‘Okay,’ I reply. ‘Thank you.’

‘And I’m sorry if I embarrassed you today. I don’t really know what happened…’

‘I’m going to say that was all me,’ I respond.

‘You and your friend,’ he says, nodding towards the dildo.

‘I really need to move that,’ I say with a deep sigh. ‘It’s not mine. Well, I suppose it is. It was a sort of joke honeymoon gift, from my best friend.’

Freddie’s face falls for a second before he smiles bigger than ever.

‘You’re on your honeymoon? Congratulations! It should have occurred to me, that you’d be here with someone,’ he says. ‘I’m here by myself. I think I forget that it’s supposed to be for couples.’

‘You’re here alone?’

‘Yeah.’ He laughs awkwardly. ‘I was after some solo time and, well, a place full of loved-up couples seemed like a really great place to be left alone.’

‘That actually makes a lot of sense,’ I reply. ‘I’m here by myself too – less by choice though, more like my wedding was supposed to be a couple of days ago but it never happened, so I thought I’d come on my honeymoon alone.’

‘Wow,’ he says. ‘I’m sorry things didn’t work out.’

Freddie takes his sunglasses off.

I stare at him for a few seconds.

‘You look oddly familiar,’ I tell him. ‘Do you ever get told you look like anyone? I can’t quite put my finger on it.’

Freddie laughs.

‘I just have one of those faces,’ he explains, before quickly switching back to our previous topic of conversation, not even detecting (or perhaps just ignoring) my attempt at a subject change. ‘I can’t believe you’re here on your own too.’

‘I’m sure it happens,’ I reply.

‘It really doesn’t,’ he says. ‘I got talking to someone who works here – they told me no one comes here alone. Why would they? It’s a place designed for couples. I didn’t think I’d notice, other than there being couples everywhere, but it’s amazing how apparent it is.’

I shrug.

‘I have a lot of work to do anyway. I don’t suppose I’ll notice,’ I tell him. It’s partially true, and partially a big old hint, to get him to leave. We might have cleared the air, but I’m still so, so embarrassed, and I feel so uncomfortable right now.

‘Do you want to go for a drink or something to eat?’ he asks.

‘Are you inviting me by default, because I’m the only other solo person here?’

‘No, I told you, I came here to be alone,’ he replies, sounding almost hurt at my suggestion.

‘If you’d come here and my husband had been with me, would you have asked us both to dinner?’

‘If I’d seen you both naked, then yes,’ he jokes. ‘Lila, I’m only asking because we’re both here by ourselves, and it sounds like you’ve had a crappy few days, with a big shock…’

‘I’m fine,’ I lie. ‘Really, I am. I just want to get on with my work, and to be left alone. Surely you understand, if that’s why you’re here?’