I rush over and hug my sister. ‘I’m so excited,’ I tell her. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this for days.’

‘Me too,’ Lauren agrees. ‘I need something to cheer me up.’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Usual,’ she says dismissively, then holds up her hands. ‘But I’m not going to talk about any of my problems. Tonight, I’m going to forget all about Jude and have some fun.’

‘Spoken like the sister I know and love.’

‘You look great,’ Lauren says. ‘We are so shaggable. Let’s go and find two unsuspecting men and give them hell.’

‘Why not?’ But I don’t tell my sister that I already have my beady eye on one particular man.

So we link arms and follow the rest of my colleagues up the gangway and on to the boat.

When we enter the main salon, the sight that greets me nearly takes my breath away. A tropical jungle has been created on board. The palm trees that I saw being loaded on to the lorry this morning are all in situ and, at one end of the huge room, there’s a silver sand beach where a steel band are warming up for the evening. A bar has been created in the style of a beach hut and already the glasses are lined up waiting to dispense shots of Totally Tropical.

‘This looks amazing,’ Lauren says, and I’m so proud that my company has created this breathtaking tropical island.

Waiters in Hawaiian shirts are starting to drift in with trays of exotically colourful canapés. Young and impossibly slender nubile women dressed in skimpy straw hula skirts and flower leis bring more food.

‘I can’t wait to get stuck in,’ I say to my sister.

‘Me too,’ she says and, to start the ball rolling, she picks up two shot glasses and we down them.

‘To us,’ I toast belatedly.

‘To us,’ my sister agrees, and picks up another two glasses.

Blake Chadwick approaches us, grinning. ‘Hey,’ he says. ‘No drinking on duty.’

We laugh at that.

He sweeps an arm round the room. ‘How do you think it looks?’

‘Marvellous.’ I’m a little too breathy when I reply. ‘Is this all your handiwork?’

His smile widens. ‘Modesty prevents me.’

‘I’ve never been to anything quite like this before,’ I say. ‘Thanks for asking us.’

‘No worries.’ BC shrugs away my thanks. ‘Later, there are hula dancers and a couple doing limbo. It’ll be a blast.’ My boss checks his watch. ‘You’ve got about fifteen minutes to get into your costumes.’

There’s an abrupt screech in my head. Costumes?

‘Minny’s in charge of them,’ he continues. ‘She’s at the back of the boat – in the stern. They’re going fast though.’

Lauren gives me the blackest of black looks. When I say nothing, she nudges me in the ribs. Hard.

‘Costumes?’ I venture.