The Secrets Sisters Keep: A heartwarming, funny and emotional novel (The Devlin Sisters Book 2) Read online

  The Secrets Sisters Keep

  A heartwarming, funny and emotional novel

  Sinéad Moriarty

  Contents

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  1. Julie

  2. Louise

  3. Sophie

  4. Julie

  5. Louise

  6. Sophie

  7. Julie

  8. Louise

  9. Sophie

  10. Julie

  11. Louise

  12. Sophie

  13. Julie

  14. Louise

  15. Sophie

  16. Julie

  17. Louise

  18. Sophie

  19. Julie

  20. Louise

  21. Sophie

  22. Julie

  23. Louise

  24. Sophie

  25. Julie

  26. Louise

  27. Sophie

  28. Julie

  29. Louise

  30. Julie

  31. Sophie

  32. Louise

  33. Julie

  34. Sophie

  35. Louise

  36. Julie

  37. Sophie

  38. Louise

  39. Julie

  Letter from Sinéad

  Me and My Sisters

  Also by Sinéad Moriarty

  Copyright

  To my godsons: James, Sam and Max

  Once upon a time there were three sisters,

  and a brother who went to work naked …

  Prologue

  She switched off her electric toothbrush and listened. She could hear her husband shouting. He sounded panicked. Oh, my God, they were being robbed. She looked around the bathroom for a weapon. The only thing she could see was the toilet brush. She crept over to the door, opened it slowly and jumped out, shouting, ‘Leave him alone!’

  Instead of coming face to face with a balaclava-wearing thief, Anne found herself in front of a naked woman. She stared over at George, who was sitting bolt upright in bed, eyes wide with shock.

  The young woman let out a bloodcurdling scream.

  ‘What the hell is going on?’ Anne shrieked.

  ‘For the love of God, will you get her a towel or something?’ George hissed.

  ‘Who is she?’ Anne snapped.

  ‘I’ve no bloody idea. I woke up and found her stumbling around at the end of the bed.’

  The bedroom door burst open and their son, Gavin, charged in, naked and dishevelled.

  ‘Shit!’ he exclaimed, rushing to the woman. ‘She was looking for the loo.’

  ‘Sorry!’ the girl said, trying desperately to cover her breasts and nether regions with her hands.

  ‘No problem, easy mistake to make,’ George said. To his wife, he added, ‘You can put that down now – we’re not in any danger. Good thinking, though! A plastic toilet brush would have provided great protection.’

  ‘This is Amelia,’ Gavin said.

  ‘Annalise,’ she corrected him.

  ‘Christ,’ George muttered.

  ‘Really?’ Gavin frowned. ‘I was sure it was Amelia.’

  ‘No, Annalise.’

  ‘Right, sorry.’

  ‘When you two have finished having your little catch-up, perhaps you might consider putting some bloody clothes on!’ Anne suggested.

  ‘There’s no need to be rude, Mum.’ Gavin looked offended.

  He pulled Annalise from the bedroom. As she left, she gave them a wave. ‘Nice to meet you.’

  ‘You too.’ George smiled.

  As they watched the naked lovebirds scamper across the landing, Anne turned to her husband. ‘You can stop staring at her bottom now, George.’

  ‘I was just keeping an eye on the poor girl to make sure she didn’t get lost again.’

  ‘Poor girl? She’s the most brazen hussy I ever met. The cheek of her saying, “Nice to meet you,” while she’s bare-arsed in our bedroom!’

  ‘How does Gavin get these girls? He’s a complete idiot.’

  Anne bristled. ‘He is not. He’s handsome and charming and –’

  George cut across her. ‘Unemployed and penniless and going nowhere fast.’

  ‘You’re too hard on him. He’s just finding his way.’

  ‘He’s not going to find it having sex with women whose names he can’t remember.’

  ‘Keep your voice down,’ Anne said. ‘The poor boy hasn’t figured out what his path in life is yet.’

  ‘How long is it going to take? He left university five years ago!’

  ‘He’ll get there soon enough.’

