Suddenly they were right beside us, Michael and the redhead. Michael was facing me. He had a good sense of rhythm, unlike Paul, who, to compensate, was gyrating rather too energetically. Michael was smiling mischievously, right into my eyes. It was too much for the redhead, who stormed off, which meant the three of us were dancing together, which suddenly struck me as terribly funny. It was his sheer force of personality that did it, his chutzpah. It should have been annoying, but I got terrible giggles. Paul was obviously miffed and, apologizing profusely, I followed him off the dance floor to somewhere quieter in the garden. He was alive to the situation, though, and when some friends of his came across for a chat, and then suddenly Michael was beside us again, siphoning me off, he didn’t object. He carried on chatting to his friends. That left the two of us smiling at one another under a pear tree.

‘Go on then, what is it?’ I asked, three glasses of red wine in and emboldened.

‘What’s what?’

‘Your well-honed, well-versed opening gambit. Your chat-up line that hasn’t failed you yet and which you’re about to unleash to devastating effect.’

His eyes brightened delightedly. ‘Who says I’m even interested?’

‘You do. With your body language and your special effects – which include ignoring the girl you probably arrived with. Charming.’

‘Unlike you, you mean?’ he said, glancing at Paul in his group of friends.

‘I met Paul last week. I don’t suppose he’ll be too distressed.’

‘Whereas I’ve known Celine for years, and our on-off relationship is decidedly off at the moment.’

‘Right.’

We seemed to have discovered a great deal about each other remarkably quickly and I for one would have liked to slow things down. Aware, however, that it was me who’d got the ball rolling so fast in the first place, I decided I couldn’t really cry foul.

‘Still, I agree, it seems indelicate to share the same space with them. To parade our mutual attraction quite so blatantly. Come. Let me lead you up the garden path.’ He waggled his eyebrows and nodded further down the garden.

‘There’s nothing mutual,’ I said, my mouth twitching. ‘I’ve literally just met you.’ Nonetheless, I found myself following him down the garden, which was long and grassy and lit with fairy lights in the trees. It was like a garden friends of my parents might own. Indeed, the whole thing was incredibly grown-up and beguiling, and despite my protestations, I felt ridiculously excited.