People poured out of the big double doors to the reception room to congratulate the happy couple. Surrounded by family and friends, Bethany’s mood changed; she was all gushing smiles and joy, and she threw her head back in delighted laughter, hugging and kissing everyone. Her parents made sure Bethany greeted all her elderly relatives first – Abs had never seen so many old people in one place – and then all the nieces and nephews gave her flowers, and she picked up the littlest kids to kiss.

Abs tried to melt into the background, which was difficult because he wasn’t used to walking into a room and not being the centre of attention, but everyone knew who he was, and loads of people, young and old, came over to meet him.

‘You’re shorter than you look on the telly.’

‘The things you got up to on that show.’

‘I was so hoping you and Kelsey would stay together.’

Abs grinned. He was desperate to let them all know he was filming Laid In Essex! again the next morning, and that maybe, just maybe, if he played his cards right, he and Kelsey would get back together, for good this time. But Vince had sworn him to secrecy until it actually happened, so all he could do was wink and say, ‘You watch this space.’

Serving people moved through the crowded room with drinks and trays of food.

‘How many calories?’ Starving, Abs liked the look of the mini-burgers, but when the girl didn’t know how fattening they were, he declined.

He signed plenty of autographs, of course, although there was no way he was going to ask for money here, and was careful to keep to the edge of the room. This was Jez and Bethany’s special afternoon and he didn’t want to take the limelight away from them.

About an hour after they arrived, Bethany’s old man banged a gong, an actual gong. The noise reverberated through the room and when everyone fell silent he made a speech about how much he and his wife loved their daughter and admired Jez, and how he was like a son to them. And then her dad announced to the room – of relatives, business associates and old family friends – that his little girl was pregnant. Everyone clapped and cheered, and Abs whistled. And then Bethany’s parents raised their flutes of champagne and asked everyone in the room to toast the happy couple. Bethany beamed and placed a protective hand on her stomach, which was still as flat and hard as a piece of chipboard.

Within moments of the speech ending, Jez and Bethany were once again surrounded. People wanted to hug them and make a fuss of them all over again, and it gave Bethany’s old man an opportunity to slip out of the room and return with the biggest bouquet of flowers Abs had ever seen. Everyone gasped at the beautiful blooms.