‘Is that a yes? Please tell me it’s a yes! It will be a very good distraction for you too.’ Ella tilted her head to one side and waited with bated breath.

‘This is a difficult event to pull off in such a short amount of time. These artists have busy lives, schedules etc. and some may need to reshuffle. There are sound checks, the dress rehearsal… I could go on.’

‘Most of them will be retired, if not all.’

‘And these are the artists’ direct numbers?’

‘I’m assuming they are… So is that a yes then? Will you help me? Please!’

Roman flicked through the book and looked towards Ella. ‘This could be the greatest star-studded event ever. Have you seen the contacts in this book?’

Ella was liking the sound of that. ‘I have… so…’ She circled her hand to hurry up Roman’s answer.

‘I’m in,’ he confirmed, with a wide smile.

Ella squealed and flung her arms around him and hugged him tight. ‘Thank you, thank you. I can’t believe this. Eek! Where do we begin?’

Roman rolled his eyes. ‘You won’t be this excited when the hard work begins. First things first, let’s celebrate. Have you got any lemonade?’

‘I have indeed,’ replied Ella, fetching a bottle from the fridge and two glasses.

‘Then let’s get to work, the clock is ticking. Firstly, we need to work out timings. What time will the first artist take to the stage etc., and what time Flynn wants the night to end? Have you eaten?’ Roman asked, thinking out loud and looking at his watch. ‘I skipped breakfast.’

It was fast approaching midday and Ella shook her head. ‘I can prepare my signature dish and then we can get cracking. Let’s see if we can secure any names before my interview with Nancy tomorrow, that’ll help to create a buzz.’ Ella stood up and headed towards the door. ‘There’s a pen and pad over on the desk, grab those and we can start looking through the names and making a few calls.’

Ella couldn’t believe this was happening. She’d literally only just arrived in Heartcross and now she was being given the responsibility of organising this event. Even though it was completely throwing her in at the deep end, she was going to take this opportunity with both hands and show everyone that Ella Johnson could pull this off. She was going to make sure this night would go down in history.

‘By the way, what is your signature dish?’ Roman shouted after her.

‘Beans on toast,’ she replied.

‘My absolute favourite!’

They caught each other laughing as Ella popped her head back around the door.

‘Oh, and Ella…’

‘Yes?’

‘Thank you, this is just what I need to see me through the next few weeks.’