Tonight’s bash is the launch of a new ready-blended cocktail called Totally Tropical. An intoxicating blend of warm Amaretto, smooth cherry brandy, zesty lime and the sweetness of pineapple juices created on the island of Hawaii that’ll make you think of long, hot days beneath the Caribbean sun and soft, sultry nights beneath the Caribbean stars. All that from a drink, eh?

It sounds a bit sickly for my taste, but I’m sure that if I get to sample enough of it then I’ll become a convert.

The party’s being held on an enormous boat, a river cruiser on the Thames, and there’s a guest-list of over 200 people and a seemingly unlimited budget. I feel like clapping my hands in glee. All the costumes and props have been packed into a lorry and sent down earlier in the day – I could just about see from the reception windows as a veritable forest of palm trees was loaded into the back.

Now, at four o’clock, a mini-bus pulls up outside for the staff and we all pile inside, chattering excitedly. I sit next to Minny at the front.

‘Wow,’ she says. ‘You look amazing, Annie.’

‘Thanks.’ A warm glow goes through me.

‘New dress?’

‘Yes.’ I have to confess that I slipped out of work at lunchtime to have my hair done and, shame on me, I couldn’t resist a flirty little number with a tropical design which I thought would be perfect for this evening. My credit card was less impressed and the dress will have to be hidden at the back of the wardrobe as Greg would have a fit if he knew. But it’s so rarely that I get the chance to go to anything like this that I really wanted to look the part and enjoy it to the full.

The bus sets off and we’re heading towards the M1 and the bright lights of London. Someone has put a CD of sunshine hits in the player to get us in the mood. Lauren is joining us down there at the dockside and I’m sure she’ll be surprised to see me looking so spruce. As I sing along to ‘Club Tropicana Beach’, I’m trying to convince myself that I haven’t just done this to try to impress Blake Chadwick.

He’s already down at the boat and has been since early this morning, along with several members of Party Party staff who are setting up the event. I haven’t seen BC that much this week since our lunch on Sunday, so I’m not sure how things lie between us. Nothing was said, or anything like that. Don’t get me wrong. There was no impropriety at all. Though BC did give me a peck on the cheek as I left him back at the car park that might have lingered a little too long.