‘Yes,’ said Sasha flatly. Ajay was diligent and capable, but it wasn’t what she wanted to hear right then. ‘Yes, he is.’

‘Oh now, come on.’ Connie’s voice cut across the kitchen. ‘No whispering, no talking shop. We’re all here to enjoy ourselves.’

Connie topped up her glass and pulled Vaughn to her. ‘Claude is Sasha’s superior at work, so I’m sure we’re all going to be in for some eye-opening revelations about my little sis.’

‘You’re Sasha’s boss?’ asked Ursula, a little slow on the uptake.

Vaughn smiled. ‘For my sins.’

‘All I can say is, you must be a very patient man,’ said her mother, and Sasha felt her anger surge at being put in such an awkward situation. ‘But you’ve only just split with Barry, Connie. Isn’t it a bit quick to be leaping into bed with another man?’

Sasha winced. ‘Mum.’

Connie grabbed a glass and filled it to the brim, and then practically draped herself over Vaughn.

‘Trust me, Mum,’ she said. ‘There’s really no comparison in that department.’

‘He’s a big boy, isn’t he?’ said Ursula, appraising Vaughn’s bulk.

‘Oh he is, Mum,’ Connie smirked. ‘Take it from me.’

‘Connie,’ snapped Sasha in a flustered singsong. ‘A word.’

She grabbed her sister by the arm and pushed her into the hallway, shutting the door behind them.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she asked, trying to keep a lid on her temper.

Connie blinked. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘This was meant to be a family get-together. For family. Nobody said anything about bringing guests.’

‘But you know Claude,’ said Connie. ‘And he is family now, surely, in a fashion?’

‘Con, you’ve just met him, and he’s my—’

Sasha took a deep breath before she said something she would regret. Their mother was somehow under the impression that Connie was a delicate flower, and had always urged Sasha never to speak harshly for fear of upsetting her. Ursula had the strange idea, nurtured and encouraged by Connie herself, that her sister was afraid of confrontation, and often had to retreat to her bed for days afterwards. But Connie was always fighting with Barry, and more than once Sasha had been forced to break up their screaming rows. Shouting obscenities at the top of her voice, Connie had been anything but meek and traumatized as Sasha dragged her away.

Right now, Sasha was keen to give her sister both barrels. But there was her mother to consider. And her boss, who was in her house and having some kind of fling with Connie – God, Sasha hoped it was no more than that – on the rebound from the end of his long marriage.

‘Don’t you think it’s all going a bit fast?’