Tony ran his hands through his hair and looked around at the drunken crowd to see if anyone was watching him. He felt slightly embarrassed, awkward, even. Suddenly the silence was broken.

‘Do you want another one in there, Mr Lambrianu?’ Tony looked towards the bar to see the publican reaching out for his glass.

He was tempted to ask the publican who his mystery woman was but didn’t want to look overly eager and start gossip.

‘No, thank you, I’m just leaving.’ Although Tony was speaking to the publican he was still glancing across at the woman. She was back at the table and her friend had beckoned her closer and put her mouth to her ear.

Tony’s heart sank; the mystery and the magic were gone, and he knew that now. It was quite obvious to him that the woman would be telling her who he was, and possibly encouraging her to come back and have another drink with him. After all, he was Tony Lambrianu. He waited for the woman to come sauntering back to the bar to have a drink with him, after being encouraged by her friend, and for the first time in his life he wished he wasn’t Tony Lambrianu. He didn’t want another gold digger wanting fame or fortune, especially this one. She was different.

His body stirred as he continued watching this mystery woman from afar. She leant closer to her friend’s ear, showing the slightest cleavage as she did. Neither of them looked his way, which surprised him, almost disappointed him. Tony felt himself holding his breath as he watched them talking. His mystery woman wiped her forehead and waved her hand in front of her face, indicating that she was hot from the smoky party atmosphere.

She got up, and Tony saw that she was walking towards the so-called beer garden. Impulsively, he pushed his way through the crowd and started to follow her.

When he got outside, she was standing with her back to him. He looked up at the sky; on this icy night it was clear. The stars twinkled and the large moon seemed even bigger and brighter than usual. He looked back at the woman. She’d turned to see who was there, and her eyes were fixed on Tony.

Again, they just gazed at each other in silence, then before either of them knew it, they were in each other’s arms, kissing ardently. Although the crisp night air sent a shudder through him, Tony felt his whole being tremble, wrapped in this woman’s arms, holding on to her tightly, the way she was clinging on to him.

He was kissing her neck while his hands roamed over her slim body. She had her arms around his neck and her hands in his mane of blond hair. He moved her backwards towards the pub wall and in moments, without thought or conscience, they were making love.

It was very passionate and very heated; he felt the woman’s body tremble and tense up, and then he felt her relax and her breathing slow down.