Watching them film in the ballroom is amazing. The outdoor stuff has felt so … big? Like, outside, in the elements, within the context of the wider world, she has felt so far away from it, couldn’t imagine how it will translate on screen. But here, everyone working within the same room and the lights and boom mics and all those extras, dancing, dressed in finery that Evie imagines could out-fancy even the poshest dress on the red carpet … She’s truly in awe.

It’s hard, though, knowing Duke really did have that crib sheet on her. She’d looked at it when she was in her room, a list of her books and accolades, a photo of her from her website and information her agent had obviously sent through (‘Sarcastic but kind, media shy, bit of a lone wolf’). He’d said he was a genuine fan – and he’d lied. Evie is pretty sure she can trust the connection they’ve been building, but it’s a red flag to her. She reminds herself that he might be an amazing actor doing a great job, but all this off-set stuff is still work to him. Just for December. That was the agreement, wasn’t it?

‘I’m still in negotiations with Scott Free and Columbia Pictures,’ her agent Sabrina tells her on the phone later. ‘And you’re still storming the charts. The photos of you with Duke at the Christmas market, and that midnight walk? Perfection. I know you don’t follow the tabloids, but the long and short of it is that it’s playing out great – people love a rom-com within a rom-com, so get out with him again if you can, or maybe send your social girl a photo for her to upload to Instagram. Doesn’t even have to be to the grid – even just to stories is great, so it disappears within a day.’

‘Wow,’ Evie says. She’s stepped outside for some air. It’s baffling that everything outside on the street is so normal. She’s become used to crowds waiting outside, but the world has kept turning today, like nobody is any the wiser they’re about. ‘Okay. God.’

‘We’re up to mid-six figures right now, just shy of a full half million.’

‘Dollars?’ Evie exclaims.

‘Dollars,’ echoes her agent. ‘I’m telling you: this is your moment, darling. We have to seize it!’

Evie nods, then realises her agent can’t see her do that down a phone line. ‘Right,’ she says. ‘That’s nothing like what we got for this deal. That’s so much money,’ she says. ‘I don’t know what I’d do with that kind of money. It makes me feel a bit sick, actually.’

‘Pay off your house, for a start,’ her agent says, gleefully. ‘And spend the rest, baby. You’ve worked hard for this. You should enjoy it!’