‘Ooh, it’s the good stuff, you shouldn’t have!’ Naomi said, peeking into the bag as she took it from her grip. ‘Come in, we’ll get it open.’ She led her sister through the hall into the belly of the kitchen, which seemed like the best place to start.

‘Wow,’ Connie said, as she took in the refurbished space. ‘I wasn’t expecting this!’

‘Neither was I.’ Naomi’s head swivelled towards the fridge as it slammed shut. The sight of Morgan’s scowling face put a pin to her bubble of joy. Morgan gave them both a pained look as she balanced a tub of ice cream and the makings of a turkey sandwich in her hands.

‘You’re not taking that to your room, are you?’ Naomi said. ‘You should eat it in the kitchen . . .’

‘Plu-lease.’ Morgan rolled her eyes. ‘The place is a shit-hole. I’m hardly going to make it any worse than it already is.’ She didn’t wait for a response as she walked past, pausing only to give Connie a withering glance.

A flush of embarrassment drove colour to Naomi’s cheeks. ‘I . . .’ She turned back to her sister. ‘Sorry . . . I was going to introduce you but . . .’ She looked after Morgan, who had already left. ‘Guess there’s not much point.’ Given Naomi and Ed married during a secret ceremony, Connie and Morgan had never met.

Connie’s face grew taut as she shrugged off her coat. ‘Who does she think she is?’

‘It’s OK, honestly.’ Naomi knew her sister would always defend her. ‘She’s playing up because her mum has gone. She blames me for everything.’

But Connie was unsympathetic. ‘She blames you? After everything her mum did?’

‘She doesn’t know,’ Naomi said. ‘And that’s the way I want it to stay. Please. Let’s leave it, eh?’ Taking two slim flutes from the glass case in the kitchen, she gave her sister a pleading look.

Sighing, Connie accepted her glass of champagne, her eyes dancing around the room. ‘So, this is where it all happened then. I knew you were obsessed, but I never thought you’d buy the place.’

Dipping her head, Naomi sipped her champagne. This was the reason she hadn’t invited Connie herself. Her big sister wasn’t shy about expressing her concerns.

‘It just happened.’ Naomi spoke in a quiet voice as she cradled her glass. The drumming beat of heavy metal music reverberated from Morgan’s room.

‘And how does your new husband feel about this?’ Connie knew about Ed’s history, and what had happened with his dad when he was young.

Grabbing the bottle from the counter, Naomi led her sister into the living room. ‘I’ll tell you all about it. But be prepared. Ed only had time to get the kitchen renovated. The rest of the place needs work.’

‘Jeez, you’re not kidding,’ Connie said, as they settled on the sofa for a chat.