Dolores patted Ella’s hand and laughed heartily. ‘That night, I should have been somewhere else, but rumour had it that Frank Divine was making a special appearance at The Lakehouse. Frank was huge, a household name, a sex symbol with amazing talent. The guest list was by invitation only, but that wasn’t going to stop me and my best friend Blossom Rose sneaking on to the boat and pretending we were someone we weren’t. The pair of us used to have so much fun. Cutting a very long story short, we talked our way into The Lakehouse. Honestly, we just couldn’t believe it, champagne was being handed out like it was water, and we were surrounded by some of the most famous people in the world.

‘Then Frank Divine took to the stage by the baby grand piano. The tables were pushed to one side and everyone was dancing. Blossom and I were having a ball. Frank noticed us and he kept giving me the eye. Then all of a sudden, his hand reached forward, and he pulled me up next to him. Everyone was watching, but I didn’t feel nervous – just excited, my whole body was buzzing. Then without warning, he held the microphone towards me and I sang back to him the song he was singing. He stopped dead in his tracks, and I carried on singing. The whole room erupted in applause, and it was a feeling I’ll never forget.

‘Then we began to sing together. I took a bow at the end and Frank kissed me on both cheeks and asked my name. Then, within seconds, there was a guy at the side of me with a huge bucket of champagne and he introduced himself as Richie Kirk. He was Frank’s manager and he signed me on the spot. The rest is history. The Lakehouse signed me up to sing every Thursday night alongside other artists and before I knew it, everywhere I went people recognised me. If it wasn’t for The Lakehouse and that night, goodness knows what I would have ended up doing as a career.’

‘What an amazing story! That place has so much history. Surely Flynn has some way of using its reputation from the past to make it a success again?’ Ella’s mind was ticking over.

‘From what I know, Flynn Carter is an intelligent and successful businessman. He’ll come up with a strategy to make the place work. But anyway, enough of that, how are you? Tell me how you are settling in,’ Dolores commanded. ‘Have you made any other new friends yet?’

Immediately Ella thought of Roman. ‘Thanks to McCartney, I’ve met Roman.’ Ella told Dolores the story of McCartney eating his sausages, which made Dolores chuckle. ‘He may be deaf, but that dog can smell a sausage a mile off, and I told you you would meet someone when you least expect it.’