‘Actually—’ I squirm ‘—I was hoping to talk to Hugh . . . alone . . .’

‘Oh.’ Her face falls. ‘OK. Hugh, talk to you later.’

‘What’s up?’ Hugh asks once Natalie is out of earshot. His voice is tight.

We start walking along the beach, which eventually curves out of sight from our group.

‘I . . . um . . .’ I stutter out, unable to form a sentence. I was so focused on getting him alone that I didn’t think through what I needed to say. ‘I need to tell you something,’ I say, as we round the corner and disappear from everyone’s view.

Hugh’s eyebrows knit together, and for a moment his eyes are unreadable. It feels unimaginable that we haven’t spoken all day, when the past three days all we’ve done is chat. The ache in my heart is so pronounced that my hand flutters to my chest.

‘Seriously, Millie?’

‘What?’

‘You were rude to Natalie and she’s been wanting to talk to you.’

‘No . . . can we not talk ab—’

‘Oh, wait.’ Hugh’s glowering now, and he kicks at the sand. ‘Don’t tell me. You’re jealous.’ He spins to face me and stops walking. ‘Is that it?’

We’ve reached the end of the beach, and Hugh turns to keep walking, climbing over a rock and into the forest. ‘She has a boyfriend for God’s sake,’ he says, ‘we’re friends! And if you actually bothered to talk to her, you would know why!’

‘Wait,’ I say, feeling like everything is spinning out of control too quickly. ‘That’s not it. I’m . . . I’m dealing with a lot right now. I’m not usually this all over the place, I promise.’

Hugh stops. We’re both in the trees now, just steps off the beach. ‘You’re ridiculous, you know that? You tell me you don’t want me, and as soon as you see me with someone else, you do?’

‘This isn’t what this is about!’ I cry.

‘Really?’ Hugh takes a step towards me. My heart is pounding in my chest. He lowers his face closer to mine. ‘What is it then?’ he asks, but his voice is softer, like the anger has drained out of it. His eyes have returned to their light blue. He raises his thumb gently to my bottom lip.

‘Hugh,’ I whisper.

He leans in to kiss me, and I raise my face to meet his. His hand palms the back of my head and the small of my back simultaneously, pulling our bodies together. My thoughts disappear from my head and are replaced by more, more, more, as I reach my hands into his hair.

Suddenly, he pulls away.

‘What is it?’ I gasp, short of breath. My head is clouded with desire for him. There are so many words I’ve left unsaid, but there’s no way I can say them now.

‘You drive me crazy,’ he says.