They reached the shallow stream that made its way down the beach and out to the sea. Emma looked down, realising that, in her rush to get ready, she had left on her deck shoes. She usually put wellies on for her sandy dog walks, damn. The stream was an inch or two deep, and would certainly trash her footwear, as well as leaving her with soggy socks and cold, wet feet.

Max spotted her looking down at her footwear. He had heavy leather work-style boots on that would be fairly waterproof. ‘I’ll give you a piggy back. Come on.’ And with that, he started to crouch down, for her to clamber on his back.

‘You sure?’ At five foot nine she was fairly tall and wasn’t exactly the lightest of women. She’d probably break his back.

‘Of course. Hitch a ride.’

She started laughing. She hadn’t had a piggy back since mucking about with her brother years ago as a kid. ‘O-kay, here goes.’ She clambered on, expecting to hear a groan as he realised her weight, but he seemed fine. His back felt very firm and muscular as she clung on. Max reached his arms back around behind him to support her thighs.

‘And they’re off!’ he shouted, as he started hopping across the stream, half-leaping at times to balance a foot on the shallower parts.

Emma couldn’t stop giggling, having to grasp even tighter on the mini leaps.

Max gathered momentum as they reached the other side of the stream and kept going in a clumsy jog, veering towards the dunes.

‘I’m fine now – put me down! Aagh, we’re going to crash,’ she shouted.

A toddler stood staring with his parents as the pair of them dashed clumsily by, both laughing hysterically.

‘I’m looking for a suitable landing pad,’ Max shouted over his shoulder as he kept going, with Emma clinging on like a monkey, but all the while feeling herself sliding lower.

They reached the softer sands at the edge of the dunes, and Max tipped her gently over to place her into a sandy hollow at the start of the marram grass. Unfortunately, he somehow caught his foot on a root and toppled just about on top of her. He steadied himself with his arms at the last to stop a full-on crush. His upper body was then balanced just centimetres above hers, with his lower half in full, warm, and very manly contact.