Ben sat down, gazing at her.

‘You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met in my life.’

OK, so he was more than a little drunk. But there was something else. Shooting his first film had stoked Ben’s already fierce ambition, and he was buggered if he was going to remain supporting actor for long. He’d had enough of playing cads and bounders. No, Ben’s next role was going to be the romantic lead and, somewhere in the recesses of his subconscious, he was aware that he had never been in love. Not properly. To play his next part convincingly, he had to fall hook, line and sinker for somebody. Whether he knew it himself or not, Ben was a sitting duck.

‘Oh, pouf! I cannot believe that!’ Natalia waved her elegant hands in the air, trying to ignore those delicious eyes appraising her unashamedly. It didn’t work. They locked gazes, each drinking in the other’s face, until the waiter plonked down the bottle of champagne between them, breaking the spell.

‘Ça va, monsieur, merci,’ said Ben, picking up the bottle and pouring it into two glasses.

‘Salut.’ He raised his glass, wondering what it was about this woman that made him feel like a gauche 15-year-old.

‘Santé.’ Natalia raised hers back, unable to stop the wide smile crossing her face.

‘So … Come ’ere often?’ Ben put on a Mockney accent and immediately felt like a twat again, but to his relief the Hitchcock blonde laughed.

‘I am staying on my small boat – just there.’ She pointed at an exquisite little yacht on the water across the way. Ben had noticed it earlier, right next to a monstrosity called Lady Garden over which the crew had been pissing themselves with laughter.

‘That’s yours?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Not – erm – your husband’s?’

‘Oh, fuck you, you sexist asshole.’

For a moment, Ben felt like the lowest, crassest piece of shit on the planet. But his heart lifted when she smiled again and said,

‘I have no husband. I make my own money from property.’

‘Wow. Good for you.’

‘So …’ She sounded shy all of a sudden, which moved Ben in ways he couldn’t explain. ‘You are big movie star, yes?’

‘Not yet.’ Ben laughed. ‘But after this film, I hope so. It’d better be worth it.’ And he started to tell her all about the nightmare that was Amy. They chatted about what it was like working on location, Natalia bursting with intelligent questions about the world that so fascinated her. She was gratifyingly amused, and amusing, and seemed to get all his movie in-jokes. They ordered more champagne, each fizzing with the other’s company; the sheer, unparalleled joy of being alive on such a night.

‘So you enjoy the cinema?’

‘Oh, yes. It is my escape.’ Did she have to look and sound so wistful? The unexpected vulnerability pushed him right over the edge, and, unable to stop himself, Ben took her face in both his strong hands and kissed her.