We were now on a Kate Hudson schmaltz level, bordering on Meg Ryan Tier. And I wasn’t used to it. I wasn’t used to how often Rafael would kiss me, hold me, reach for my hand in a way that let me know he was glad I was there. My cheeks would ache every day so I knew I must be enjoying myself, but I couldn’t convey it as easily as he could. Raf and his family conveyed emotion the same way they danced – freely and easily. No holding back at all. I conveyed emotion like a typical Brit – rarely, painfully and only then once accompanied by a shitload of alcohol.

And I told him that. I had to. I’d pulled back from him too early when we had hugged on the beach one evening, watching said sunset.

‘If I’m coming on too strong—’

‘You’re not, you’re absolutely not. No, I love it. I think I’m stopping myself feeling too much. Does that make sense?’

He laughed. ‘No. It’s not because of your uncle, is it?’

‘Why would it be because of him?’

‘Well, he seems a little… over-protective of you. Not letting you bring people home. Not letting you stay out.’

‘I can stay out. I can stay out all night if I want to. He’s not protective of me – he’s just protective of his house – but it’s not just that. I think I’m protecting myself. Guys come along and ruin stuff. Or make me ruin it.’

He gently dropped my hand, but he said the perfect thing. ‘Well, I don’t want to ruin anything here. I can try and like you a little less?’

‘No,’ I said, taking his hand again. I didn’t like the emptiness when he wasn’t holding it. ‘Like me a lot. I think I need you to.’

‘You got it,’ he winked and my stomach flipped over as he pulled me closer and ran both his hands through my hair, leaving me breathless.

I wasn’t thinking about Craig. And I wasn’t thinking about how much Rhiannon didn’t deserve this. I was simply content. Being with Raf and his family made me feel like the person I should have been: Parallel Universe Me.

I liked his family almost immediately, once they’d all stopped kissing and hugging me upon introduction – I thought that was weird but only cos I’d never had that reception before. Salomé closed her gallery for the evening and came down to the beachfront to join us – she hugged me like an old friend. But it was his parents, Mike and Bianca, who particularly fascinated me.

‘They were childhood sweethearts,’ Raf told me as we sat around one of the outdoor tables. ‘Grew up on the same street in Chihuahua. They’ve been like this since they were teenagers. I don’t think they’ve ever even argued.’