For the first time that night, Hugo let go of Evie’s hand, mouthing sorry as he disappeared into the crowd. At the same time, Evie’s parents arrived in a huff. After saying hello, her dad immediately went in search of a drink.

‘You know he’s very handsome,’ Anna said, swaying to Ed Sheeran’s Give Me Love from the bar’s speakers. ‘I used to think your father was quite handsome. But I’m telling you, Evie, looks aren’t everything.’ Anna nudged her daughter and nodded her head over to where Peter stood eating olives and hiding the pips in the tealights which were scattered across the table.

‘Well, luckily for me, Hugo’s blessed in all departments.’

‘That’s lovely, Evie. All I want for you is to be with somebody who’s kind. And who appreciates the hell out of you.’

Evie took a sip of her drink and checked her emails for the fortieth time that day, in the hopes of competition news. ‘Of course, Mum.’

After a long stretch of mingling and more book signing, Evie watched as Liam dragged Hugo to the microphone. Liam introduced him as the man of the hour, and the sole reason he could finally afford to eat three meals a day and live in Chelsea.

Hugo cleared his throat as he pulled a cue card from the inside of his jacket. He looked adorably nervous as he clutched onto his champagne glass for dear life. ‘Thank you everybody for being here tonight. For allowing me the chance to mark an exciting milestone in what has been many gruelling years in the making.’ He paused, smiled, and went on. ‘Writing a book is less romantic than they make out in the movies. If anything, it feels like that scene in Love Actually when Colin Firth’s character’s precious—and only—pages of his manuscript drown in the icy cold, eel-infested lake. On repeat.’

A low chuckle rippled through the crowd.

‘Yes, writing a book feels like a lot of flailing. Thankfully at least, just like Colin Firth, I wasn’t alone in the water. A big thank you goes out to my agent Liam, for being the first person to believe in Henrietta’s story. To the wonderful Anjali Patel, Sarah Feggans, David Fagan and my incredible team at Auklet, for falling for Liam’s charm. To my parents, for humouring my little dream, just.’

Evie looked over at Hugo’s parents, who stood stiffly, looking embarrassed at the call-out.

‘And finally,’ Hugo continued, ‘to my partner Evie, for putting up with a grumpy old creative like me, and for giving me the chance to understand what it really means to love and be loved.’ Hugo looked at Evie with such immense gratitude, and in that moment the rest of the room fell away, and he was all she saw.