‘I want to hear some proper cheering and whooping,’ he said. ‘Even if Diamond Dancer comes in last which, of course, he won’t.’

He grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to the railings and we looked up at the giant screen as the horses moved into their starting stalls.

When an announcement came over the loudspeaker that Angel’s Glory was a non-runner, he turned to me, eyes shining. ‘That’s the favourite out of the race. Yes! I can taste the victory.’

The race started. ‘Which colour?’ I asked, staring at the twelve galloping horses.

‘Purple and white. Fifth from the front.’

The cheers from the crowd steadily grew as the horse at the front dropped pace and a horse with red silks edged forward. It was overtaken by one in blue and the pair of them remained pretty much neck-and-neck.

‘This is it!’ Scott cried as Diamond Dancer increased his pace to fourth. Then third. The volume increased as the crowd cheered and screamed out the names of various horses.

With Scott by my side, leaping up and down like Logan on Christmas morning, I finally understood why some people loved the races for more than the dressing up and drinking. My heart pounded as I watched the horses galloping along the final stretch.

When Diamond Dancer galloped alongside the leader, I whooped and cheered and stamped my feet. As they flashed past us, I could feel the pounding of their hooves and felt like I was part of the race. What a thrill!

A photo finish literally had me shaking and when the commentator announced that Diamond Dancer had won, I actually screamed. So did Scott although his was more of a manly cheer. He grabbed me and spun me around, laughing, showering me with kisses.

As he lowered me to the ground, he gazed into my eyes. ‘That’s the first £500 for our wedding account.’ He cupped my face in his hands but his smile slipped, replaced by a sombre, serious expression. ‘I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Jemma. I really do love you only.’

‘And I love you always.’

He kissed me so tenderly that I felt quite weak when he pulled away.

‘I’m really sorry again about the situation with Adam. He hasn’t called yet, so—’

At that moment, his mobile started ringing and my heart sank.

Scott put his phone to his ear. ‘Hello?’ He listened for a moment and laughed. ‘You ask her.’ He handed the phone to me and I frowned.

‘Hello?’

‘It’s me!’ cried Karen. ‘Tiff’s heading to the bar and she wants to know if you’re still on the prosecco.’

‘Yes, please.’ I twisted round to see the group on the higher tier of the Grandstand. I waved at Karen and she waved back. ‘Why didn’t you phone me?’

She lifted up my handbag and I laughed.