Everyone laughs like it’s a joke, because, as Evie now knows, Duke is one of the most bankable and lusted-after stars in Hollywood – apparently all that English self-depreciation and the dazzling blue-eyed thing have charmed both his home country and hers. He did a remake of 10 Things I Hate About You, Magda had explained, with a topless scene coming out of a swimming pool that was made into a meme that went viral. Evie doesn’t run her own social media because she has to write two books a year and has found that when you write about love and matters of the heart, people like to confide in you. It’s a burden she has no bandwidth for right now, not with everything else in her life – her mother, her father, the shopping habit that she really ought to sort out soon … the list goes on. She’d gotten in trouble with her publisher for going on a podcast and admitting that she doesn’t even believe in love, and that anyone who messages her for advice is barking up the wrong tree in terms of a sympathetic ear. But nobody here knows any of this, of course, and assume she’s as much of a fan as the next girl – and as much of a romantic as the next girl, too.

‘Never heard of me? Well, pleased to hear it.’ Duke grins, apparently assuming it’s a joke too. ‘Ghastly business, all this. Ego central, you see.’ Evie notices the straightness of his teeth, their bright white colour. I thought the English didn’t have good teeth, she muses, surprising herself that she knows anything about British dentistry. Where has she been keeping that useless titbit?

Evie exhales as everyone takes a seat, and puts in another drink order – nobody has alcohol, so Evie doesn’t order any either. She takes another coffee. She’ll order a red wine up to her room later, she thinks, or maybe a bottle. She feels eyes on the back of her head and turns to see Duke has picked the spot right behind her shoulder. He smiles at her. She looks away.

‘So here we are,’ Marnie begins. ‘Welcome to part two of On the Romantic Road. Internal shots at Pinewood were a massive success, and that’s in no small part because of the source material Evie Bird wrote – welcome, Evie, to the continuation of our little movie shoot here.’