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‘What?’ I blurt. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You know Sally, your brother’s wife?’ she replies. ‘He stole her from Si. They had an affair and then Sally left Si for Rory, that’s why they fell out, and that’s why he’s chasing you. He wants to get Rory back.’

My jaw drops.

‘I’m serious, Lia, stay away from my boys,’ she says again.

I turn on my heel and walk, each step getting quicker, until I find myself bolting for the exit.

‘Hey, Lia, wait,’ Adam calls after me. ‘Hey, what’s up? Did Mum say something to you?’

‘Oh, just that your brother is only trying to shag me so that he can piss my brother off,’ I reply. ‘Apparently, Rory stole Sally from Si?’

Adam winces.

‘He did – did you not know that?’ he replies. The look on my face must say it all. ‘You didn’t know that.’

The tears hardly have time to escape my eyes before Adam pulls me close for a hug.

‘Hey, don’t cry, come on,’ he says, squeezing me. ‘Anything my mum said, she won’t have said kindly. Let me apologise on her behalf. Look, I don’t think that’s why Si is with you, I do think he really likes you – for what it’s worth.’

‘With me?’ I repeat back to him. ‘I’m not with Si. Why do you think we’re together? Did he tell you that?’

Adam winces again.

‘Look, do you want to get out of here?’ he asks.

‘More than anything in the world,’ I reply, ‘but Kerry wants us to stay until the end and look where she’s standing, she’ll notice if we leave.’

‘Yeah, but if she doesn’t see us leave then she probably won’t realise we’re gone, right? We’re both done with work, she told us to just enjoy the party so I reckon if we can get out without her noticing then we’ll be fine. Anyway, I think she’s a bit drunk.’

We both glance over at Kerry, lingering by the entrance, her witch’s hat clinging on for dear life. She looks frazzled.

‘Okay, so how are we going to get out?’ I ask.

‘When was the last time you climbed a tree?’

I think for a moment.

‘It was probably more than twenty years ago, when I weighed half as much and I was not wearing an outfit like this.’

I gesture towards what I’m wearing.

‘Lia, do you trust me?’ he asks. ‘Wait – was that an accidental DiCaprio line I just did?’

Oh, the amused look on his face.

‘I don’t think he said “Lia”,’ I point out. ‘But, yes, I trust you.’

‘Oh, look who’s making jokes,’ he says with a smile as he grabs my hand.

I am vaguely aware of Si’s eyes on us as Adam leads me behind the pop-up bar, but he makes no attempt to come and talk to us, and I have no intention of popping over to say goodbye to him.

‘You’re going to need to take those shoes off,’ Adam instructs. ‘You can’t climb in those chunky boots.’

‘Why do trips with you always end up with me taking my shoes off?’ I ask with a laugh.

‘Because I’m still working on the rest of your outfit,’ he jokes. ‘Come on, shoes off.’