Clare closed her eyes. She had to stop this. Becca was gone. That part of her life was gone. She should draw a line under it. Yes, there were times when she missed her friend, but the truth was it was their old friendship she missed, not the relationship they’d had in recent years. Todd was right that they’d grown further apart. It had been a shock and disappointment to discover that friendship could change over time. She still remembered Becca grabbing her hand on their first day at school and saying Nothing is ever going to come between us.

But it had. Time had come between them. Time, and all those small life choices that had gradually taken them in different directions.

This was a new chapter. Todd was right. If Jack could move on, then so could she. She’d welcome Jack’s girlfriend into their home and try hard not to think about Becca.

11

Izzy

Izzy was silent as the car trundled along the leafy, winding driveway to Lake Lodge.

Molly had insisted on sitting next to Flora for the journey from the airport, and now she was asleep on her shoulder in the back of the car.

Pain ripped through Izzy. For a year, she’d been both sister and mother to Molly. She’d hugged her, comforted her, held her own feelings inside so that she could support her sister. And then Flora had appeared in their lives.

Why had she agreed to join them? She was either totally insensitive, or totally in love with Izzy’s dad. Neither of those options were good.

Izzy felt betrayed, not only by her father but also by her little sister. She’d held Molly together, and now it seemed she was no longer needed. Like their father she had taken forward steps, moved on, so where did that leave Izzy?

She hadn’t moved on. She was still stuck in the same confused, terrified place only now she wasn’t sure what her purpose was. If she wasn’t needed, what would happen?

Her dad threw her a questioning smile. “You’re quiet. Everything okay?”

“Everything is fine.” She’d become so adept at lying, it was a little unnerving. The slow buildup of emotion inside her was equally unnerving. She was terrified that at some point she was going to lose it. It had been a hideous, horrible journey.

What was wrong with her? She should be pleased that Molly liked Flora. She’d read enough books and talked to enough friends from blended families to know that stepmothers could be a nightmare. Flora wasn’t a nightmare in that sense. She was kind. Fun, even. She was good with Molly. Izzy should be relieved, shouldn’t she? Instead, she felt frightened. And a little angry. The nightmare for her wasn’t that her father’s new woman was a horrible person, it was that Flora was so likable.