham and Hugh Grant. He was old, like forty-five or something, but he was totally gorgeous. Even the twins were impressed and envied Taisie’s easy relationship with him. She had known him for years, but it was the first time he’d treated her like an adult. The best thing was, Nick was jealous of his dad. It was blatantly obvious. When Tim made any sort of fuss of Taisie or the twins, he went beetroot. Nick made her feel all cringy and angry, but his dad confused her. Often, the only way of getting through that was to be rude to him. Sarcasm helped too.
‘Who’s Tom Gale?’ Lorna asked.
‘Mum, you know who he is,’ Freya said. ‘He was on Parkinson last week.’
Lorna shrugged. ‘I don’t remember. But I’m sure he’s wonderful.’
‘He is,’ Taisie said, deciding to give Tim the benefit of her support. ‘He’s a real artist, not someone who’s going to come and go in a flash. He’s got this great single out now. I’ve got it on my MP3 player. We can listen to it later if you like.’
Tim stretched, and his T-shirt rose, showing his hips above the waistband of his shorts and the arrow of hair below his navel.
‘Loving your midriff, Tim,’ she said, raising her eyebrows. ‘Kind of you to share it with us.’
He laughed. ‘Yeah, I know, I’m not sixteen any more. I should keep it under wraps in case I shock the kids.’
His lightly mocking tone sent a dart of adrenaline through her body. Disturbed, she started plucking daisies and dropping them on to Pansy’s back, until Pansy flicked her thigh irritably. Taisie turned to Nick. He was looking down, but she could tell he was scowling. Then he lifted his head, raked his fringe out of the way with his fingers and held her gaze with eyes that were hot with anger. She was the one who blinked first.