Karina, Nancy and I went into the cafeteria for a drink whilst the guys did their interview. The two of them started chatting away to Georgina, who was travelling with Nicky during her holidays. I sat, drank my coffee, and tried to come to terms with what was happening.

Suddenly, two hands slipped round my neck, and covered my eyes.

‘Guess who?’ A familiar Irish voice came from behind me.

‘Oooh, I don’t know. Shane?’ He took his hands away and came and sat on the seat next to me. ‘Hey. How did the interview go?’

‘Great. But there’s this girl that I couldn’t stop thinking about all the way through.’

‘Lucky girl. Do I know her?’

‘Oh yeah, you know her really well.’

‘Describe her.’

‘Tall, absolutely gorgeous, smiling, and sitting right in front of me.’

‘Who, me?’ I giggled, and he put his hand over mine.

‘Still on for dinner tonight?’

‘Certainly sir. Where are we going?’

‘I don’t know. It’ll have to be early, cos I have to be back here for 8 o’clock. Is Italian okay?’

‘Mmm, yeah. Sounds delish. So, what time do you want to eat?’

‘About 5.30? That okay?’ I nodded. ‘Can I meet you back at the hotel?’

‘Yeah, sure. I’d better go just now. Have to get ready - I’ve got a hot date this evening.’

‘I didn’t know you could eat dates hot!’ We laughed, and Shane kissed me on the cheek as he got up to leave. ‘I’ll see you later.’

After he had gone, I ran over to where Nancy, Karina and Georgina were talking.

‘I need help now! I’ve got two hours to get ready for this evening, and I’ve got nothing to wear!’ The three of them burst out laughing. ‘What?!’

‘I think I win our little bet!’ Nancy picked up three coins lying on the table in front of them. I didn’t even care what the bet was about. ‘Come on, let’s go and raid your suitcase. You two coming?’

The four of us headed back to the hotel in a cab. Within minutes of getting back to my room, my entire suitcase had been dumped on the bed. I was frantically searching for a skirt I was sure I’d packed.

‘Got it!’ I held up a knee length, dark blue, skirt. ‘What d’you think?’

‘Perfect.’ The three girls nodded in agreement.

‘But what do I wear for a top?’ I was off in a tizz again.

‘Why not the little twin set you bought yesterday?’ Nancy pulled it out of the shopping bag lying at the end of the bed. ‘And your sandals?’

‘Okay.’ I took a deep breath. ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’

As it turned out, I was ready in plenty of time, and I ended up sitting on the sofa for twenty minutes channel hopping. There was a knock on the door, and Karina, Nancy and Georgina disappeared into the adjoining room.

I checked my make-up on the way past the mirror, and opened the door. ‘Hi.’

‘Hey. Wow, you look gorgeous.’

‘Thanks.’ I smiled. ‘You look good too.’ He did. He was wearing black trousers, a dark grey shirt, and had a black jacket tossed over his shoulder.

‘Ready to go?’

‘Yup, sure. I’ll just grab my bag.’

‘Is it okay if we get a cab? The other guys have taken off with the car for the evening. Something about seeing the sights?’

‘Yeah. That’s cool.’ Everything felt so formal, and I felt really awkward. Shane must have sensed it.

‘Hey, relax.’ He took my hand, and squeezed it. I smiled at him.

‘Sorry. I’m just nervous I guess.’

‘Me too. I was worried I wasn’t going to get here on time - our last interview was running over. Didn’t want you to think I’d stood you up!’ We laughed, and after that conversation flowed easily. When we arrived at the restaurant, we hadn’t stopped talking and laughing. The waited showed us to a quiet table, right at the back of the room.

‘We shouldn’t be disturbed here. What do you want to drink?’

‘I think I’d better stick to a diet Coke thanks! Wouldn’t want you getting arrested or anything for buying an underage drink!’

‘Me too. I doubt it’d be a good idea to go on stage after drinking, do you?’

The meal passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was time for us to head back to the venue. Shane paid the bill, despite my protests, and called a cab. We stood outside, waiting for it to arrive.

‘Thanks for the meal. It was really good.’

‘That’s okay. Thanks for coming!’ He smiled, but then his face went serious. ‘I’ve had a really nice day today.’

‘Yeah, me too.’

‘No, I mean it. I dunno what it is, I can’t put my finger on it, but something’s changed since I met you this morning. It’s so weird, but it doesn’t bother me. It feels right. Sorry, I’m talking crap, aren’t I?’

‘No way. I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same.’ Shane leant across and kissed me, just as the cab pulled up. I did feel the same. Something had changed deep inside me.