Capitolo 1: Last Good MorningL'ultima buona mattina

The tiles had been in the sun since seven and they gave it back through the soles of her feet, so Hope walked the long way round the pool to keep the heat coming. Coffee in her left hand. The pot was still half full, which meant she'd got up early enough, which meant the morning was running to the schedule she'd written down the night before. Four. She counted them off, one bag at a time, nothing left on the carousel. Dani on the near lounger, flat on her back, sunglasses on, one arm over her eyes anyway. Priya at the table in yesterday's shirt, doing something careful with a slice of orange and a knife, moving at the speed of a woman who had drunk four gin and tonics and regretted the fourth. Marcus doing shoulder rolls by the railing with the harbour behind him like he'd arranged it. And Theo, somewhere behind her, already running. "Don't," said Dani, without moving her arm. Theo went past Hope in a blur of wet footprints and hit the water folded up like a thrown chair. The splash came over the tiles and across Dani's legs and stopped about four inches from Hope's toes. Dani lifted her arm just enough to be seen doing it. "Nine point one. Deductions for screaming." "I didn't scream." Theo surfaced flinging water out of his hair with both hands, which put more of it on the terrace. "That was a war cry." "That was a boy band note." Hope put her coffee down and moved the cafetière six inches out of the splash zone. The filter hummed under the pool's noise, the same low note that had come through her open window all night. She made a note to check whether that was normal and…