‘I think you shouldn’t think,’ he joked, pulling out a chair for Ella to sit down on.

‘And what impeccable manners you have. Thank you.’ As they both sat down Roman seemed a little more chilled out. Ella was hoping he’d at least have a think about what she’d told him and about the support she had received from Callie – and of course Flynn, who had given her this job. ‘What a way to start my first day!’

‘A date with me! I’m not sure who’s the lucky one – me or you.’ Roman’s eyes sparkled as Ella caught his eye.

The rooftop terrace was the perfect romantic location. The scenery was breath-taking and the table was all set up for luxury dining. Once the segment aired on the news, surely it would bring in some extra diners.

‘We are going to be on the TV,’ Ella whispered excitedly. ‘Our fifteen minutes of fame… Oh my God, look!’ Ella’s eyes swept towards the waiter who’d appeared at the top of the stairs holding a silver tray with a colourful array of food. He walked over towards them and placed the tray down on the table. Ella noticed he was dressed in a black suit with a bow-tie and was wearing white gloves. Suddenly she was feeling very regal to be waited on in this way.

‘Wow!’ Ella’s gaze dropped to the food in front of her.

‘You have lobster, langoustine, salmon and sorrel ravioli. All the tastes from The Lakehouse bay,’ revealed Callie, ‘and a bottle of champagne to wash it down with.’

‘Perfect,’ replied Ella. ‘Everything’s perfect.’ Without thinking, she reached across the table and took Roman’s hand. He entwined his fingers with hers and held Ella’s gaze and she knew she had a goofy grin on her face.

‘I’m not sure we needed to hold hands just yet, the cameras haven’t started rolling,’ teased Roman.

Ella was caught off guard, it had just felt so natural to reach across the table, and she immediately went to pull back, but Roman kept hold of her hand as they smiled at each other.

‘And roll,’ ordered Nancy. ‘Roman, are you able to pop the champagne cork? Oh, and don’t worry about your conversation – that will all be edited out. We just need to see the romantic chemistry fizzing over, just like those champagne bubbles.’

Ella knew they didn’t have to pretend – there really was chemistry because the air was charged between them. Roman picked up the bottle of champagne and popped the cork, which launched over the balcony and landed on the golden sand below. Ella giggled, she felt extremely relaxed and comfortable in Roman’s company. This actually felt like a proper date and Ella was enjoying every moment.