That summer turned unexpectedly into a haze of gold. Milly spent the long hot days basking under the sun, swimming in the pool, eating al fresco and revelling in the attention that Nipper was paying her. She had never been flirted with before, never made to feel in any way special. To her mother – who seemed crazy these days, a woman with wild eyes and jerky movements, trapped in a world of her own – she was an inconvenience; to her father, she was a useless girl, not a boy, not worth something, like Harlan. But to Nipper, she was obviously far from the bore she had always believed herself to be, with her nose always stuck in some romantic blockbuster by Danielle Steel or Sidney Sheldon.

To be kissed by him was wonderful. And slowly over the course of the summer he went further, slipping his hand inside her blouse and touching her breasts. Then further still, making her breathless with desire so that her only focus was him, Nipper. Harlan was still there making up to Belle, and Belle’s mother was always there too, standing guard over her daughter. Everything else – Jill and Belle included – became an unwanted distraction from the games they played together, her and Nipper.

One hot, humid day they were in the pool house. Nipper had beckoned her over, then, laughing, pulled her inside and shut the half-glassed door behind her. He yanked down the blinds at the windows. Laughing too, Milly looked through the door’s top section, back at the pool. Jill and Belle had gone off into the kitchen, and only Harlan was out there right now, sprawled on a sunbed, eyes closed.

Nipper lusting after her had given her confidence; now she wore a one-piece swimsuit, and didn’t care if it showed off the size of her arse. He said she was a beauty and suddenly, as if by a miracle, she was.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Their hot skins stuck together; he was only wearing bathing trunks. Jesus, she thought, with a sizzle of alarm and arousal, they were almost naked.

‘I can’t,’ she said, drawing back, breathless.

‘You know I want to,’ said Nipper.

It was the same old refrain. All through the summer, they’d wrangled about this. He wanted sex with her. She wasn’t sure. Now Nipper snaked his fingers inside her swimsuit and squeezed her breast. Her nipple hardened under his touch and Milly groaned.

‘It’ll be OK,’ said Nipper. He dug in the tiny pocket at the side of his trunks and came up with a small square packet. ‘Look. I’ll wear this. I’ll take care of you, don’t worry. Feel it, Milly. Feel how much I want you.’

He was pushing her hand down between their bodies. Milly’s hand closed over a long column of hot flesh. It was startling.

‘God, that feels good,’ he sighed.