‘I’ll try.’

‘You’re going to be fine, Maddy. Better than fine. I promise.’

Despite Matteo’s comforting words, Maddy feels her heart hurting as he walks away. She sits down on the bench and watches his silhouette getting smaller and smaller and then he’s out of sight, blending in with the crowd.

She sighs, knowing she should get back to Jamie, but, instead, she gets up and walks down to the water’s edge. The tide is going out and the sand is golden. She takes off her Converse trainers and feels the cold sand under her soles. She needs a bit of time, even though she knows Jamie will be waiting for her. She needs a bit of time to process her feelings and there’s only one person who can help.

She takes her phone out of her pocket, finds the contact and presses the call button.

Lisa picks up after one ring. ‘Maddy?’

There’s a silence. Maddy thinks back to the last time they spoke, when Lisa accused her of being stubborn. She thinks of all the hurt she’s caused her friend. She tries to remember the anger she felt, but how it’s all gone.

‘Can you talk, Lis?’ she says.

‘Sure.’

There’s another pause. Maddy imagines the phone pressed to Lisa’s face. Her friend’s dear face. It’s only now, hearing her voice, that she realises how much she’s missed her.

‘I just need … I just want to talk through something. And you’re the only person …’

‘Shoot. What’s happened?’ she asks in that breezy yet interested way that is all Lisa’s. It’s their phrase of old, from when they were in their twenties and would ring each other up, night or day for advice. And in that moment, Maddy knows that all is forgiven. They’re still them. Still friends for life.

Maddy feels the sun dry her tears as she tells Lisa about Matteo and how sad it has been to say goodbye.

‘So, a hot Spanish lover?’

‘He was kind when I needed kindness.’

‘You don’t want to carry it on?’

‘I want to, he wants to, but I doubt it’s going to work,’ she says. ‘Not the long-distance thing. And not with Jamie. Besides, Matteo needs someone his own age. And he wants a family.’

They talk some more about Matteo and then Maddy tells Lisa about finding Jamie. She doesn’t hold back as she describes pulling him out of the sea. It feels good to tell Lisa all the scary details, some of which she’s already heard from Trent.

‘God, Maddy, you’re so brave.’

‘I’m just so thankful that … that, well … I’m grateful for a second chance. That’s all.’

There’s a pause, then Lisa says, ‘Do we get a second chance too? Because I’m so, so sorry for letting you down, Maddy. For not being brave enough to tell you the truth.’

‘It’s OK. I understand,’ Maddy says, with a gentle laugh. ‘You were in an impossible position. And I was awful to you. And I’m really sorry.’