‘That’s what I thought when I searched for them on your laptop.’ I told her. ‘I didn’t want to get Sam’s hopes up but they’re definitely coming. I can’t wait to see his face when he reads this.’

‘You’ve certainly delivered, Tess.’ Sophie said admiringly. ‘I know Sam cajoled you into helping at first, but you really seem to know your stuff. Is this what you do in real life, when you’re not on holiday?’

‘Oh no,’ I told her. ‘This is purely a one-off.’

There was no denying that my marketing degree and work skills had helped, but organizing this event had been so much fun it bore absolutely no resemblance to my real job, the one that I had become so disheartened with.

‘Well,’ Sophie said, handing back the poster, ‘perhaps you should consider a change of career, because you seem to have a knack for this.’

‘Yes,’ I said, ‘maybe I should.’

I could imagine exactly what my father would have to say about that. Even though I was doing my best not to think about him he was still, annoyingly and in spite of my best efforts, popping into my head. I hoped Chris was doing a good enough job to make up for my absence from the office.

‘Anyway,’ I said, gathering up the posters. ‘I had better get these to the pub. I can’t put them up without the boss’s approval, can I?’

‘Absolutely not,’ Sophie winked. ‘But you might as well leave a couple here with me as I’m certain he’ll love them.’

I slipped off my sandals and walked back to the village along the sand. Considering I had been craving the beach, I hadn’t spent all that long on it. I had been taking walks every evening before bed, but I still hadn’t ventured over to the beach huts or to the rockpools. Thankfully, my extended stay meant there would be plenty of time for all that after the weekend.

*

‘The Sea Dogs!’ Sam shouted, making me jump. ‘You’ve actually managed to get the Sea Dogs?’

He had looked a little nervous when I first handed him the poster, but the more he had read, the wider his eyes had got and now he was looking completely astounded.

‘Yep,’ I nodded, ‘and before you start going off on one about not being able to afford them, the event they should have been headlining was cancelled at the last minute so they’re coming here for a reduced fee that easily fits your budget.’

It had taken some serious negotiating on my part, but nonetheless their final terms had been generous and, having researched them and realized just what a big deal the sea-shanty singing group were, I had wasted no time in snapping them up. I was more than confident that they would be such a draw that the evening’s takings would easily balance the books.