I blink. When I open my eyes, Gemma’s lost her self-consciousness and I can’t look away. She’s so sexy it hurts.

She must sense me watching. She glances at me and keeps dancing, her hips swaying and her dress clinging to her breasts, and bloody hell, how much do I want her now? More than I’ve ever wanted anyone. The question is: can I be the man Casey and Gemma deserve?

Later.

Most people are leaving. Eddie punches me on the arm. ‘Cheers, Danny. Awesome party, great gaff.’ He winks.

And then there were five. Four really, because Vijay is out for the count, snoring on the sun lounger, his lips trembling under the moonlight. At his feet, Bear snores to the same rhythm.

Casey is at the far end of the terrace, sitting in the woven egg chair, talking to Vijay’s son, Harrison. They’re leaning in and she’s laughing, and her posture makes her seem so much older than twelve.

What is he saying to her?

I step towards them, trying to eavesdrop. Harrison has just turned thirteen, and I’ve always thought he was geeky, like his dad, and young for his age. Now my hackles are up. I know what teenage boys can be like.

Gemma steps onto the terrace next to me and everything else fades away.

‘So that’s another thing to tick off Casey’s wish list,’ she says. Her skin shines in the soft light from the solar bulbs. ‘She’s made a friend too.’

‘He’d better not get any ideas.’

Gemma chuckles. ‘Harrison seems like a nice lad. I chatted to him earlier. Before they decided they only had eyes for each other.’

‘She’s too young.’

She touches my arm. My skin hums and she springs back slightly. ‘Let her be. Perhaps having a friend who happens to be a cute boy is on her secret list, the one she’d never share with her dad.’

That idea makes me want to go right over and throw Harrison off the side of the terrace. ‘That makes it worse!’

‘He’s young too. It looks sweet to me.’

I see them through her eyes now and, yes, they do look innocent and kind of . . . new. ‘I guess.’

‘You can’t stop Casey getting hurt unless you lock her away. I think a parent’s job is to make her feel so safe that she can cope when things do challenge her. Because she knows she’s loved.’

No one did that for me. But right now I believe I could learn to do it for Casey. Whenever I’m with Gemma, the impossible feels not just possible, but easy.

‘Let’s go inside, give them some space.’ She touches my arm again to guide me, but doesn’t let go this time.

It’s greenhouse-hot indoors. Gemma and I are standing thrillingly, dangerously close to each other.

‘Would you like to see the view from the mezzanine?’ I suggest.

She laughs. ‘Is that a line?’

‘No. Unless you want it to be?’

Without answering, Gemma begins to climb the ladder. I wait for a few seconds so that I am not creepily close, but when I get near the top, she holds out her hand to pull me up the last two rungs.