‘Shut up, Bea.’

She smirks. I grin back. ‘Anyhow, it’s only Noah so I don’t know why you’re in such a tizz. You’ve already dated! You don’t need to seduce him from scratch, he knows the score, babe.’

‘God, Bea, you’re more excited than me!’

‘Not poss.’

‘But this is different! And I want it to be right. I want it to be special. I want him to feel special, it’s all about him.’

She gives me a sideways odd look. ‘I think you’re not getting enough oxygen to your brain. Oh look, here we are, come on get a move on we’ve only got two hours and three minutes to get you defuzzed and looking completely au-naturel. And we all know that takes bloody ages! Can’t you just go for tarty and high-maintenance? I can achieve that in half an hour flat.’

I pay the taxi driver and follow her to my front door. I really shouldn’t have told her.

‘Hang on, Jed’s texted me back! Jed says, oh no … I can’t say that out loud. I’ll show you later. Now come on woman!’

I really, really shouldn’t have told her.

***

To be fair, Bea has been a brilliant help. Because for one my hand is trembling so much there is no way I could have applied eyeliner without poking my eye out. And for two she really does know her stuff when it comes to looking natural without actually being, er, natural. You know what I mean, right? Looking thrown together takes effort and years of practice.

And now I am standing outside the bar, ridiculously early, and feeling a bit like a kid on Christmas Eve. Excited, but prepared for disappointment. Yeah, I was one of those kids.

I stare at the door. This is where I met the wrong man, who might just be the right one. And if it turns out he’s not, you know what? I’ll cope with that. Because I have been taught that by the greatest person in the world, the one who has always had my back. Mum.

‘Hi, Mum, it’s me, everything okay?’ I can’t help myself. I have to speak to her before I take this step and move on.

‘Oh fabulous, Rosie. I’m going to have so much to tell you about when I come home. And what are you up to?’

‘I’m out on a date.’ I pause and smile to myself. ‘With Noah.’

‘Ahh. Oh, I’m so pleased; it would have been such a waste to have just been friends!’

‘Mum, do you ever regret marrying Dad?’

‘Oh, good God, no! What on earth makes you even think that? For one I wouldn’t have had you, and, well, it might have looked at times like I was letting him wreck my life, but he wasn’t, love. I told you that! I’ve got my pride, and that’s what stopped me admitting defeat earlier. A bit like you.’

‘What do you mean, a bit like me?’