I tense and grab for Hugh’s hand. Even more so than usual, he has remained the ever-present buddy, not straying from my side. We swam the entire dive up to this point almost perfectly in sync, which is hard to do in the dark.

When we move forward, we each keep one arm outstretched, flashlights pointing at the ground, our other hands tightly intertwined with each other. Everyone has stopped moving except Andrew, who has started floating towards the surface. Miguel shoots up a hand and grabs him, pulling him down towards the rest of us. We watch as Vanessa’s flashlight traces the shark’s movements. It’s large and grey, a lot bigger than the one Hugh and I saw before. Its mouth is open menacingly. It swims towards us slowly and then veers in the opposite direction, disappearing into the darkness. Even though I can’t hear it, it feels as though everyone has sighed a collective sigh of relief.

Hugh and I keep our fingers interlocked as we continue in a slow circle around the reef. Suddenly Vanessa’s flashlight is zigzagging again, this time over a rocky crevice. Our fingers unravel when we see what Vanessa has spotted – an octopus. We all jockey for space to watch it swim over the coral. It dances over the rocks, perfectly blending in. Its tentacles reach and pull more gracefully than I’ve ever seen anything move. It’s pulsing a dusty brown, with soft edges and hooded eyes. It’s the same octopus I had told Andrew about. I glance in his direction, knowing how badly he was hoping to see one. He has covered his mouth with both hands in excitement. I feel a swell of happiness that his dream has come true. The octopus is mesmerising, and we all watch it slowly melt away in between two rocks, its body perfectly pliable.

I yearn to grab Hugh’s hand as soon as we start swimming again, but I force myself to keep my hands locked in front of me, one arm folded over the other. Our hand hold meant nothing, I tell myself. Hugh knows I’m scared and is just being nice. Hugh is scared himself. Even Miguel and Andrew grabbed for each other’s hands when we saw the shark. A thought ripples through me with such clarity it sends a chill down my spine despite the warmth trapped in my stinger suit. I told Pippa I can’t afford any distraction, and I meant it. But the truth is, if I keep letting Hugh distract me, if I keep falling for his eyes, and his accent, and his pockets of pure vulnerability . . . if I keep letting him know me, then in three days my heart will be seriously messed up. I cannot let my rebound be a man in Australia who only likes me because he thinks I’m my sister. It will destroy any ounce of self-esteem I have left.