  ‘You have him ruined,’ George muttered. ‘Spoilt rotten. The girls were never this lazy. It’s ridiculous. I was running my own company at his age.’

  ‘These are different times.’

  ‘His sisters all had jobs at his age too!’ George pointed out. ‘He needs a kick up the arse.’

  ‘Don’t get all het up. If you have a heart attack you’ll have to make your own way to hospital. I’m not missing Julie’s lunch. I’m dying to see the new house. Apparently it’s stunning.’

  Three hours later

  George parked beside the brand new Jaguar in the driveway.

  ‘Is that Harry’s new car?’ Gavin asked.

  ‘Yes.’ Anne sniffed, ‘It’s very flashy. I think the money’s gone a bit to his head.’

  ‘It’s awesome!’ Gavin exclaimed.

  They walked up the huge stone steps to Julie and Harry’s new house. Gavin whistled. ‘It’s a bloody mansion.’

  They rang the bell and heard a commotion inside. It was the triplets fighting over who would open the door. Losing patience, Anne bent down and shouted through the letterbox, ‘Stop bickering and let us in.’

  The door swung open as the three boys continued to wrestle. While Gavin and his father tried to prise them apart, Anne stepped over them and walked into the vast kitchen where her three daughters were sitting up at the marble counter.

  Harry rushed over to greet his mother-in-law, then handed her a glass into which he made a big show of pouring Dom Pérignon.

  ‘Oh, this is very decadent. Thank you, Harry.’

  ‘Well, we’re celebrating so I wanted to push the boat out.’

  ‘I’d forgotten how good it tastes.’ Sophie savoured it. ‘I miss great champagne.’

  ‘I don’t see the difference. Prosecco would have been fine.’ Julie looked cross.

  Sophie placed a hand on her sister’s arm. ‘Relax and enjoy it, Julie.’

  Gavin came in. ‘Dude, this gaff is like something on MTV Cribs. I need an old aunt to die and leave me money like yours did. Harry, you are one lucky guy.’

  George followed his son. ‘Nice place, Julie. You’d need a map to find your way around.’

  ‘A bit like Gavin’s friend this morning, who got lost,’ Anne said.

  Louise rolled her eyes. ‘What’s Gavin done now?’

  ‘Unbeknown to your father and me, he brought a fast girl home last night. This morning, she lost her way and ended up in our bedroom – naked.’

  ‘Oh, my God! What did you do?’ Julie tried not to laugh.

  ‘Well, your mother thought it was a robber and came thundering out of the bathroom to fight him with a toilet brush.’

  They all laughed.

  ‘What did you do, Dad?’ Louise asked.

  ‘He stared a lot,’ Anne huffed.

  ‘Was she hot?’ Sophie wondered.

  ‘Well, I couldn’t say
. I tried to avert my eyes,’ George protested.

  ‘He was totally checking her out, the old perv.’ Gavin chuckled.

  ‘His eyes were out on sticks,’ Anne added.

  ‘Not a bad sight to wake up to.’ Harry laughed. ‘Better than Julie’s fleecy pyjamas.’

  ‘You don’t actually wear those, do you?’ Louise asked.

  ‘They’re comfortable.’ Julie shrugged.

  ‘You have to ditch them. You need fabulous new gear for your new bedroom suite. I’ll take you shopping,’ Sophie offered. ‘La Perla do amazing pieces.’

  ‘That stuff costs a fortune,’ Julie said.

  ‘Julie, you’re loaded. You can buy anything you want,’ Sophie reminded her.

  Julie blushed and changed the subject. ‘Is anyone hungry? Harry insisted on ordering a ridiculous amount of food from some posh caterer so we have tons.’

  While the others made their way to the table, Louise pulled Julie aside. ‘Look, I know having money is new to you, but you need to enjoy it. Stop being so defensive – we’re all thrilled for you.’

  Julie’s eyes filled. ‘I just feel … embarrassed about all this. It seems so over the top.’

  ‘Julie, you of all people deserve it. Besides,’ Louise said, watching as the triplets started a water fight, ‘the boys will trash it and make it feel like home in no time.’

