On the plus side, Jaya had been so busy using all the hotel facilities that Quinn had had plenty of time to himself. It was such a relief to be away from home, not to be needed by someone at a moment’s notice, not to be called in the middle of the night. It was only being away that made him see how draining it was being in permanent standby mode.

He felt bad being away for so long, especially over Christmas. His mother had reassured him she’d be fine. She had her sister over from America; Aunt Patricia – one of the lucky, trusted few.

‘Oh look, how precious,’ Jaya said, wrinkling her nose into a smile, ‘they made the napkins into hearts, isn’t that cute?’

‘Nice,’ Quinn said, shaking his heart out with a sharp flick of the wrist.

‘The perfect setting for a special evening,’ Jaya said, leaning over to touch his arm, her deep brown eyes gazing into his. Looking across the table at her, he noticed that each of her eyebrow hairs had been perfectly combed into conformity.

On a cold, snowy November day in Cambridge, when Jaya had suggested sundowners on the beach for New Year, Quinn had not been hard to convince. Especially knowing his aunt was coming over, and it might be one of his few opportunities to get away. But as the trip went on, and Quinn was presented to more and more of Jaya’s relations, he started to worry that ‘meeting the family’ might have more significance to Jaya than he realised. He and Jaya had only been dating a few months – he wouldn’t want her to get the wrong idea.

Jaya smiled at Quinn across the table. He could see she was wearing the make-up she reserved for ‘big nights out’; the gold dust that made her cheekbones glow. She was wearing it on her cleavage too, and some of the make-up had smudged onto the dress by her breast. Quinn had a sudden urge to pick her up in a fireman’s lift and run with her into the sea, plunging both their heads beneath the waves. Jaya didn’t like to get her hair wet. It made Quinn smile, just thinking about how cross she would be.

‘Can you?’ Jaya asked, pulling out her camera phone and handing it to Quinn. He obliged, snapping four photos of her at a flattering angle. She was never happy with any less than four.

‘Thanks, hun, I’ll get the guy to take one of both of us when he comes,’ she said, placing her phone face down on the table next to her fork.