‘Mads, can we call it a wrap … or whatever it is you say at the end of a shoot. I’ve had enough now,’ Sofia bellowed. It was getting chilly as the afternoon sun had sunk down behind the summer house and she longed to go indoors and get warmed up.

‘Just one more!’ Maddie called back, flicking a lock of curly auburn hair away from her eyeline. ‘You look utterly stunning by the way.’ She gave her sister a thumbs up before finishing off, grateful to her for agreeing to do the shoot. Maddie had hopes of securing a fashion photoshoot in Italy, although her chances were slim with the competition so fierce. Unlike the other photographers vying for this particular shoot, Maddie didn’t have any well-placed connections, not even a friend who was the make-up artist, like she had for her last assignment in Cornwall for an online fashion store. That had been a few months ago and so she badly needed to keep the work coming in.

Eventually she had chanced her arm and called her old school friend, Cynthia, who was a make-up artist on many of the big fashion shows and London’s West End theatre and global film productions.

‘Sure, I’ll see what I can do to help,’ Cynthia told her. ‘There’s nothing like a good recommendation in this business.’

Cynthia had advised her to keep phoning booking agents directly in the meantime, but the usual response was a dismissive suggestion to submit a selection of images from her portfolio and they would get back to her. One had added airily, ‘We’ll call you in the event a rare opportunity opens up where we may require a photographer with your level of experience.’ Ouch, the implication had stung! Maddie knew she was a good photographer, but she was very much a self-taught amateur and, having come to the world of travel and fashion photography far later than her contemporaries, she didn’t have a large professional portfolio of accredited paid work to share.

Since the spilt with Brad, Maddie had worked hard to drag her self-esteem off the floor and put herself back together again. She’d helped out with the twins, volunteered at the local charity shop, photographed a couple of local weddings – all while working as many shifts as she could in the village pub, the Duck & Puddle. In short, she’d done everything possible to keep her mind occupied and away from wondering just how brilliant a time Brad was having in New York. She knew she had to move on, but it wasn’t easy given that Brad had been her first real love and the only long-term relationship she’d had.

She walked over to join Sofia, turned the screen of the camera towards her so she could see the pictures. ‘See how beautiful you look,’ Maddie said, handing Sofia the kaftan.