‘I like knowing things about you,’ Hugh says softly. In that moment I decide to describe myself, who I really think I am. It’s vulnerable serving yourself up on a platter to someone and knowing they will judge you with total honesty. I’m glad he’s not facing me as I try to describe myself through my sister’s eyes.

‘Andi’s great,’ I say, testing the waters, wondering if he knows me well enough to hear the lie in my voice. If he does, he doesn’t say anything. ‘You always know what you’re getting with her. She’s nice and reliable. She never lets people down.’

‘She sounds like I would like her.’

‘I think you would,’ I answer honestly, ‘I hope.’ There’s a hint of regret in my voice. I clear my throat in an effort to hide it.

‘Does she look like you?’

‘Yes.’ I describe Millie this time. ‘Skinnier thighs and shinier hair, but she looks like me.’

‘I like your hair. And I like your th—’ Hugh stops himself.

‘What?’ I ask, wanting so badly to hear him say that he likes my thighs. My voice is a whisper loaded with desire.

It’s Hugh’s turn to cough, and he does, changing the subject after. ‘I know you’re not quite on the market. I know what happened earlier caught us both off guard.’ He elbows me when he says it, but his voice is husky.

‘Mhm.’

‘But if you were . . .’ I know that he’s turned to face me. A lump rises in my throat. I know that if I turn my head to his, we’ll be close, nose to nose, exactly like my dream. I know I won’t be able to resist kissing him. I know that I should. I know that Millie’s most hated work associate is off-limits. But as I’m thinking all these things, I’m also feeling a magnetic pull to turn towards Hugh, to press my lips to his, to taste his skin, to smell his hair, to run my hands all over his chest.

The magnetic pull wins. I flip onto my side. Our noses almost touch.

‘Millie,’ he whispers, gravelly and low. I ignore my sister’s name this time. When I look into his eyes, I know he’s seeing me.

I feel desire making the tangy sea air even thicker, like there could be steam rising off both of us. And then, slowly, but all at once, he kisses me.

It feels like a lightning strike from my head to my toes. Hugh’s tongue gently parts my lips. His hands find their way to the small of my back and the nape of my neck. He pulls me closer to him, and suddenly we’re touching everywhere. I feel like a live wire. Every sensation that isn’t Hugh dims.