  Julie squeezed her sister’s arm. ‘You’re right. Is Clara OK?’

  Louise turned to look at her little daughter, who was curled up on the couch with her fingers in her ears, reading a book. ‘She’s not used to so much noise.’

  There was an almighty crash as one of the triplets rugby-tackled his brother and knocked over a platter of food.

  Julie ushered them out into the garden.

  Anne shook her head. ‘They are pure wild. They need a firm hand.’

  ‘They’re just high-spirited,’ Harry said. ‘Besides, they’ll be calmer once school starts tomorrow. You know, Castle Academy’s considered the best in the country – the sports facilities are second to none.’

  ‘I think that’s the tenth time he’s mentioned it,’ George whispered.

  ‘Are the triplets excited?’ Sophie asked Harry, trying to cover her father’s mumblings.

  ‘Not as excited as their father,’ Julie muttered.

  ‘Incredibly excited. They can’t wait,’ Harry enthused. ‘The best thing about coming into money is being able to give the boys the best education.’

  ‘I want to go to Castle Academy with the boys,’ Tom said, pulling at his mother’s leg.

  Julie picked up her youngest son and kissed him. ‘I know, pet, but you can’t go until you’re seven.’

  Sophie’s phone beeped. She read the message and her face fell.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Julie asked.

  ‘Jess wants to stay with Jack and Pippa tonight. She’s supposed to come home at six. I always do a movie night on Sunday and get her to bed early for school. But now she’s begging to stay. If I say no, I’ll be the worst mother in the world. I’m sick of it – she never wants to be with me any more. It’s all about Jack and Pippa.’

  ‘Oh, Sophie, that’s rotten.’

  She sighed. ‘Yes, it bloody is. I need to meet someone so I can move on with my life.’

  Julie patted her shoulder. ‘You will, you’re gorgeous.’

  Harry clinked his glass. ‘I just want to make a toast. Welcome, all of you, to our new home. Julie and I are starting a very exciting chapter in our lives and I know it’s going to be a lot better than before.’

  Julie looked down into her glass of expensive champagne. She’d liked her old life. She’d been very happy. All this change frightened her. What was this next chapter going to bring?

  1

  Julie

  I swirled my porridge around the bowl and breathed deeply to try to calm my thumping heart. It was ridiculous. I had no reason to be so nervous. It wasn’t a big deal. I needed to get a grip and try not to be intimidated.

  The triplets tumbled into the kitchen, kicking a football to each other. Luke picked up the ball and sat with it on his lap. God forbid he’d let it out of his sight for even a minute. Leo’s polyester Ronaldo football jersey was sticking out from under his uniform and Liam was spouting football statistics.

  ‘Did you know that Alan Shearer is the top Premier League goal scorer since 1992? He scored 260 goals.’

  ‘Wow!’ Tom said, following them into the kitchen. At five years of age, he thought everything his brothers said and did was wonderful. ‘Who’s the second best?’ he asked.

  ‘How would I know, squirt? Do I look like a computer?’ Liam dismissed his younger brother and concentrated on pouring a huge mound of Cheerios into his bowl.

  ‘So, boys, are you excited about school?’ I asked.

  ‘I hate this stupid uniform,’ Leo complained. ‘It’s really scratchy.’

  ‘Maybe if you took your football jersey off it would fit better,’ I said. ‘Come on, off with it.’

  ‘No way!’ he exclaimed. ‘You’re already forcing us to go to a new school where we have no friends. You can’t make me take my Ronaldo off, too.’

  I glanced at Harry, who had his nose stuck, as usual, in his iPad, peering at swirly graphs about stocks and option prices or whatever they were called. ‘Harry? Feel free to chip in here.’

  He looked up reluctantly. ‘Leo, we’ve decided to send you to the top school in the country. All of the boys there will be properly dressed. You can wear the football jersey when you get home.’

  ‘Some of them will probably be in tuxedos,’ I muttered.

  ‘What’s a tuxedo?’ Liam asked, his mouth stuffed with cereal.

