‘In which case—’ she picked up speed again ‘—maybe we’ve worked out why you’re sad.’ She fumbled with her headband, pulling it free from her mess of hair to unleash curls that fell loosely around her. When her hair settled into place, Fred looked every bit the model; not just a life model, though, but a natural beauty model. The face that belonged on a campaign for joy. ‘Come, dance, then you can tell me what’s wrong.’ She pulled me to her by my hips, and I felt soft against her. Our bodies moved in a way that a male author would describe as seductive or charged or— Eurgh. But there was nothing of that. She moved my body like she were teaching it something, increasing the pace of hip shifts as the music livened around us. We were seconds away from the chorus when Fred flashed me a wide-eyed look and said, ‘Wait. If you’re going to lose yourself in a dance, I know a better song than this.’

When she moved away my worries flooded back in. I wrapped my arms across my midriff, as though she hadn’t already seen it from a much more vulnerable viewpoint.

‘Don’t you dare cover that body up.’ She was strutting back over to me, clicking along to the opening bars of a song that I didn’t recognise. I tried to laugh as I eased my arms away; I ran a hand through my hair, felt in my pocket for my phone, anything to avoid … ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ She stopped in front of me and set a hand either side of my waist.

‘I’m feeling … self-conscious.’

‘I’ve seen you naked.’ She laughed. ‘What’s actually going on?’

I pushed out a long breath. But I didn’t want to look at her. ‘Rowan slept with one of his friend’s girlfriends.’

It was the first time I’d seen her look truly taken aback. ‘What a prince.’ No sooner had she said it than she pulled me into a hug. ‘We don’t have to dance; we don’t have to talk. Walk me through what you need, okay?’

I relaxed into the hug. By then, the chorus to the song had kicked in and I found that – despite wanting to cry only seconds ago – I belched out a surprise laugh. The song was, I realised, ‘She Drives Me Crazy’ by the Fine Young Cannibals. And I remembered it from dancing around the living room at home, with Mum and Dad.

‘The song suddenly doesn’t feel quite as appropriate as it did,’ she spoke into my neck.