‘Oh.’ My cheeks burn, indignation crumbling into embarrassment. I look at his hand and then shake it. ‘I just took my eyes off him for a second and he wandered off.’ I want the lake to swallow me up so I never have to see this man again.

‘It happens,’ he says finally, and I dare to look at him. There’s a smile struggling to impose itself on his mouth. It finally succeeds and I see his eyes crinkling at the corners as he starts to laugh. ‘You should see your face!’

I want to cry. I turn away from him and drag Luca with me, causing the boy to shout back ‘Salut, Jorge,’ confirmation that this man is obviously in the kids’ lives and I am, therefore, likely to see him again.

‘I’m sorry for laughing,’ he says. ‘No harm’s done. He’s okay.’ He starts to walk alongside us as I hurry us back to the grassy area where I pray I’ll find Léa.

‘Thank you,’ I say quietly. ‘For finding him. I mean, now I know you’re not an axe murderer or child abductor or something.’

‘You’re welcome.’ He smiles, and there’s a glimmer of laughter back in his eyes. ‘Have you lost Léa too?’

I feel my eyebrows arch and my voice comes out icy. ‘She’s waiting for us over there.’

‘Woah, just asking.’ He puts his hands up. ‘I’ll come and say hello to my buddy then.’

‘Jorge!’ Léa sees us walking towards her and weaves her way between the sprawled bodies to reach us. He sweeps her into a hug and she squeals, her feet dangling off the ground.

‘Salut, ma belle, ça va?’

‘Ouais,’ she says. ‘We have to speak English – for Jess.’

‘Of course.’ He looks at me and I realise I never told him my name. ‘I just met Jess – she was getting worried about your brother.’

‘Oh, you have found him?’ Léa asks, and I can’t help but smile at the indifference of both kids: Léa, more excited by Jorge’s arrival than her brother’s reappearance; and Luca, quietly eating the remains of his ice cream with a studious intensity.