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stayed by the pool with Mei and Ella, watching the guys jumping off the jetty into the river that ran through the bottom of the Simms’ garden. Ella’s boyfriend set off for an almighty bomb dive, and they heard the thud of his body hitting the water, spray flying into the air. Another brother flipped through the air in a somersault.
    Then Nik stepped to the front of the jetty. He was a picture of perfection, his toned physique framed by the green river. Nik readied himself to dive. His abs tightened as he raised his arms. The boys went quiet, waiting to see what this tourist was capable of. Nik surveyed the river ahead. He launched himself off the jetty in a swan dive. His body glided over the river. Then his legs drifted too high, creating a hook shape instead of a straight line.
    Georgia squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see him land. She could tell what was coming, and the reaction from the rest of the boys on the jetty was enough to know how bad it was.
    ‘Ohhh,’ they moaned.
    ‘That’s gotta hurt,’ someone shouted. The boys fell about on the jetty, laughing.
    Nik pulled himself out of the water. His body was red from his ungraceful belly flop into the river. But he was grinning too, and lined up to give it another go. Another belly flop was followed by another and then another. The boys laughed harder each time, and amazingly, Nik seemed to enjoy being at the centre of the joke. Every now and then he’d look over at Georgia and smile, making her stomach leap with pleasure. She grinned back, not caring if she looked like an idiot. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him.
    So, Nik was a useless jetty diver. Georgia could live with that. In fact, it made him cuter. Sure, Georgia didn’t know much else about him. But she wanted to. She wanted to know everything.
    And she hoped that he’d want to get to know her too. As the evening wound up, she walked Nik to the front door.
    ‘Maybe we could go for a run sometime,’ he said.
    ‘How about tomorrow morning?’ Georgia blurted quickly, breaking another of Ella’s rules: Don’t appear too eager.
    But Georgia couldn’t help it. She was eager – desperate to see him the next day, and the day after, and the day after that. The summer holidays stretched out ahead and Georgia could see Nik in every part of it – running in the national park together, watching the sun set from the Boiling Pot lookout, sheltering under a tree from a thunderstorm. Sure, they were clichés, but Georgia didn’t care. They were also the ingredients for the perfect summer-holiday romance.
    ‘Okay,’ Nik said slowly. ‘I could meet you at the entrance to the park. How about seven?’
    ‘Great,’ Georgia said. She knew it wasn’t a great time to run in the park – everyone would be out then. But she didn’t want to be difficult.
    ‘I’ll see you then,’ he said. ‘Can I have your number, just in case there’s a problem?’
    Georgia listed the digits and Nik punched them into his phone. It gave Georgia a feeling of satisfaction to see him entering her number. She felt like she was becoming a permanent fixture in his life, in some small way. Then it occurred to her that Nik was taking her number so he could cancel on her. She tried to put her concerns out of her mind and instead concentrate on Ella’s last rule: Always leave a good impression.
    Nik placed his hands on Georgia’s shoulders and kissed her on both cheeks. This time she wasn’t taken by surprise, but it still left her reeling just a bit. Georgia watched as he climbed into his car. The engine revved in a low grumble, and then the lights went on and he was gone. She had no idea what car he was driving. She just knew it was silver and looked fast. Georgia closed the front door and turned. Ella and Mei were right in front of her.
    ‘So?’ Ella asked. ‘Tell us everything.’
    Oh yes, another rule: Share the juicy details with your friends.
    ‘We’re going for a run together tomorrow,’ Georgia