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‘Thank you. Nick said I was dank.’

Valentina leant toward Frankie and sniffed the air. ‘You don’t. You smell great.’

‘Are you sure you’re okay being out?’ Frankie asked.

Valentina grinned as she filled up the three glasses and Frankie realised her sister looked amazing. If Valentina had glowed throughout her pregnancy, she now shone in motherhood.

‘Mum and dad were practically shoving me out the door, they were so desperate to babysit.’ Valentina handed Frankie a glass and held up her own. ‘And I’ve expressed the next five feeds so I can have this! Although I may just fall asleep after a couple of sips. Oh, and Mum is in super organised mode as Arlo’s parents are coming up at the weekend to meet Maisie. I’ve got more photos, want to see?’

‘Of course!’ Looking at photographs of her niece was something Frankie could never tire of. She knew she was slightly biased but Maisie Anna-Mei was the most beautiful baby girl Frankie had ever seen. She stopped at a photograph of Maisie with Valentina and Arlo. She had never seen her sister look so happy. Arlo looked pretty delighted too.

‘How’s it going with you and Arlo?’

Valentina beamed. ‘Amazing. It’s all so perfect. He adores Maisie and he’s so good with her.’

‘And?’

‘We’re good. Taking it slow. We’ve got the space to get to know each other properly at Rocco’s, and he’s more than happy to take Maisie and let us have dinner together and chat. And Arlo is staying here indefinitely. And…’ Valentina looked as if she was about to burst with happiness, ‘he told me he loves me. And I love him too,’ she added in a rush.

‘I’m so happy for you,’ Frankie said sincerely. She’d got to know Arlo over the past few days and Jay had been right; Arlo was a great guy. He was also a doting father and practically worshipped Valentina.

Valentina took a sip of her champagne. ‘How are you and Jay?’

‘I haven’t seen him since Christmas Day. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.’ That was true, but Frankie had also been doing a lot of missing Jay and yearning for him too.

‘Good thinking?’

Frankie smiled and nodded.

‘And Rocco?’

Frankie sighed.

‘Rocco’s really very sorry, you know,’ Valentina said.

‘I know.’ Frankie realised her brother had acted out of hurt. Yes, she was annoyed but she forgave him. ‘We’ll be fine.’

‘I’m glad you came tonight.’

Frankie smiled at her sister. ‘You didn’t give me much choice. And there’s only so many times you can use the fact you had a baby without any proper pain relief as a reason to emotionally blackmail people into doing things.’

Valentina winked. Glancing up, she waved at someone and a moment later, Alison slid onto the remaining seat.

‘Phew, I just made it!’ the pharmacist said, slinging her coat over the back of her chair and taking the glass of champagne Valentina held out for her. She noticed the reserved sign and laughed. ‘Oh crikey, does this make us groupies or wags?’

Before they could talk any more, Brian, the assistant manager, jumped onto the stage.

‘Okay, guys, I’ll make it brief as I know you’re not here to listen to my banter. Fire exits are back here and out that way, you know the usual drill. We’ve got some great ales on draught and some fantastic festive cocktails! And, oh yeah, we’ve only got the best and biggest band in the world playing for us. But only in the warm-up spot, mind, as we’ve got our usual ceilidh band on at half eleven to see us through the bells and into the New Year. And, to make you aware and to remind you to be on your best behaviour, we’ve got a crew in recording this for prosperity. Smile, you’re on camera! And, please do not swear,’ he added with a wink.

Frankie glanced over to one of the guys who was filming. Ben stood next to them. He caught her eye and gave her a thumbs-up.

Then the lights went down and there was a lot of chatter for a couple of minutes, until Drive With Care walked onstage.

Frankie’s chest thumped painfully as she watched Jay check over his guitar and have a quick word with Si. Now, with him standing just a few feet away, Frankie felt like she couldn’t breathe properly. Jay looked up, scanning the crowd until his gaze settled on Frankie and he smiled. Everything was conveyed in that smile.

In that moment, if it had ever been in any doubt, Frankie knew she was completely head over heels in love with Jay Costello. And always had been. Now she needed to tell him that. Although tempted to stand up and let him know her feelings now, she couldn’t very well make a public declaration of her love. She’d have to wait until the concert was over. Instead, she made a little love heart sign with her thumbs and index fingers, which she hoped conveyed her emotional intentions. Jay saw it and grinned back.

Arlo blew Valentina a kiss, and with a twirl of his drumsticks, launched into the opening beat to their first number one hit.