‘Here you go.’ Fergus passed one over to him. ‘Ah, chips. The Devil’s food.’ He looked longingly at them.

‘Here, have one, help yourself. I can’t eat all of them. Not with this huge piece of fish as well,’ said Izzy.

Fergus dived straight in and moaned, pulling a comic blissed-out face. ‘Don’t tell the mammy, whatever you do.’

They all laughed, but Hannah wondered at Conor’s unspoken cynicism about his mother.

‘Do you want one, Conor?’ Hannah offered him her plate.

For a moment he considered it and then with a quick grin took one from the plate and popped it whole into his mouth.

‘Our secret,’ she said and then immediately regretted her choice of words as his eyes met hers.

‘So what is there to do in Inch of a weekend?’ she asked hurriedly.

Thankfully Fergus jumped in, while Conor continued to eye her thoughtfully, making her heart skip a little in her chest. She was never going to live that one-night stand down, was she?

‘Conor likes to escape to Dublin when he can. I reckon he’s got a fancy lady tucked away.’

Conor’s mouth twitched ever so slightly and Hannah dropped her eyes, focusing hard on munching through her fish.

‘I go into Dingle with the boys. There are a couple of good pubs there and quite a few the other way in Tralee. Both are great to go out on the lash.’

‘You’ll have to give us some recommendations,’ said Izzy.

‘Bear in mind, he’s eighteen,’ drawled Conor. ‘His idea of good craic is significantly different from mine.’

‘You’re just an aul stick in the mud, so you are,’ said Fergus with a mocking grin, which took the sting out of his words. ‘We had great craic at Foley’s last night.’

‘Less of the aul, young fella.’ The brothers, despite the significant age gap were obviously close.

‘Ever tried surfing?’ asked Fergus.

‘I’ve always wanted to, but it looks far too difficult,’ said Hannah, looking down towards the beach where there were quite a few surfers.

‘Just takes practice and a bit of balance.’

‘Ha! That’s me out then,’ said Izzy. ‘I have no sense of balance. I couldn’t even stand up on a skateboard.’

Hannah hadn’t ever been on a skateboard, another thing that had looked a bit too scary when she was a child. She’d always preferred to play it safe. Her adventures came through her books.

‘You ought to have a go. The board hire here is pretty reasonable.’

‘I might,’ said Izzy and suddenly laughed, turning to Hannah. ‘I bet Jason and Fliss would be up for it, can you imagine?’

‘Oh yes. Those two would turn it into a duel to the death. They’re fiercely competitive. Our very own Lady and The Tramp, though with maybe more of a sibling vibe.’