Following Adrienne’s instructions – which were given via a microphone clipped to the top of her shirt collar and a camera filming what she was doing in close-up relayed on the screen on the wall behind her – they chopped beef scraps using a terrifying-looking knife that was so sharp, Hannah was worried she might lose a finger. Unfortunately, that was the least of her worries; the whole day turned into a complete disaster and by the end of the day she was definitely wondering why on earth she was putting herself through the cookery course.

‘Hey, Hannah, how’s it going?’

Mina had answered on the first ring, her voice full of her usual enthusiasm.

‘I bet you’re having a brilliant time. What’s Adrienne Byrne like? Is she gorgeous? She always looked it.’

Hannah held in her forlorn sigh instead saying, ‘It’s… it’s good.’

‘Good?’ Mina’s voice held a query.

The sigh escaped. ‘Today was terrible.’

‘How could it be terrible? I’ve seen pictures of Killorgally.’

‘I burnt the stock. How was I supposed to know that a splash of olive oil is like a good old glug? So my bones didn’t caramelise with the veg. And how is a sprinkle of herbs actually a flipping great big handful?’

‘You’ll learn,’ sympathised Mina.

‘Huh! I’m not so sure. It seems I can’t chop vegetables – certainly nowhere near as quickly as everyone else – and my dauphinoise potatoes were raw because I hadn’t sliced the potatoes thinly enough. Everyone else seems to know what they’re doing. I feel like a complete dunce.’ And it didn’t sit well with her. ‘And I was so far behind everyone else at one point that Conor had to rescue me and chop up my vegetables for the coleslaw.’

‘Ooh, Conor Byrne. What’s he like?’

Hannah winced, hearing the hero worship in her voice.

‘Fine.’

‘Fine. He’s flipping gorgeous in the pictures I’ve seen. Honestly, Han, did you even look at him? What are you like? I bet you were too busy concentrating on the instructions, weren’t you? It doesn’t matter if you get things wrong, you know. Unless you use the wrong mushrooms, no one is going to die.’

‘I know,’ she said, grateful for Mina’s assumptions. She really didn’t want to think about that night in Dublin. Her sister truly would be amazed if Hannah told her she’d had a one-night stand with him.

‘Just give it time. It’s just practice. You have to go with the flow a bit. Relax. I bet you’re wanting precise instructions all the time, aren’t you?’

‘Yes,’ said Hannah grumpily, ‘And what’s wrong with that?’

‘When you’re cooking, it’s about the flavours and the tastes and the love.’

‘Oh don’t you start. Adrienne has a bit of that new-age rubbish going on.’