Dex sat back again, his expression unconvinced as he kept close watch on her. Libby caught Jessica’s eye who made a face of pity and next to her Eve looked down at the floor.
Don’t cry, she told herself.
‘So anyway …’ she said, with a little shake and a huge smile. ‘What I need from you guys is just help with the cosmetics. The house, some of the rooms, the garden, that sort of thing. Just to make it presentable.’
They all nodded.
Libby nodded too. Then she smiled again. ‘Fab. Great. I think it might be fun. And also, it would really help me if just once a day we did some baking.’
‘Baking?’ Dex frowned. ‘I’m not really into baking, Lib.’
‘Don’t worry, it won’t be hard. That’s the whole point. It’s for everyone.’
‘I reckon you could bake, Dex, if you put your mind to it,’ Jimmy said with a grin, his big muscly arms locked behind his head.
‘I’d like to see you bake,’ Dex scoffed.
‘I could bake,’ said Jimmy. ‘What is it? Just flour and sugar, that sort of stuff.’
Eve rolled her eyes, half obscured by messy blonde hair. ‘You are unbelievably arrogant.’
‘That’s why you love me,’ Jimmy said with a wink.
Eve smiled then sat back, running her fingers along her bottom lip as she watched him.
Giulia arrived with the bottle of Prosecco and a tray of glasses.
Libby wanted Eve to stop looking at Jimmy the way she was looking at him. She wanted her to stop creating distractions. She was still annoyed at her for her earlier implied comments about the décor, annoyed at the gnawing feeling of regret, guilt even, that it had conjured inside her as she imagined her aunt nodding along with Eve about the changes. It made her want to suck all the white paint from the walls. But instead she focused on the planning. ‘Perhaps we could portion out the jobs now. Just so we’ve all got it straight in our heads. Maybe, Jimmy, you could do the garden?’
‘Aye, aye.’ Jimmy nodded. ‘Plants love me.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Dex, could you take the terrace? And the outside walls?’
‘If I must,’ said Dex, reaching forward to swipe the Prosecco from the ice bucket.
‘And, Jessica, perhaps you and I can make a start on the rooms?’
‘I can help with the rooms,’ said Eve.
‘No, I think it’s fine with Jessica and me. Is that OK, Jessica?’
‘Yep.’ Jessica looked up from reading an email on her phone and nodded. ‘Whatever you need.’
‘And, Eve, you could smarten up the area round the pool?’
‘There’s a pool?’ said Dex, glancing around trying to find it.
‘Behind those olive trees,’ Libby said, pointing to her right. ‘It’s tiny and really shabby. Is that OK, Eve?’
Eve shrugged a shoulder as if it had to be. ‘If that’s what you want, Libby,’ she said, her expression in the dim light of the terrace almost challenging.
Libby ignored it. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I think that would work.’
Dex popped the Prosecco cork, splashed the frothing bubbles into the five glasses, and then raised his for a toast. ‘To Sunshine and Biscotti,’ he said with a grin.
As Libby chinked her glass she remembered Jake making exactly the same toast when they had arrived in the spring, and wished for a moment that he was there. That it could all just have carried on exactly as it had been. She didn’t care what website he’d been using, just wished that she hadn’t found out.
When she saw all the others smiling at her, she forced a big smile in return, refusing to acknowledge quite how lonely she felt. Taking a huge gulp of bubbles, she picked up her phone and made them all chink their glasses again so she could snap it for her Instagram.
‘Hold it there. Jimmy, just move your glass up a bit. Dex, out the way. Yes, perfect. Brilliant.’
Perfect summer night toasting the Sunshine and Biscotti Club, she titled it.
And as the evening wore on and the sun set around them, the moths starting to flutter around the outside lights, the Prosecco oiled the chat and the Instagram likes came rolling in, the perfect distraction from her worries.
‘So, what do you think? We paint this white or we keep the wallpaper?’ Libby was standing with her hands on her hips, staring at Jessica, the morning sun shining bright behind her.
Aesthetically Jessica was a minimalist. She had grown up dusting a house rammed with knickknacks—little ornaments, crucifixes, cross-stitches—and in retaliation kept her décor to the absolute minimum. Her artistic talent was in graphics and was predominantly computer based. She spent her spare time redesigning album covers to suit her own vision. Home furnishings were not her thing. ‘I don’t know really. I like white, but the wallpaper’s also quite nice. Quite authentic. Libby …’ Feeling herself starting to sweat in the searing morning heat, Jessica paused to undo the top half of the boilersuit overalls that Libby had lent her for decorating. ‘I’m not sure I’m the right person for this. I really think Eve might be better suited—’
‘No, you’re fine,’ Libby said, only half looking in Jessica’s direction as she struggled to tie an old scarf around her head. ‘We’ll paint it.’
‘How’s it going?’ Dex popped his head round the door and snorted a laugh when he got a glimpse of their outfits.
‘I was just saying that I think Eve would be better for this job,’ said Jessica.
Dex took one look around the room and said, ‘Oh yeah, definitely. Jessica’s crap at interior design. If she had her way we’d all just be in pods plugged into our laptops.’
Jessica shook her head at him pityingly. Dex winked at her.
‘Why don’t you get Eve to help?’ Dex said. ‘This is just her thing, isn’t it? She was always wafting about with rugs and scarves and things at the flat.’
‘No, it’s fine,’ Libby insisted.
Dex glanced down the corridor. ‘Hey, Eve! Come over here,’ he shouted.
‘Dex, what are you doing,’ Libby said, a little panicked.
‘What’s wrong?’ Eve asked, appearing in the doorway, one earphone in as she commented on some Lego construction one of her kids was showing her on FaceTime.
‘You have to swap with Jessica—she’s way out of her depth,’ said Dex, ushering her inside.
‘You’re so sweet together, you two,’ Eve said as she hung up the phone. ‘You’ve become like her big brother.’
Jessica snorted.
Dex puffed out his chest with pride. ‘I like to think I keep an eye out for her.’
‘You are unbelievable.’ Jessica sighed as she walked over and handed Eve her paintbrush.
Dex ruffled her hair.
‘Get off me,’ Jessica said, laughing, taking the opportunity to dart out of the room and down the stairs in case Libby somehow managed to get her way and summoned her back again.
The sun was burning bright as Jessica sauntered out onto the terrace. She breathed in the scent of the lemons, delighted to be working on her own