‘I am,’ I said without looking at him. ‘Busy day.’

‘Are you feeling all right? Was it that dodgy sandwich you had on the plane?’

‘I’m fine.’

He considered this for a moment.

‘Seriously, what’s up, Kate?’

Apart from you putting a bomb under our marriage?

‘Nothing’s up,’ I said.

‘I’ve hardly seen you all afternoon.’

‘Just a bit tired, that’s all.’

‘That’s probably the heat getting to you.’ His voice was light, but he was choosing his words carefully. ‘It was like a blast furnace today.’

‘Probably.’

For a moment, I thought about asking him right then and there – just coming out with it. Get it over with, like ripping a plaster off in one quick pull.

Who is it? Which one? Rowan, Jennifer or Izzy?

But I knew it wasn’t the time. I had no concrete evidence – not yet. The messages on his phone would be long gone by now.

Not until you have proof. He will simply deny it otherwise.

Sean tried another tack to get me talking.

‘Wonderful spot for a holiday,’ he said.

‘Perfect.’

‘Do you ever wonder,’ he said wistfully, ‘what it would be like to come somewhere like this every year? Every summer? How amazing would that be?’

‘Sean, we couldn’t even afford to come here once, let alone every year.’

‘That’s what I mean. Doesn’t it make you feel like . . .’ He tailed off, gesticulating with his free hand. ‘Oh, I dunno.’

‘Feel like what?’

‘Like we should be able to afford it by now. That we should be able to do nice things for the kids, be able to splash out on a summer holiday like this.’

‘Maybe a bit.’

‘Y’know, I was in the pool earlier and I looked at the villa, and the balcony, and the vineyard, and I just thought, Christ, I’m about to turn forty, and there’s literally no way I could ever stay somewhere like this without Rowan making it possible.’ His Irish accent always got stronger when he’d had a few drinks, and it was in full flow now. ‘I mean, is this going to be out of my reach forever? There are a million places in the world that I want to see, but I feel as though I’ve barely even started – and my time’s already half-over. What the hell have I been doing with my life?’

‘How many beers have you had?’

‘Not enough,’ he said with a sigh.

We walked on in silence for a moment.

I said quietly, ‘I think it’s just nice that we’re even able to come here once.’

‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I get that; it’s just knowing how far out of reach it is to us in our normal lives. Makes me feel like a bit of a failure.’

‘You’re not a failure.’