So because there is so much gear, it takes ages to get ready in the morning. Breakfast is at eight (why? Aren’t we meant to be on holiday?) and served by cheerful young staff in logoed T-shirts – bread, croissants, jam, Nutella, weird butter without salt, cereal in giant plastic containers, rubbery boiled eggs, and more. I hardly eat anything, I am so nervous.

Nell manages to look like a minor royal on their annual ski holiday. Her salopettes are sleeker and way less puffy than mine, and she’s carrying a slick black jacket with a gold belt, which makes my colourful geometric-patterned jacket manage to seem both dowdy and gaudy at the same time, as well as even more dated than it actually is.

‘Louisa! Look at you!’ she says. ‘How darling in your retro look!’ I smile tightly as she leans down to kiss Will then me on the cheek. My gear is not retro, it’s just old, and I’m pretty sure Nell knows that.

‘Adam not up yet?’ Will asks.

Nell stirs honey and granola into plain yoghurt. ‘Yes, he’s up. He’ll be down in a minute. Then we’re going to head out, make the most of the beautiful weather. It’s supposed to close in in a couple of days.’

I look out the window where the sky is a dazzling blue. The dining room is stifling and I am too hot. I wonder if I’ve put too many layers on, but I don’t want to ask because Nell is bound to make me feel stupid. It’s boiling and stuffy in here and it’s hard to believe it’s that cold out there with the sun shining like that.

Will squeezes my hand. ‘OK? You ready for the off?’

I nod. ‘Ready as I’ll ever be.’

We pass Adam coming in as we are leaving the dining room. ‘You sure you don’t want to get Louisa here an instructor for the morning?’ he asks. ‘It’s pretty difficult teaching a total beginner.’

I see Will’s face darken. ‘It’ll be fine. I want to teach my girlfriend how to ski.’

Adam claps Will on the shoulder. ‘Yeah, right. More like you don’t want her spending the day with some fit French Jean-Louis and his perfect buns.’

‘Don’t be so ridiculous,’ Will snaps.

Adam pulls a mock-surprised face. ‘Ooohhh! I was only joking, for fuck’s sake. Now, off you go and have a good time. And you, Louisa, be careful. Make sure Will looks after you properly.’

‘I will!’ I say, beaming, trying to lighten the mood. Adam can be annoying, but I think Will is over-reacting this time.