‘I can’t take all the credit, Roman helped to organise me,’ Ella replied, stepping inside the restaurant and waving at Callie, who was behind the bar as Wilbur was sailing the boat today.

‘But you made the phone calls and are making this happen. Nancy is already here. She’s ready to roll when you are.’

Nancy was walking towards her holding a large fluffy microphone on a long pole, alongside a cameraman and a news reporter that Ella thought she recognised. ‘We meet again so soon, and under very exciting circumstances.’ Nancy looked towards Ella then gestured towards the reporter. ‘This is Brett McCormick, he will be interviewing you today.’

‘Very exciting circumstances,’ repeated Ella, nodding a hello to Brett then following Nancy outside to the front of The Lakehouse. Nancy placed Ella with the restaurant directly behind them and the cameraman stepped back and positioned the lens on a tripod.

‘We’d really like to be here on the night to film this iconic event and put it out across all the news channels,’ said Nancy. ‘Hopefully some of the footage can be used in a documentary all about Dolores’ career.’

‘Are you kidding me?’ Ella was completely stunned; she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Nancy slipped her a card. ‘Here’s my number, I want to work with you on making the event the best it can be.’

With a shaky hand Ella slipped the card into her pocket. She was actually speechless. Her head was in a whirl. Six months ago, she’d thought her life was over, but now she was standing in front of a news reporter waiting to be interviewed. Flynn and Callie had believed in her and now Ella believed in herself. So much had changed in her life, she was working hard, building a life for herself and she felt proud. Despite all the debts hanging over her, she wasn’t going to let them drag her down, she’d moved on. Ella felt positive about her life, and you really didn’t know what was around the corner.

‘Right, we are good to go,’ declared the cameraman.

‘Fantastic,’ replied Nancy. ‘Let’s get this done before that rain begins to fall again.’

The nerves were beginning to kick in for Ella now, and feeling a fluttery sensation in her stomach, she took a deep breath and hoped she didn’t look as nervous as she felt. Glancing upwards, she noticed Flynn and Callie watching from up on the rooftop, smiling down on her. Ella flapped them away with her hand. ‘Go away,’ she mouthed at Callie, who gave her the thumbs up then moved back out of sight, so they weren’t picked up on the camera.

‘Are you ready?’ asked Nancy. ‘This is live. Don’t swear! Try to relax and Brett will lead the way with his questions. Try not to look nervous and don’t look directly into the camera.’

Ella nodded.