As it was such a gorgeous day, she and Izzy had agreed to put their cossies on and take towels down to the beach. They’d set up camp halfway along the beach, which was much quieter, away from the families and quite a few cars that were actually parked on the sand itself just in front of the dunes.

‘This is Heaven,’ said Izzy, floating on her back, her feet pointing up out of the sea. ‘No responsibilities, no worries. God, I wish I could stay here.’

‘Would you really want to stay here?’ Hannah surveyed the hills around them and the beautiful view with the houses dotted on the hillside.

‘Only in as much as it’s away from home. I lived in Edinburgh until three months ago. I miss it, although I do like living in the country. It’s just all the hassle that comes with living in a crumbling pile with my batty mother who is adamant we have to stay.’

‘Do you have to stay with her?’

‘I wasn’t exaggerating when I said she might burn the house down.’

‘Oh, is she a bit forgetful?’

‘Something like that. She’s not got Alzheimer’s or anything. There’s not a speck of common sense in her body. Flipping liability, she is.’

Hannah shook her head. She couldn’t imagine living with someone like that. ‘I’ve got the opposite. My rellies have too much common sense. It takes them forever to make a decision because they have to weigh up all the odds. They were horrified when I took a sabbatical to come out here.’

‘Why? It’s your life, isn’t it?’

‘They worry. My mother and father were complete adrenaline junkies. I think they’ve always had the slight worry that my sister and I might turn out like them. Mina is quite impulsive, so I’m the sensible one. I’ve always been at pains not to worry them. To try and do the right thing. The sensible thing. I thought learning to cook properly was being quite sensible but it sent my boss, my aunt and uncle, and half my colleagues into a complete tailspin. I almost chickened out.’

‘Glad you didn’t. It’s nice to have someone the same age who isn’t a shit-hot cook.’

Hannah laughed. ‘You mean I’m a bit crap.’

Izzy winced and grinned. ‘Oops. I didn’t mean it like that but you’re not perfect and neither am I. The others all seem to know what they’re doing. I mean, Meredith’s lovely but she’s about the same age as my mum and Fliss… she’s so flipping posh she terrifies me. And I don’t think I’ve got much in common with Jason. He sounds a bit wild.’

‘That still leaves Alan.’