  ‘It’s obviously something that geeks wear,’ Leo said.

  ‘Yeah, because all the kids in this school are morons,’ Luke added, pulling at his navy-and-white-striped tie.

  ‘Great, Julie, thanks a lot,’ Harry said angrily. ‘Very supportive of you.’

  I glared at him. ‘You know I think it’s completely over the top.’

  I wanted to poke my husband’s eye out with my spoon. Harry had insisted on using some of the money to send the boys to the poshest school in Dublin. I was all for my children getting a good education, but the national school nearby was excellent. They had been happy there and had made lots of friends. As had I, the other mums had become a little network for me. I wanted to use the money wisely and send them to a good private school for their secondary education when they were twelve. But Harry had heard about Castle Academy from one of his new ‘friends’ in the golf club he had recently joined and had insisted the boys go there.

  Luke threw the football into the air. It landed in the middle of his cereal, sending Cheerios and milk flying everywhere. I counted to ten. I was trying really hard not to shout so much. So far, the longest I had lasted on any given day was fifteen minutes.

  ‘Clean it up.’ I handed him a roll of kitchen paper.

  I turned to put my bowl in the dishwasher and felt a thump on the side of my head as the football whacked me.

  I spun around. ‘Ouch! That really hurt.’

  ‘Sorry.’ Leo giggled.

  ‘It’s not funny.’

  ‘Yes, it is,’ Liam said, snorting with laughter.

  ‘Good shot.’ Luke was impressed.

  I picked up the ball, opened the back door and flung it out into the garden. ‘Harry!’ I shouted. ‘Can you please take your nose out of that bloody iPad and control your children while I get dressed?’

  ‘You lasted thirteen minutes,’ Harry said drily, tapping his watch without looking up.

  ‘Being walloped in the head is grounds for losing my temper. I’m entitled to shout. I could be concussed!’

  Harry stood up. ‘Right, boys, do you fancy a quick game before school?’

  ‘No!’ I exclaimed. ‘They can’t get all muddy now! Come on, Harry, it’s their first day.’

  Harry came over to me. ‘Go and get dressed in peace. I promise not
to let them dive or slide-tackle in the mud.’

  ‘Fat chance.’

  Harry laid a hand on my shoulder and looked at me properly for the first time that morning. ‘Julie, I know you’re nervous about their first day and about meeting all those posh mums, but you need to relax. It’ll be fine. This school is going to guarantee that our boys turn into geniuses and world leaders.’

  I rolled my eyes. I somehow doubted that our troublesome three would ever be geniuses. Harry was right about my nerves, though. I was worried about meeting the other parents. I was hoping to make friends. To be honest, as the mother of triplets, people tended to avoid me. Other mothers didn’t want their kids befriending mine because a playdate meant having to invite the three of them. No one really wants three boisterous boys bouncing off their walls after school. So I was worried about being isolated. That was the great thing about my old neighbour, Marian: she had four kids and was very laid back about her house, mess and noise. I really missed having her next door.

  For the first day of school, I had planned to wear my new Seven jeans with a cream silk T-shirt and a beige jacket, but suddenly I wasn’t so sure. I rang my younger sister, Sophie, who knew everything there was to know about fashion and style.

  ‘Hi, it’s me. I’ve got First-Day-at-New-School-Outfit Syndrome.’

  ‘OK, what were you thinking?’ These days, Sophie always got straight to the point. Before, she used to spend ages on the phone analysing this and that, but now that she was working full-time, she was all about efficiency and time management.

  I filled her in on my outfit choice.

  ‘Sounds good, although maybe you should wear the navy Donna Karan jacket you bought. It’s smart, stylish and would look great with those jeans. Also, the navy Marc Jacobs wedges – they’ll finish the look off nicely.’

  ‘Good idea. Can you hang on while I try it on so I can send you a selfie?’

  ‘I’m up to my eyes here, Julie. I really have to go.’

  ‘Please, Sophie – I’ll be quick.’

  ‘OK – but hurry.’

  I put the phone on loudspeaker and tried on her suggestions.