‘Incoming,’ Pippa says under her breath. Hugh is walking towards us, leaving Natalie standing by the railing, talking to Miguel.

‘Ladies,’ Hugh says, looking right at me.

‘I’m gonna grab my water,’ Pippa says, with a glint in her eye.

I try to glare at her as she walks away – I know she’s trying to play matchmaker – but she avoids my gaze.

‘Just me and you then,’ Hugh says, sitting down next to me.

‘Yep.’ Absent-mindedly, I twirl an escaped curl around my finger.

‘You having a good holiday? You know, apart from your sister . . .’

A seagull’s caw pierces the air just as a breeze ruffles across the deck. ‘How could I not be?’ I ask him. ‘We’re in paradise.’

Hugh nods. ‘It’ll end too quickly.’

‘You’re telling me. At least you live here.’

‘Well, I don’t live here, I live in Sydney. It’s not as close as you’d think.’

‘I know but . . .’ I trail off, looking wistfully at the horizon.

‘It’s a lot closer than Columbus,’ Hugh agrees.

‘Something everyone seems dying to point out to me lately.’

Hugh laughs. ‘The commenters on our articles can be a real pain in the arse.’

‘I know,’ I agree.

‘So . . .’ He trails off and gestures at the ocean. ‘What’s your favourite colour?’

‘My favourite colour?’ I burst out laughing.

‘Never mind.’ He blushes, leaning away from me slightly.

My breath hitches in my chest.

‘No, no, I liked it,’ I say quickly. Hugh shoots me a look, narrowing his brilliant blue eyes. ‘My favourite colour is blue, but you could have gone with a more normal get-to-know-you question . . . like . . . tell me about your family?’

Hugh grunts. ‘I don’t see the difference, but I guess we could talk about that.’

‘OK,’ I prompt. ‘You start.’

‘I have a brother named Shaggy, we’re really close.’

‘Shaggy?’ I ask, howling with laughter.

‘You are impossible to talk to,’ Hugh says, but I can tell he’s trying not to smile. ‘That’s not his real name, it’s just a nickname that stuck.’

‘So does your mom call you Scooby?’ I tease, ignoring the last bit of what he said. ‘And by your mom, I mean Daphne. Or is she more of a Velma?’

‘She doesn’t call me Scooby, thank you very much. And her name is Gracie.’

‘OK, OK,’ I say, my giggles subsiding. ‘Well, as you know I have one sister, and we are also really close. We live near my parents too, so we see them quite a bit.’