Verity is the person who died. I remember now, he mentioned her at the wedding. That was his daughter? ‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry.’ I find myself wrapping my arms a little tighter around Tommy.

‘Yeah, Lauren was only five when it happened.’

‘It?’ I’m winded. I don’t know if I should be asking questions, but I find myself devastated for him. The puzzle of Lauren and Mayra’s troubled relationship is starting to piece together.

‘Verity drowned in the pool outside. She’d just learned to swim, so we were all being very relaxed about watching her. Lauren started screaming when she saw her at the bottom of the pool. I dived in to save her, but it was too late. The worst day of my life. I hope.’

‘I didn’t know any of this,’ I say, wiping away a tear. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘No, it’s not something we really talk about. Especially Lauren. She has paid people to keep it out of the press. It hurts her too much.’

‘I don’t know what to say.’

It’s odd, I knew there was something sad about him, and Lauren too. I presume losing her sister was the void Lauren told me about? And as for Mayra, she must be in agony. It’s no excuse for what she’s done, but it does explain a lot.

‘It must be so hard, even still. Especially as it happened here.’

‘I had the swimming pool filled in and I beat myself up a little bit every single day. I can’t sell this house. The idea of someone else living here and not understanding what happened is too painful. So here we are. A messed-up family, trying to get through life. The world sees us as rich with a famous daughter. Apparently, that makes us lucky. Sorry, I shouldn’t be telling you this. You’re supposed to be in that new baby bubble with your husband.’

‘Oh sure, yeah, the lovely bubble. That’s how I ended up on that couch with you,’ I say, and he laughs this time. ‘I really am sorry, this must be so hard for her. For all of you.’

‘It is. But you know what else is hard? Marriage. So maybe she’s better off knowing about Gavin now rather than when she’s got a few kids and is tied to him forever,’ he says. ‘Finding out you’re married to a cheat when you’ve invested half of your life in them is no joke.’

‘No, I can imagine,’ I say, my own guilt tapping me on the shoulder. Like a little gremlin threatening to multiply and cause hell. ‘Mayra seems like a real piece of work.’

‘She is, but ultimately she’s just as unhappy as I am. Verity’s death hit her hard, she let Lauren down and she knows it. She’s struggling with it all too.’