Page 38 of The Half Sister

For so long, Kate hadn’t even allowed herself to dream that the IVF was going to be successful, so to find herself in this position, having to decide when to share the news, is not something she’d given much thought to.

‘Can’t we just tell our mums?’ asks Matt, looking like a kid on Christmas morning.

‘It’s not really a great time at the moment,’ says Kate.

‘Because of that girl?’

Tears unexpectedly spring to Kate’s eyes and she quickly wipes them away.

‘Hey,’ says Matt, stretching across the table and taking her hand in his. ‘What’s up?’

‘I think it’s all just beginning to get a bit on top of me,’ she admits.

‘The family stuff or the pregnancy?’

‘All of it,’ cries Kate, half laughing. ‘I think the hormones are playing havoc with my emotions.’

‘You’re pregnant! We’re pregnant!’ A tear falls onto Matt’s cheek. ‘Let’s concentrate on that. I know the stuff going on with Lauren and this girl is difficult, but no matter what, it will never change your feelings for your dad.’

‘No,’ Kate sniffs. ‘It won’t.’

‘So, step away from it – don’t get involved.’

If only it were as easy as he makes it sound.

‘She came to see me,’ says Kate, looking at him.

‘Who, Lauren?’

‘No, the girl,’ says Kate. ‘She came to the office.’

‘Jesus!’ exclaims Matt. ‘How did she know where you worked?’

Kate shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, though she feels anything but. ‘I guess Lauren told her. They clearly know each other better than I thought.’

‘What the hell are they playing at?’ says Matt, agitated.

‘I honestly don’t know,’ says Kate. ‘I’ve always thought we were a close family, but since losing Dad, it just seems that we’re all hiding secrets from each other. That’s not what normal families do.’

‘You’d be surprised,’ says Matt. ‘I think there are very few families who are what they claim to be. We all say one thing and think another.’

Do we?wonders Kate.

‘If you need tosayhow close you are,’ Matt goes on, ‘you’ll normally find it’s the exact opposite.’

‘Mmm, maybe,’ muses Kate.

‘And what’s your mum’s stance on all this?’

‘She’s just in denial about the whole thing.’

‘So what are you going to do?’

‘I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this,’ says Kate. ‘But I’m going to have to prove Lauren wrong.’

‘And how are you going to do that?’

She looks at him, her jawline twitching involuntarily.

---