‘First of all,’ Pippa says, ticking off items on her fingers, ‘I’ll keep an eye on Natalie. If she brings up anything about you being fishy . . .’ Pippa pauses and winks at me. ‘Get it?’

I nod, rolling my eyes.

‘If she brings up anything, I’ll shut it down immediately. Cool?’

‘That would be great.’ I heave a sigh of relief. I should have told Pippa sooner. She rocks.

‘Secondly,’ she continues, ‘you’re going to find this fish. We have one more dive. It’s meant to be, I can feel it in my bones.’ She reaches to give my hand a squeeze. ‘Believe in yourself, babes,’ she says brightly. ‘No one else is going to do it for you. Well, except me. I believe in you too.’

She doesn’t wait for me to respond before continuing. ‘Thirdly, and most importantly, is your situation with Hugh. I know you don’t want to admit it, but he did hit the nail on the head with the confidence stuff. Who cares if you’re not your sister? You’re YOU. He. Likes. YOU. Show up as who you are and be proud of it. Don’t let your insecurities get in the way. You should tell him the truth.’

‘But I’ve been lying, Pippa. In every conversation. I act like I’m a marine biologist, like I live this exciting life, like I’m someone who would be compatible with Hugh and I’m just . . . not.’

‘But you are living an exciting life,’ Pippa points out, ‘and you can’t use that as an excuse to lie to someone.’

‘But what if he uses it against Millie?’

We run this conversation in circles until Andrew knocks on the door and sheepishly asks if he can get ready for bed. Reluctantly, I slink back to my room, but not before thanking Pippa profusely.

‘You’re the best, Pip,’ I whisper as I hug her goodnight.

‘Get some rest, and try not to get seduced again.’ She winks. Then she giggles. ‘Andi,’ she whispers so quietly I barely hear her. I swat at her arm. ‘Shh!’ I hiss, but it feels nice to hear someone call me by my actual name and I can hear her giggling as I walk back to my room.

The lights are off in the room, and Hugh is nowhere to be found. I climb onto my bed and curl up under the covers, the wine making me feel oddly detached.

I wake up what feels like every hour, my head spinning. I remind myself that even though Hugh was right about some things, it doesn’t mean I have to tell him the truth. The guy lives in Australia. Why would I put myself through an impossibly hard conversation with potentially disastrous consequences for something with no future?