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He gave me a little nod in return and then true to TV-dramedy form, a couple of people (Melissa and Harmony) clapped and whooped. I glanced back at Theo who was now wearing the sort of confused expression that indicated that he wasn’t sure why any of this was cause for celebration.

‘Excellent, both of you, great decision,’ said Melissa. ‘And I’d like to remind the group that everything we say will be confidential. We have to have complete trust in each other for this dynamic to work. Understood?’

Everyone nodded and agreed, even Theo, and when everyone stood up to high-five each other, Theo laughed in surprise and promptly joined in, his soft, sexy, rumble of a laugh impossible to miss, even when everyone else was guffawing away beside him. It was like his voice was on a different frequency, and I wondered whether it was just me who could pick it out.

‘So guys,’ said Melissa, ‘before I let you go, I wanted to letyou know what to expect from the next ten days. There will of course be lots of opportunities for you to talk and share within the group, like we have this morning.’

Great,I thought.

‘But we’ll also be getting out of the hotel and taking part in some activities in the surrounding area. And I’ve got games and exercises up my sleeve that I hope will guide you and help you set intentions for yourself and your relationship. On which note, I’ll see you this evening for our first session – a sunset walk along the famous La Croisette!’

To be fair, this didn’t sound too bad. At least I’d finally get to be by the sea. One by one everyone got up and wandered off with promises to see each other later in the day, and I followed suit, picking up my coffee cup and heading back inside. Realising that Theo was still standing where I’d left him, looking out at the hills, I hesitated and turned back to face him.

‘See you later,’ I called to him. ‘Unless you wanted to talk. About the book, I mean?’

Theo glanced over his shoulder at me, the laughter of a few moments ago gone as quickly as it had appeared. ‘Can we take a raincheck? I’m not sure I’d be able come up with anything useful.’

‘Sure,’ I said, feeling irrationally put out. ‘Whatever.’

Smarting a little from his brush-off, I headed back up the garden. There was no way I was putting myself on the line again if he was going to knock me back every time, a sensation that felt achingly familiar. Surely he could have managed a quick coffee? After all, the sooner we started, the sooner all of this could end. Nope, from here in, the ball was well and truly in his court.

Chapter Seven

Having spent the afternoon on my balcony stressing over plot ideas and fending off calls from my siblings, I was the last of the group to arrive at La Croisette, which didn’t particularly faze me because I was pretty much late for everything. Not out of a sense of arrogance or not respecting people’s time or anything like that, but because I always seemed to have a plethora of tasks to complete before I could successfully set foot outside of my front door. Either that or my dad would call just as I was about to leave and I didn’t like talking to him while I was out because he spoke softly when he wasn’t feeling great and I couldn’t hear him properly with the roar of London traffic to compete with.

It was glorious out, exactly what you’d expect from a late-April evening in Cannes. The sky was streaked through with the most beautiful peachy pinks and golds and palm trees were silhouetted against the sky like graffiti. Light reflected off the pale-coloured buildings, many of which looked like mini chateaus painted in shades of blush pink and pale lemon. Flash cars crawled up La Croisette – Aston Martins and Porsches and Ferraris, making sure that we all noticed them, which of course you couldn’t not. I wondered what sort of person drove a yellow Lamborghini up a street and then revved their engine completely unnecessarily so that everyone looked at them. It could actually make for an interesting character trait.

Melissa, who was wearing a tie-dye maxi dress and pulling it off with style, waved me over. I caught Theo’s eye – he was hanging towards the back of the group wearing a checked short-sleeved shirt tucked into black jeans and desert boots, which I was beginning to think was the only footwear he’d brought with him. His hair seemed more voluminous and shiny than ever – talk about hair envy on my part. I’d done my best to curl mine this evening, wanting beachy waves that hung just below my jawline and that I could toss around enigmatically when Theo asked me a question about my book idea (what book idea?! I still didn’t have one and I was dreading him asking me). His skin was a light bronze and from this distance so flawless that I wondered whether it would be as smooth to the touch as it looked like it would be, and then I berated myself for having such an outrageous thought. I would not be touching Theo’s face or indeed any other part of his body.

Melissa informed us that this evening’s task would be to stroll along the promenade in our couples with a particular goal in mind: to tell each other at least one of our earliest memories. I didn’t quite get why we needed to be walking to do this, or why it needed to be sunset, but I supposed if I was going to subject myself to abject torture (i.e. talking about my past) I may as well do it in beautiful surroundings and in gorgeous light. Saying that, La Croisette was more touristy and considerably busier than I’d imagined, and was full of people wanting to lap up some of the glamour of the upcoming festival, or of days gone by when stars like Brigitte Bardot and Cary Grant might have taken an evening stroll along the palm-tree-lined boulevard before heading back to the Carlton Hotel for a night of gambling and partying.

I made a beeline for Theo but then the two of us stood together in silence not sure what to do next, as the other couplesstrolled off one by one. Harmony and Paul were holding hands, Renee and Justin had their cameras out and seemed more interested in taking nice photos for their Instagram than following Melissa’s instructions and Claire grimaced over her shoulder at me as she followed Rob down the street in the direction of Antibes, the next town along and one I had every intention of visiting while I was here if I had time. It was just a short walk along the coastline, following the curve of the cliffs and round the headland, out of sight.

Melissa gave us an encouraging look.

‘You two good?’

‘Hmmmn!’ I said, fake enthusiastically.

‘Is this something we really need to do?’ asked Theo. ‘Because it feels like a task that might be better suited to actual couples.’

That stung. Not sure why, because he was right, but also did he have to find the idea of being in a couple with mequiteso repulsive?

‘Just take it easy,’ said Melissa. ‘Be gentle with each other. You don’t have to share your entire life stories, but try to open up a little bit if you can – after all, it’s all there inside you, waiting to be discovered.’

‘Or not,’ I quipped.

Theo raised an eyebrow at me. ‘Do you have secrets you don’t want me to find out about, Scarlett?’

I gave him my best mysterious glance in response. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know.’

‘Oooooh,’ said Melissa clapping. ‘I can feel the ice melting already. I knew this exercise would open the two of you up. Off you go,’ she said, shooing us off and turning to walk away. ‘Before the sun sets.’

I called after her. ‘How long are we supposed to be doing this for?’

She waved over her shoulder without turning round.

‘Great,’ I said. ‘That would be how long?’