“A Pride biscuit? What are you going to call it?” India’s mum, Vanessa, held out her wine glass to Luca. Her brother duly poured the white Rioja.
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” India helped herself to some roast potatoes, having to stand to get them. Her parents’ dining table had eight chairs, but in reality, it could probably seat 12. Today, as usual, Luca and Ricardo were on one side, India on the other, her parents at either end.
“Sapphic Snaps?”
“Rainbow Raiders?”
“Dyke Dunkers?”
Luca and Ricardo were enjoying this, weren’t they?
“I think it’s a great idea.” Dad passed her the roast beef, his smile encouraging. He was Italian in heritage, but his accent was pure London.
India gave him a look. “You do?” Even though he was semi-retired, Dad always had an opinion on her decisions. This was the first time he’d agreed right away.
“You’re not dying, are you?”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s just, you normally have an opinion on my ideas. Especially the gay ones.”
He poured gravy on his Yorkshire pudding and gave her a smile. “I grilled you about the Chocolate Delight campaign when you wanted a lesbian couple in the ad purely for business reasons. Coming down on one side of the fence can harm your bottom line. But you were right to take a stand — it proved a winner. I trust you, India. I need to if I’m retiring soon, don’t I?”
This was a turn-up for the books. “I guess you do.” She glanced at her brother. “We’ll do some gay biscuits and we’ll be on top of a float being gay, too. It’s going to be the best Pride ever.”
“Can we come on the float with you?” Ricardo asked.
“Only if you wear your sparkly disco shorts.” He looked fantastic in them. Being a model, and Brazilian, Ricardo looked fantastic in practically everything.
Ricardo gave her a look. “It’s Pride. An alarm goes off in our house if I don’t wear those.”
“Perfect. Luca can take photographs and you can look pretty. Plus, we’ve got a 70-something granny who’s just come out and is looking for her long-lost love. The photo opps are going to be huge.”
“Goodness me. I’m 67, there’s hope for me yet.”
“Mother!” Luca said.
Mum gave him a mischievous grin. “You’re so easy to rile sometimes.” She turned to India, changing tack. “How was New York?” Her mum used a tone like New York was a fragile, cut-glass decanter she didn’t want to break.
“Fine. The filming went well, and the show should be on US TV in the autumn.”
“But you’re back here and ready to work again?” Dad asked. “Because we need to discuss timelines and transitioning of the business into your hands. John knows all about it, so he’s keen to chat, too.” John was her dad’s number two, and he knew everything there was to know about Stable Foods. India knew a fair bit after 12 years in the business, too.
“I am. I just need to sort out a flat, then I’ll have my life almost sorted.”
“Good. We’re both proud of you.” Mum was using her soft tone again. India waited for the follow-up. Why did she feel the need to almost duck? “Especially after Andi. Luca filled us in while you were gone. She turned out to be quite the piece of work, didn’t she?”
India was hiding in her old room a few hours later. She’d gone up on the pretence she was looking at what she wanted to take when she finally found her flat, but really she’d just had to get away from the surrogacy talk. Luca and Ricardo had told her parents they had a meeting soon, and her mum had responded by getting out baby photos of Luca. India was happy for her brother, but being older by three years, she’d always thought it would be her to have kids first, not him. Life didn’t always work out how you expected, did it?
She opened the drawer of her bedside table and got out some old passport photos from her youth. The one with the thickest eyebrows, aged 18. The one with the big, puffy coat, aged 21. The one with the massive sunglasses that the passport office had refused because you couldn’t see her face.
A knock on the door made her look up. She put the photos back and shut the drawer just as Luca poked his head inside.
“Can I come in?”
She gave her brother a nod, sweeping her hair from her face. She should have it cut. Draw a line in the sand. Pre- and post-Andi.
Luca sat on the bed next to her, the floral duvet cover one she didn’t recognise. Nobody ever slept in the bed, so it was all for show. Her parents didn’t need the room. They had a guest wing on the other side of the house.
“I thought you were going half an hour ago?”
“We were, but then Mum made more tea. Ricardo’s entertaining her.” He paused, eyeing her. “You’re okay with our plans?”
India felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She thought she’d been stealthier, but Luca knew her. “I’m thrilled about your plans.” And she was. “I’m less thrilled that you filled Mum and Dad in about Andi.” She hadn’t meant to bring it up, but now it was out there.
Luca made a face. “You ran off to New York at a rate of knots. They needed an explanation. I just told them the truth, that Andi ghosted you after six months together. Better they found out from me rather than reading it in the papers.”
India winced. “Did the press speculate much?”
He shook his head. “A week or so. Then they lost interest when you weren’t here.” He paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Talking about Andi.” Another pause. “I saw her at a work function on Friday.”
India controlled her nerves. “I saw her a couple of weeks ago. She was her usual charming self.”
Luca’s face became drawn. “Did you hear her news, though?”
India’s jaw tightened. She shook her head, pressing her back molars together. “What news?” A dark cloud passed over her mind. News was never good, was it?
“I wanted you to hear this from me, and nobody else.” Luca winced. “There’s no easy way to say this. Andi’s engaged.”
The words seeped into India’s brain in slow motion, invading her head like hot lava. Andi was engaged when they’d only split up five months ago? Heat spilled down her, and every part of her skin flushed red. “She’s what?”
“She met someone recently, and they’re getting married in the summer.” Luca twisted his wedding ring again, as if guilty by association. “I know you’re done, and it’s been a while since you split up, but still. I can see how it would smart.”
He wasn’t wrong. It did. Andi had cut her open again and she wasn’t even there.
India twisted her mouth one way, then the other. She thought back to meeting Andi in the restaurant recently. Andi had told her she had some news, and India had cut her off. Thank goodness she’d done that. If Andi had dropped that bombshell on her, India might have crumbled. Better to hear it from her brother than her scheming ex.
“I just wish I’d never brought her home to meet Mum and Dad. It’s going to take a few more trips before the association is washed away.”
Luca leaned in and wrapped a solid arm around her. “You know what? Andi did far more damage to my strong, independent sister than I would have ever deemed likely. But you’ll get through this, and you’ll meet someone who eclipses anything Andi ever had.”
A year ago, India would have believed Luca’s words.
Now, she wasn’t so sure.