Julia grabbed my hand and looked me in the eye. ‘This needs to stop, Gwyneth. You’re working yourself ragged. You’ve always been a hard worker but this is taking it to the extreme. What’s going on with you?’ She leant close to me, squeezing my shoulder. ‘Is it Reg passing away?’

Cole frowned as he watched us.

‘That was nearly eighteen months ago!’ I said, making her hand slip off my shoulder as I backed away. I raked my fingers through my hair, avoiding Cole’s watchful gaze. ‘I just underestimated how tired I’d be, that’s all. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.’

‘You’re taking a rest day today, okay?’ Julia said. I opened my mouth to protest but she shook her head, giving me a stern look. ‘I won’t hear any protests. Take a day off or you’re going home early. Go with your friend, do some sightseeing. Anything but work. You need to give that mind of yours a rest,’ she said, jabbing her cold finger against my temple.

I shook my head. ‘Fine.’ I turned to Cole. ‘Come on, let’s go risk our lives driving along the icy roads.’

A few hours later, we were driving along Iceland’s main ring road. We’d stopped at a café for a late breakfast first and Cole had filled the conversation with news of his work. He seemed much less put together than I remembered, words tumbling over one another, sometimes unable to meet my eyes. When we set off again, he grew quiet, taking in the scenery, which was stunning, vast snowy landscapes and pink skies. We stopped often so Cole could take photos.

‘God, Rhonda and Alfie would love it here!’ he declared during one of our stops.

‘Then why didn’t you bring them?’

His brow creased slightly. ‘I came to find Dylan. Didn’t want to drag them on a wild-goose chase.’

‘But you hired a car, you’re staying for two nights. Looks like a bit of a break to me.’

‘Maybe I need a break,’ he said. ‘Mum reckons Dylan not being here has put a lot of pressure on me.’

‘You look tired.’

‘So do you.’ He examined my face. ‘I don’t want to pry, but that stuff your producer was saying earlier – maybe she’s right?’

I thought back to what Julia had said. She was right. And yes, that had something to do with the regret I’d felt at not hearing from Dylan. But I couldn’t help but wonder if it might be because it had been ten years since I’d seen my parents. The passage of time brought home just how long it had been. Had they tried to track me down after I’d run away from the hotel to work with Reg? Not hard enough, in my view. But then who could blame them?