I consider not bothering with salsa night on Tuesday now I have a date for which to prepare two days later (YES!!!), but Cate refuses to let me off the hook.
‘They’ve got an offer on the tapas, Marion’s going to introduce a proper routine tonight – and, more to the point, I need to hear all about how you ended up having a hot date lined up with Edwin this week.’
I give her and Emily a run-down on the way there that’s briefer than I’d like, before we find a space to park and tramp down the hill to the restaurant.
‘Will and I are going out on Thursday too,’ Cate smiles, as we pass the candlelit glow from the window of Porto and continue along the limewashed row of shops.
‘Anywhere nice?’ Emily asks.
‘Yes, actually,’ she says, trying and failing to look cool. ‘He’s asked me to meet his parents.’
My eyes widen. ‘Honestly? Oh, that’s lovely, Cate! It was obvious you were getting serious, but this is a big milestone.’
‘Well, don’t buy your hat yet, but I hope you’re right. I can’t wait. I’m nervous as hell too, obviously.’
‘Will’s lovely,’ Emily tells Cate.
‘He is,’ she agrees. ‘But so’s Joe. And you’ve still got a spring in your step after your nights of passion in Spain.’
Emily blushes to her roots as we arrive at the restaurant and push open the door.
The class is smaller than usual, with only two of the nurses and none of the Mountain Rescue crew apart from Will. Even Frank’s taken a breather which, unlikely as it sounds, I think qualifies us as the dedicated few.
‘Hello, girls,’ Stella says, lighting up when she sees us. ‘How was the trip?’
‘Good,’ I tell her. ‘It wasn’t the most luxurious hotel in the world, but there was sunshine and salsa and quite a lot of booze so it definitely did the trick. Did you get a lot of wedding planning done?’
‘Yes, but I wish I’d been with you. Instead, I was stuck at home saving up for the hog roast and making the silk bows on chair covers.’
‘Do yourself a favour, love, and save the silk for your knickers,’ Cate advises.
‘If you’d once told me I’d be the sort of woman who gave a toss about what the chairs looked like, I wouldn’t have believed you,’ Stella replies. ‘But I’ve been sucked into this weird world in which nothing but a pair of Jimmy Choos will do. This time last year, I was shopping at Primark.’
I look up in time to see Joe gazing lovingly at Emily next to me. He glances away, caught in the act.
‘Shame you haven’t persuaded Mike to come back to dancing again,’ Emily says.
Stella shrugs. ‘I’d have loved my big moment, but it’s not going to happen. Anyway, he’s too busy with other things these days – he’s never out of the gym. Honestly, he’s there all the time.’
‘Wow. He must look amazing,’ I say.
She scrunches up her nose. ‘By rights he should have a sixpack like Wolverine. He’s lost a bit of weight, but not that much.’
I laugh as Marion claps her hands. ‘Good evening, dancers,’ she says, as if addressing the cast of Chicago. ‘Today we’re going to have a go at putting together some of the steps we’ve learned so far, to create a routine. It’ll be a doddle now you’ve put in all that practice on the salsa holiday! Right – I need a volunteer.’
She scans the room optimistically and is rewarded with complete silence.
‘Thank you, Joe,’ she says, grabbing him by the hand.
‘Now. Let’s start with a hammerlock, then break into a ladies’ right turn. The lead and the follow end up back-to-back, from where you’ll turn and go into a reverse salsa wrap. Got it?’
She lets go of Joe, who throws her a look as if to say, ‘Is that meant to be a joke?’
Marion is right that the more you practise, the easier it becomes, but I can’t ever envisage a day when we can put all that together smoothly – and, more importantly, remember it all.
Still, being coupled with Esteban gives me a bit of a head start. He’s one of the few ‘naturals’, which makes it easier for me to be trailed around by him.
When we take a breather halfway through, Emily pops out to make a phone call as I go and buy us some drinks.
‘So did you go ahead with it?’
I spin round with two glasses in my hand and see Joe looking at me.
‘With what?’
‘Edward. Whatsisface. Did you ask him out?’
‘It’s Ed-win. And yes, now you mention it.’
He waits for me to elaborate, which I must admit I’m dying to do. ‘Come on, spit it out,’ he grins, clearly fancying himself as some sort of relationship guru. ‘What did he say?’
‘We’re going out on Thursday!’ I blurt out, then it strikes me that if it wasn’t for Joe, this joyous situation would never have even happened. ‘I think I owe you one, Joe. I’d never have done it without your pep-talk.’
He looks strangely uncomfortable with this declaration, as if he’s suspicious because I’m no longer being horrible to him about the Moonlight Hotel. ‘Well . . . good. Glad I could help.’
I nod, feeling slightly woozy every time I think about the date. ‘I just hope it all goes OK. I’m a bit nervous.’
Then Emily appears at our side and he says, quite simply: ‘I don’t think you’ve got anything to be nervous about, Lauren. I’m sure you’ll have a fantastic time.’
‘Thanks,’ I say happily. ‘I think you might be right.’