‘And the kids?’

‘Playing cards inside.’

Jack got on the sun lounger next to her and they lay in companionable silence. They were staying in a villa on Kefalonia that Angie had found. Trust Angie to discover something a bit special, off the beaten track. Sophie would have just booked something through a big tour operator and be done with it, but Angie had spent hours poring over the internet and making enquiries. And the result was pretty spectacular.

The six-bedroom property, with its blue shutters and whitewashed walls, was plenty big enough for them all, with the four younger children sharing two rooms and Indie and Benji having their own. The villa was nestled on the side of a hill overlooking the sea, three miles away from civilisation. From the beautifully manicured garden, with its own private pool, you could see for miles. In the heat of the midday sun, a pergola covered in vine leaves offered the perfect shade to sit outside and eat lunch with a cold glass of wine. Most of the time everyone had been content to spend the day at the villa. They’d taken a couple of trips to the nearest town to go to the beach, have a meal, browse the little shops and buy an ice cream. Sophie had never seen Alan looking so relaxed and couldn’t remember ever having had a better holiday herself either.

But they only had one night left in paradise before they had to fly back home to rainy London. The Taylors, however, were hopping onto a ferry to spend ten days on another Greek island and Sophie was yearning to go with them. But Alan needed to get back to work and there was no way they’d be able to afford it. The villa had been eye-wateringly expensive, and Sophie had baulked at the price when Angie had first told her. Perhaps sensing her shock, Angie had immediately offered to pay extra.

‘We’ve got four children, you’ve only got two,’ she said. ‘We’ll be taking up more of the bedrooms and eating far more of the food. Let us chip in a little extra.’

Sophie had been too embarrassed to accept but Alan had no such qualms. ‘She’s right, though, isn’t she,’ he said. ‘There’s more of them. Anyway, they can afford it.’

But Sophie, feeling too proud, had stood firm and in the end they’d split the cost, with the agreement that Jack and Angie would put more into the food, drink and taxi kitty. She suspected that they kept sneaking extra cash into the kitty when she wasn’t looking but she was far too relaxed to care anymore. Now she had one glorious day left to enjoy before they had to pack up and return to reality and she was going to enjoy every last second of it.

‘Fancy a dip?’ Jack asked.

‘Sure.’ She started to peel herself off the sunbed. ‘Last one in’s making dinner!’

She dived into the pool and as her body hit the ice-cold water she felt a glorious rush of adrenaline. She swam the length of the pool, enjoying the sensation of being underwater, until her throat started burning and she returned to the surface. When she looked up, Jack was also in the water, watching her.