“You could never hate me. I’m way too cool and handsome. And my family owns a boathouse, so that’s worth sticking around for.” He looped his arm round her shoulders. “So this is what I think. You’ve been through hell. You’re sad. Grieving. Surviving, day to day. And then suddenly your dad brings someone home and it all changes. He changes. Whether it’s true or not, he seems to be moving on. And now Molly is smiling for the first time, and seems to be moving on, too. And now you have all this change to handle again, and you feel threatened.”

“That sounds about right.” Her throat was clogged. “I don’t want to hate her, but I can’t make myself be nice because she’s—how did you describe it?—reshaping our lives and I have no say over it.”

“And you had no say over losing your mother, either. It’s okay to struggle with it, Izz. You don’t have to pretend it’s all okay and be this fake perfect person. You’re allowed to be angry and sad. You can yell and cry.”

“You’d totally freak out if I cried.”

“I’d push you in the water.”

She gave a snort. “Is that what you’re going to do with your upset patients when you’re a doctor?”

“Drown them? It’s one solution, although probably not one the medical board would approve of.”

She sniffed. “Normally I pretend I’m fine. People don’t want to see you upset. They want you to be okay.”

“I’m not ‘people.’ I want you to be you.”

“I think what hurts most,” she confessed, “is that Molly loves her so much, and that sounds crazy I know because nothing would be worse than Dad dating someone we both hate. And that’s what I mean—the way I feel makes no sense. I should be pleased, shouldn’t I?”

“Why?” He took another swallow of his drink. “Apart from all the other obvious issues, you lost someone you loved. And now it feels like you’re losing someone else, too.”

“That’s it exactly.”

“But you’re not losing her, Izz. You do know that, right? You’re not losing Molly. She adores you.”

“Does she? I used to be the one she clung to. I was her life belt until Flora showed up.” Izzy stared at the water. “The hardest, scariest thing is that I don’t feel needed anymore. And if I’m not needed, then—”