Page 86 of Under Your Spell

‘It is full on,’ Lisa says. ‘When Theo joined the band, I was at uni, having a great time, and then boom!’ She mimes an explosion with her hand. ‘Suddenly everyone was talking about him. His face was everywhere. When we went out, they played his music. People found out he was my brother and they wanted to be my friend, wanted to know if I could hook them up with tickets or introduce them. It happened so fast, I couldn’t get my head around it.’ She looks sad for a moment. ‘I was just starting to be my own person, you know. Then I wasn’t; I was only Theo’s sister. I hated it so much.’

‘That must have been difficult,’ I say softly.

‘I don’t think I handled it great, to be honest.’ Lisa sighs. ‘I gave Theo a hard time. I wasn’t really thinking about how it was for him – he seemed to be having a great time. I just felt like he’d tossed this weird grenade into my life and then buggered off on some rock-star tour of the world.’ Her eyes widen. ‘God, sorry! That’s a lot to unload on you when we’ve only just met.’

‘No, not at all,’ I smile. ‘I get it, I really do. I’m not sure we’re built to handle stuff like that.’ I lean back and close my eyes for a moment. ‘In a funny way it must have been harder for you. I never knew anything different. The very fact that I was born was just part of the Ripp Harris circus. For you it was all normal… until it wasn’t.’ When I open my eyes, Lisa is looking at me with a sympathy that has me awkwardly clearing my throat. ‘But like I say, Ripp isn’t really in my life anymore anyway.’

‘Do you mind me asking…’ – Lisa hesitates — ‘is that because of all the press stuff? I know from bitter experience how hard that can be. Theo’s done his best to shield us from it, but the paparazzi are wild. It was especially bad at the beginning.’

‘Partly, I suppose. Mostly it’s Ripp stuff. Let’s just say he’s not exactly made for fatherhood.’

‘Not like Theo, then. He’d be a great dad,’ Lisa says and then she flushes. ‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean that you and Theo should start making babies.’ She winces. ‘Jesus, I sound like Mum. I just meant Theo is such a good guy.’

I laugh then. Mostly because I feel comfortable with someone who’s clearly as skilled at putting her foot in it as I am. ‘Theo is a good guy,’ I agree. ‘The best. It actually really took me by surprise, how kind he is.’

Lisa looks pleased. ‘Yeah, he creeps up on people like that. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s been a massive famous star for over half his life so he can be wildly out of touch with reality at times. But he’s also very thoughtful. Comes from being a shy music nerd when he was growing up, I guess.’

‘Have you seen him try to work a washing machine?’ I ask.

Lisa giggles. ‘Obviously not, because when I see him, if he doesn’t have David wiping his bum, then Mum is there fussing over her little baby. Let me guess, he turned everything pink?’

‘Worse; he absolutely boiled this beautiful cashmere jumper that definitely cost more than my car. It’s only wearable by Ken dolls now.’

‘I’m surprised he didn’t try and fit in it anyway,’ Lisa snorts. ‘Loves wearing those insanely tight T-shirts to show off all his muscles.’ She shudders.

‘Mmmm,’ I agree, unable to hide my approval.

‘Ewwwww!’ Lisa bats me on the arm. ‘Clemmie!’

‘Hey,’ I shrug. ‘What can I say? He’s got a nice… pair of arms.’

‘Just when I thought we were going to be friends,’ Lisa teases, and I feel a glow at the words.

We sit for a moment in comfortable silence, only interrupted by the odd snore from Cara.

‘I actually think Theo has been really lonely lately,’ Lisa says finally. ‘I’m glad he’s found someone who makes him happy.’

‘You guys don’t get to see him much?’ I ask.

She shakes her head. ‘Hardly ever. He’s pretty good about FaceTiming and stuff, so Hannah knows who he is, but he’s just so busy…’ She trails off. ‘Last time I actually saw him I was barely pregnant with Oliver. We weren’t even sure if he’d make it for the wedding, what with his schedule, so the fact that he came for the whole weekend and brought you with him… it really means a lot to all of us.’

I frown in confusion. ‘I don’t think there’s any way Theo would have missed this,’ I say. ‘As far as I know he planned this whole album-writing trip around it.’

Lisa looks surprised. ‘He did? No, I don’t think so. At one point he was really vague about whether he was going to be in the country or not.’ She looks down at her toes. ‘I mean, I don’t want to sound ungrateful. Look at this place, I can’t believe we get to have our wedding here and, you know, that was all him. I think I could have told him I wanted to get married on the moon and he’d have found a way to make it happen, but I would have been gutted if he hadn’t been able to make it.’

Although I have gooey feelings about Theo (or – let’s face it – David) sorting out his sister’s wedding, something about what she’s saying doesn’t feel right to me.

‘But he did come,’ Lisa says brightly. ‘And he brought you, too. So there’s plenty to celebrate.’

‘Absolutely,’ I agree, lifting my glass. ‘Here’s to you and Rob and a lifetime of happiness.’ Lisa clinks her glass against mine.

Cara lets out a sort of spluttering snore and then lurches up in her seat. ‘Woooo! Wedding bitches!’ she slurs, lifting her own glass before collapsing back again.

Lisa and I exchange a look. Then both of us burst out laughing.

After that, it’s much easier to relax.

Chapter Thirty-Two