She looked at me, then at my tissue, before reaching a hand to her face and touching the tear in surprise. She hadn’t even realized she was crying.

‘Aw shit,’ she muttered, turning her back on the party as she took the tissue and pressed it delicately to her face. ‘I’m such a mess.’

‘Not at all,’ I said. ‘You look amazing. I just noticed you didn’t look especially happy, that’s all.’

‘You could say that,’ she dabbed underneath her eyes without disturbing her perfect makeup, and then handed me back the used tissue. Huh. Not quite knowing what else to do, I took it, folded it up, and dropped it in a plant pot behind me.

‘You don’t happen to have a gun in that bag, do you?’ she asked.

‘Couldn’t find one small enough,’ I replied. ‘Silly question, but are you OK?’

‘My friend just posted an Instagram story of my boyfriend making out with some other woman.’ She nodded at a group of people rubbing up against each other on the dance floor. ‘He’s the one in the white tux, and I’m pretty sure it was the girl in the red dress behind him.’

‘Seriously, they were so clear about no phones,’ I sighed, before I spotted fresh tears brewing in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can say that’s going to make this better. Are you sure you saw what you saw?’

She nodded glumly. ‘I screengrabbed it. For evidence. Because I’m going to kill him.’

‘Can you not psychologically destroy him instead?’ I offered. ‘Murder is very messy.’

‘Yeah, and I don’t want to ruin this dress.’ She pulled herself upright and tossed her head, showering her shoulders with golden glitter from her hair. ‘Fuck it, you’re right. I’m not going to let him ruin my night, this is the Crystal Ball, for Chrissakes. So what if he walked for Prada and has a masters in biochemistry from Cambridge?’

‘Ten a penny,’ I agreed. ‘What do you do?’

‘I’m CEO and founder of a magnetic false lash company and I invest in woman-founded start-ups that disrupt the beauty industry.’

‘Right,’ I replied, shuffling my trainer-clad feet beneath my skirt. ‘Sounds fun.’

Her face transformed, the worn-down worries washing away to reveal a brilliant smile. ‘I guess it’s better that I found out what a dog he is sooner rather than later. I’m Orlander by the way.’ She ran a finger under the corners of each eye, straightening out her eyeliner. ‘You’re the girl who isn’t here with Evan.’

My shoulders sank at the mere mention of his name. ‘I was only talking to him. And my name’s Francesca.’

‘You were talking to him?’ Her eyes bugged out of her head as though I’d said something completely perverse. ‘Wow. That is not what he’s best known for.’ She added a wink just in case I hadn’t grasped her incredibly obvious hints. ‘I’d better go.’ She fluffed out her hair and reset her smile. ‘Thanks for the pep talk.’