‘I’ll tell you something that is actually happening. When I went in and checked the reception, I found Elizabeth’s secret supply of biscuits, over.’

‘I’m there.’

Joel climbed up the stairs to the sun terrace to join me. We liked to sit there as we could see the rest of the holiday park and it was a perfect vantage point to watch out for trouble.

We sat in silence and ate the biscuits and drank lukewarm tea from a flask. It was the kind of companionable silence that felt natural; we didn’t have to talk for the sake of it.

Joel’s watch beeped and he looked down.

‘It’s quarter to five,’ he said with a yawn.

‘It’s gone quick tonight.’ We’d almost made it. This was the last hour of full darkness before the sun started to rise.

‘It has.’ He nodded and took another biscuit. ‘How about we play a game?’

‘A game?’

‘Yep, would you rather. Like, would you rather eat sweets or chocolate? Or would you rather snog Bradley or Paul from S Club 7?’

‘Easy, chocolate, hands down every time. And really S Club 7? Is that the best you can come up with?’

‘OK, I’ll try harder but you have to answer immediately, go with your gut. Books or film?’

‘Books.’

‘Spiderman or Superman?’

‘Spiderman.’

Joel gave me a look.

‘What? He swings on a web,’ I said, turning my wrists over and pretending to ping webs. ‘And all you need to defeat Superman is kryptonite.’

‘And that’s so easy to come by?’

‘Hey, I didn’t realise we had to justify the answers.’

‘Yes, you’re right. OK, horror movies or action thrillers?’

‘Neither,’ I said.

‘You have to pick one, that’s the rule.’

‘But I don’t watch either. Thrillers are always so far-fetched and horror movies scare the hell out of me.’

‘What? You don’t watch horror at all?’

‘Nope, never have.’

‘You’ve never seen any of the classics, The Exorcist, Psycho, Halloween?’

I shook my head.

‘Not even Scream, or Saw?’

His voice was going high-pitched and I was convinced his eyes were going to pop out of his head.

‘Nope, nothing that would terrify me.’

‘Wow. Edie. You’re missing out.’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘So, what do you watch?’

‘Romcoms.’

Joel pulled a face. ‘Seriously? You said you don’t watch thrillers because they’re far-fetched, but romantic comedies aren’t? Come on, they’re built on a foundation of lies and the myth that happily ever after exists.’

‘It does exist.’

‘Really? In what universe?’ he muttered under his breath.

‘My parents are living happily ever after. They are truly in love.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Because you can just tell these things.’