Nat’s eyes narrowed. ‘Trying to get rid of us already?’
‘Of course not! But today was for afternoon tea, not dinner. Amy’s got Skye staying, and we’ll be ordering pizza for them later. I wasn’t planning to cook a meal, but I’m happy to order pizza for everyone if you want to stay.’
Amy and Skye entered the room with Bear bounding after them before Nat had a chance to answer.
‘Is it okay if we take Bear upstairs with us? I want to show him my room.’
‘He’s sleeping in the laundry, Ames,’ Damien reminded her.
Amy rolled her eyes. ‘I know that. But if he’s clever enough to open the door, then he’ll need to know where to find me so I can return him to the laundry, won’t he?’
Hannah’s father laughed. ‘You can’t argue with that logic, can you.’
‘Of course you can take him upstairs,’ Hannah said. ‘We might as well get used to Bear being part of the family. Considering he’s only been here a day he’s fitting in already.’
Bear barked, causing further laughter around the room.
‘He knows you’re talking about him.’ Skye rubbed the dog’s ears. ‘You’re so lucky, Amy. There’s no way my mum would let me have a dog. She goes on about what a commitment they would be and how we could never go away if we had one.’
‘My mum’s the best.’ Amy shot Hannah a smile so full of love that she had to blink to stop the tears.
Nat snorted. ‘Now that’s a joke.’ She took another large swig of her drink.
Amy’s face fell. She looked at her aunt. ‘What do you mean? This is the best birthday I’ve ever had, and it’s because of Bear.’
‘Let’s just say your mum should never gamble and leave it at that.’
Amy looked to Hannah for help.
‘Nat.’ Sue’s voice was sharp. ‘That’s enough.’
‘Yes,’ her father added. ‘No need to spoil a lovely afternoon.’
Hannah was grateful for their support but couldn’t believe Nat had said anything, especially after she’d specifically asked her not to. She stood. ‘Why don’t you girls take Bear upstairs and get settled with the movies you want to watch. I’ll come up soon, and we’ll work out what toppings you’d like on the pizzas before I order them.’
‘Okay.’ Amy was still staring at Nat.
‘I’m glad it’s the best birthday you’ve ever had, sweetie.’ Hannah lowered her voice and smiled conspiratorially at Amy. ‘Ignore Aunty Nat, she’s in a bad mood, that’s all.’
Amy nodded, and with Bear at her heels she and Skye left the room whispering together.
‘What?’ Nat shrugged when Hannah turned and glared at her. ‘I didn’t say anything.’
‘You said more than you needed to. Why spoil her day? Just because you’re in a foul mood doesn’t mean you need to bring a twelve-year-old down on their birthday. Did it make you feel better?’
Nat stood and looked at Phyllie. ‘I think it’s time we left.’
Damien stood at the same time. ‘I’ll drop you home.’
‘What? I’m perfectly capable of driving. I’ve only had a couple of glasses.’
‘No arguments, Nat. You’ve had more than a couple, and you have precious cargo on board.’ He nodded towards Phyllie.
‘We can drop them,’ Sue said. ‘It’s not out of our way.’
David cleared his throat. ‘It is actually. I’ve booked us some Gold Class tickets at the cinema at Doncaster for eight.’ He blushed. ‘I was going to surprise you with dinner and a movie tonight once we left here.’
‘That’s so nice, Dad,’ Hannah said. She loved that her father had a romantic side and constantly surprised Sue with little gifts and outings.
Sue smiled and slipped her hand into her husband’s. ‘Your father is the most wonderful man on the planet. No offence, Damien.’
Damien laughed. ‘None taken. If anything, I should follow his lead.’ He smiled at Hannah. ‘I promise to do better. But for now, I’ll drive Phyllie and Nat home in Nat’s car and get an Uber back.’ He looked over to Nat. ‘That way you don’t have to come back tomorrow to collect it.’
Nat snorted. ‘I can’t imagine I’d be welcome.’
Hannah stared at her sister. Surely her nastiness wasn’t just because of the dog? She glanced at Phyllie, who looked as bewildered as she did.
‘Come on.’ Damien hooked his arm through Phyllie’s. ‘I’ll escort you out.’
‘I’d like to say goodbye and happy birthday to Amy,’ she said as they neared the front door. ‘But’ – she turned to Nat – ‘I suggest you go and wait in the car while I do that.’
Nat opened her mouth to object but then seemed to think better of it. She swung open the front door and made her way down the drive towards her car.
‘She won’t try and drive, will she?’ Sue’s voice was full of concern.
Damien took a set of keys from his pocket and rattled them. ‘I took care of that about an hour ago. I had a feeling something was off.’
‘Thanks, son.’ David clapped Damien on the back. ‘Nat’s lucky to have everyone looking out for her.’ He frowned. ‘It’s not like her to act like that in front of Amy. I hope she’s alright.’
Hannah shook her head. Her sister had acted like a prize bitch, almost spoiling Amy’s birthday, and her father was worried about Nat? Yes, she didn’t normally act that way in front of Amy, but she always tried to undermine Hannah. Tonight was another example. For now, she just wanted her gone. She turned to Phyllie. ‘You wait here and I’ll pop up and get Amy to come down and say goodbye. There’s no point risking a journey up those stairs.’
She did her best to ignore Phyllie’s eye-roll as she hurried out of the room to fetch Amy.
Following Nat and Phyllie’s departure, Hannah was pleased to find Amy and Skye chatting and giggling when she brought their pizzas to the media room. It appeared Nat’s little outburst hadn’t ruined their night. They were lying on the mattresses they’d prepared for their sleepover and Bear was fast asleep, his head resting against Amy’s outstretched foot. The way the dog attached himself to her you’d think he’d been living with them for years. It was quite special.
‘Pizza’s up.’ She put the tray containing the two pizzas and a bottle of mineral water on the coffee table the girls had pushed to one side.
‘We’ll never eat all that.’ Skye eyed the pizzas. ‘They look delicious. Thank you, Hannah.’
Hannah smiled. Skye was one of those kids you couldn’t help but love.
‘Thanks, Mum,’ Amy added. ‘And don’t worry, I’ll make sure Bear doesn’t eat any. He had his dinner before we came up here.’
‘You’re doing an amazing job with him.’
‘So he can stay?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Aunty Nat was acting strange, and I thought that was because you’d decided Bear had to go back.’
Hannah sucked in a breath. She could kill Nat. ‘Hon, Bear’s not going anywhere. He’s your dog now. Dad and I will help out, of course, but overall you’re responsible for him. We don’t buy a pet one day and take him back the next. You don’t have to worry, just enjoy him. He’s an Anderson now, whether he likes it or not.’