‘Grace, I know you can do it. You don’t realise how talented and capable you are. Lawrence put you down for so many years; it broke my bloody heart. I just love to see you kicking ass up here!’

‘I do no such thing. Balinese people are very proper and polite. I’ve learned a lot,’ said Grace.

‘Hey. I hear you.’ Mel threw up her arms. ‘I’m just thrilled to see my old friend find her feet again, remember who she is, and not be crushed by a narcissistic dickhead.’

‘Don’t hold back, Mel, tell me what you really think,’ Grace said, and they both burst out laughing.

‘But seriously, what are you going to do about him?’ asked Mel. ‘I worry about you. Every time you stood up, he bowled you over. You can’t let him do that again.’

Grace was thoughtful. Then said slowly, ‘I kind of ran away by taking this job. It was a huge step, and I needed the money. But I didn’t know whether I could do this – take on this big campaign and make it work. It was a risky thing to do just when I’d separated from Lawrence. He’s such a control freak. It was like I broke my leash and bolted under the fence.’

‘And look where you are. Movies! Men! Millionaires! And, my dear friend, the gate is open. Go where you want.’ She leaned over and squeezed Grace’s hand.

‘We’ll see, we’ll see. But what about you? C’mon, what’s your current deep dark secret?’

Mel spread her arms. ‘Numbers always add up. You can never change that two and two equals four.’

‘What does that mean?’ said Grace, shaking her head in confusion.

‘Buggered if I know. Just thought it sounded like the sort of thing a maths whiz would say.’ Melanie grinned.

Grace laughed. ‘You’re such a frustrating friend. You get me to spill my guts and you don’t tell me anything about your life.’

‘I’ll tell you one thing for free . . . as my dad always said to me. I wouldn’t let that Steve stray too far. He’s nuts about you, even if he doesn’t know it yet.’

Grace paused. ‘Only you, Mel. You’re the only one who shoots straight from the hip.’ Another reason she loved her, Grace thought.