Nick laughed. ‘You fell for that one, didn’t you?’

Jane raised her eyebrows and shook her head, ‘Yes, I did. Now it’s my turn.’ She walked around the dance floor and spoke to the band’s bass guitarist.

‘What you up to?’ he asked Jane warily when she returned.

‘All I can say is . . . there is something going down and I can feel it,’ Jane replied with a grin.

Nick racked his brain to associate what she said with a song. The answer came when the lead singer made an announcement.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, this next song by the Bee Gees is especially for Nick, who’s also a big John Travolta fan.’

As the band started playing ‘Night Fever’, the audience let out a loud cheer and more couples got on the dance floor.

Jane grabbed Nick’s hand. ‘Come on, time to show me how you strut your stuff,’ she said.

‘Go on, snake hips!’ Sandra shouted to Nick from behind the bar.

Nick laughed. ‘I’ll never be allowed back in here again after this.’

Some people formed a line and started the Brooklyn hustle dance associated with the film Saturday Night Fever. They moved in unison, forward and back, doing a three-step turn and clap, then moving their right hands diagonally across their bodies, pointing first to the floor and then to the ceiling.

Nick and Jane danced to one side.

‘Do you want to join in?’ Jane asked.

‘I’ll give it a go,’ he said, and they moved into the line.

Jane was surprised at how good a dancer Nick was. When the song was over, Nick held Jane’s hand and walked her back to their table.

‘You all wanna have some more party fun?’ the lead singer shouted and a loud chorus of ‘yeahs’ filled the air. ‘OK, let’s get down with a little number by The Gap Band. Say oops upside your head, say oops upside your head . . .’

There was another loud roar of approval and Nick took hold of Jane’s hand.

‘Come on, that’s the rowing boat song,’ he said, as people sat splay-legged on the dance floor behind each another, moving their hands and torsos backwards and forwards, as if rowing a boat, then swaying from side to side slapping the floor twice on each side.

‘I don’t really want to get my dress all dirty on the dance floor,’ Jane said.

Nick took off his jacket. ‘Sir Walter Raleigh to your rescue.’

‘I can’t sit on your nice jacket.’

‘Yes, you can,’ he said, pulling her up from her chair.

As Nick sat on the floor, his legs either side of Jane, he eased his body forward. As he pressed against her, she felt an unexpected tingle of sexual arousal. She didn’t think he was doing it deliberately but wouldn’t have minded if he was.