Cathy Kelly 6-Book Collection: Someone Like You, What She Wants, Just Between Us, Best of Friends, Always and Forever, Past Secrets

June turned out to be Felix’s sister, a dark version of her gorgeous brother. Slim and with the same beautifully chiselled features, she could have modelled in any glossy magazine. But it was obvious that all her time was spent looking after the three boisterous boys who were running riot in their granny’s kitchen.

‘Congratulations,’ June said in a friendly way when she heard the news. ‘He’s a quiet one, our Phil. Never tells anyone anything.’

He never told me he was called Phil, Hannah wanted to say but didn’t.

‘Come here, boys,’ Vera said. ‘Meet your new auntie. You’re very brown, love. Been away?’

The three boys were introduced, tea and cake was produced, and everyone sat down at the kitchen table.

Vera was less daunting when she was sitting down and wasn’t eyeing you up and down like an airport scanner, Hannah decided.

‘I don’t know why he couldn’t have brought you home before now,’ Vera sighed. ‘Just like his father, secretive.’

‘I was working,’ Felix said sulkily.

He looked out of place here, Hannah thought. He wasn’t the sort of man you could imagine in a three-bedroomed semi with an ordinary kitchen and a couple of holy pictures on the walls. Felix did look exotic, different. Yet he wasn’t, was he? He was an ordinary man with an ordinary family. She wondered briefly what else he’d concealed from her and the rest of the world. Was there more to Felix Andretti than met the eye – or less?

She drank her tea and admired the boys while Felix prowled restlessly around the room, apparently bored. He didn’t join in the stilted conversation and made no attempt to rough-house with his nephews, Hannah noticed.

‘It’s a pity you didn’t want us at the wedding,’ Vera added sorrowfully. ‘I love a nice day out. Tell us when the baby’s due, love?’

Hannah’s heart leapt for this woman who clearly knew her glamorous son was ashamed of his roots. She patted Vera’s hand kindly. ‘December,’ she said with a smile. ‘Of course we’d have wanted you at the wedding,’ she said, forgetting that she hadn’t been keen on the idea of a big family wedding either. ‘It all happened so quickly, what with the baby and everything, we didn’t have time to ask you. Felix would have loved it if you’d been there.’

Felix kicked her under the table.

‘We got married abroad,’ he said quickly. ‘You know, to avoid the papers following us. We flew back from St Lucia this morning, actually.’

‘We’d love to go abroad,’ June said, holding her youngest, three-year-old Tony, squirming on her lap as he gobbled up chocolate biscuits. ‘Tony Senior and I haven’t been abroad since our honeymoon. Portugal,’ she added to Hannah. ‘I love Portugal, but with three kids and me not working any more, it’s hard to afford foreign holidays. We had Clark the year after we were married, then Adam eighteen months later, and then Tony.’

‘What did you work at?’ Hannah asked.

‘A hairdresser.’

‘With your looks, you could be a model,’ Hannah pointed out. ‘You’re beautiful.’

June shuddered. ‘Having all those people looking at me, telling me I’m too fat or too old – no way. Phil loves it, but I wouldn’t.’

Chalk and cheese, Hannah thought with a little smile. Felix would kill to have everyone looking at him, while his sister was horrified at the notion. Families were strange. United by blood but so utterly different.

‘Why’d you go on telling them they’d have to visit us when we get settled?’ Felix snapped a few hours later when they were in yet another taxi going to a local hotel.

‘They’re your family,’ she protested. ‘You can’t forget about them.’

‘You’ve conveniently forgotten yours,’ he snarled.

‘That’s a lie!’ Hannah said hotly. ‘You’ll meet my mother soon and as for my father, as I’ve told you, he’s an alcoholic. Believe me, you wouldn’t want him at any function where there was free drink.’

‘So it’s all right to leave your father out of the fun, but not to leave my family out, is that it?’ he said.

They argued all the way to the hotel, Hannah bitterly pointing out that he’d even managed to insult his mother by refusing to spend the night at her home.

‘She’s got a spare bedroom,’ Hannah said. ‘She was dying to have us stay, specially since you haven’t been home in ages.’

‘I didn’t want to sleep there when I could be in a nice four-star hotel,’ Felix retorted.

‘Far from bloody four-star hotels you were reared!’ she shouted at him.

‘Not any more, sweetie pie,’ he hissed. ‘Now I’m a fucking star and I’ve got to behave like a star.’

‘Yeah? Well, I can promise you one thing,’ Hannah hissed back at him. ‘If that’s the way you behave as a fucking star, there won’t be any fucking at all, got it?’ Hostilities were suspended the next day when they visited Vera’s again for lunch before heading to the airport. Hannah was gratified to see that Felix was behaving a bit better to his poor mother, even going so far as to invite her to Dublin for a weekend ‘sometime…’

‘We’d love to have you and June and the kids to stay,’ Hannah said earnestly as they left. ‘I mean that. Our place is a bit small right now, but we’ll be moving somewhere bigger and we’d really love to see you then.’

‘I can see you mean it, Hannah love,’ Vera smiled. ‘Look after that son of mine, will you? I’m happy that he’s got himself a decent woman at last. And take care of yourself, love, won’t you. He’s a handful, our Phil, always was.’

‘Your mum’s lovely,’ Hannah said on the way to the airport.

‘Yeah, well, you try living with her,’ Felix remarked, staring moodily out the window.

Hannah gave up and left him to his sulks. His humour didn’t improve until they were in the air when the stewardess smiled and asked him for his autograph ‘…for my sister.’

For you, you mean, Hannah thought grimly as Felix gave the stewardess his most dazzling smile.

Back in Dublin, Felix was his old self, charming, affectionate and funny. ‘I’m a bit tense when I go home,’ he admitted, holding Hannah’s left hand as they drove to her flat. ‘I didn’t mean to take it out on you, it’s just…you know, family history. You think I’m being a bastard, but you just don’t understand what’s happened.’

‘How can I know if you won’t tell me?’ Hannah protested. ‘Don’t keep secrets from me, Felix.’

‘It’s not a secret, it’s just boring family stuff. Forget about it.’

And with that she had to be content.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX (#ulink_0aec93e1-77ae-5dda-9606-8416c7d93f5a)

Hugh threw the holiday brochures down on to the coffee table.

‘Well, at least look at them, Leonie,’ he said angrily.

She glared up at him from her position in the armchair, Harris, the Jack Russell, curled up in her arms.

‘I’ve told you, Hugh,’ she said, trying to be patient, ‘I can’t arrange a holiday right now. The girls are due back and they’ll need me.’

‘They’ve been gone for two and a half bloody months, they can cope without you for a week at least. Your mother can look after them,’ Hugh said dismissively.

Harris wriggled his silky little head and Leonie stroked his velvety ears. He looked like a little bat lying upside down, belly exposed, head lolling back and the bat ears hanging down. He had the most mischievous eyes, little pools of naughtiness.

‘They’re not kids, they can look after themselves, you know,’ Hugh continued.

She could feel the first stirrings of temper deep inside her.