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She squeezes me once more before swimming towards her husband, who's already holding out a hand for her.

And the way he looks at her when she takes it?

Yeah. Those two aren't going straight to sleep.

I shake my head, smiling to myself.

“Something funny?”

I turn.

Jude is standing beside me, one eyebrow raised.

“Your brother.”

“That's usually the answer.”

I laugh.

He looks towards the beach, where Dex has just scooped Lexy into his arms despite her protests.

“Unfortunately, we're related.”

“Unfortunately?”

“Legally, I don't think I can do anything about it.”

I laugh again, and Jude's gaze drops briefly to my mouth.

So briefly I might have imagined it.

Except I don't think I did.

We watch Dex carry his laughing wife towards the hotel until the two of them disappear beyond the lights along the beach.

And suddenly, everything is quiet.

Not completely, of course.

The sea still moves around us, the waves breaking softly against the shore. Somewhere beyond the hotel, music drifts through the warm night air, fainter now, as though the fair is slowly falling asleep.

But the laughter has gone.

It's just us.

Jude clears his throat.

“I should go…”

“No, stay.”

The words leave my mouth before I can think about them.

He looks at me.

I smile, lean back and let the sea take my weight.

The water lifts me gently, cool against my ears, and I spread my arms as I float beneath the night sky.