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‘Maybe I do,’ she replied, and the two of them smiled at each other. For a moment, Shauna felt his equal, two friends sharing an intimate joke. Then she remembered. ‘I really don’t have anything to wear.’

‘Leave that to me.’

Within half an hour, Chantelle had arrived with an armful of designer eveningwear. She suggested they go to her cabin, which was larger than Shauna’s, to try them on. Some were stylish, simple and elegant, while others were glittering and glamorous, but they were all beautiful and worlds apart from the fanciest thing Shauna had worn: a velvet Laura Ashley ballgown with puffy sleeves that she’d bought second-hand for her first university ball.

Shauna couldn’t contain a gasp. ‘Where did all these come from?’

‘Honey, this is Monaco, where fancy events happen on a daily basis. Trust me, this is a town where you can easily find a decent dress at the shortest notice.’

‘I can’t believe I’m going to be wearing one of these.’ Shauna suddenly felt overwhelmed by the thought of the evening ahead. What if she said the wrong thing, or was left alone and somebody asked her who she was? She voiced these fears to Chantelle, who laughed.

‘Chérie, you have nothing to worry about. I have been to one or two events of this kind and, let me tell you, most of the guests are so self-absorbed and up their own arses, they won’t even care who you are.’

‘Does Demetrios usually take crew members on nights out?’

Chantelle hesitated, but didn’t meet her eyes. ‘Er, no, but he must have a good reason. And he’ll have had to square it with Jeremy.’

‘But Demetrios is the boss.’

‘And Jeremy’s in charge of the crew. He doesn’t like the boss fraternizing with his staff. It can make life … complicated.’

Had it got complicated in the past, Shauna mused. Chantelle seemed to read her mind.

‘Look, Shauna, Demetrios knows the rules, but he gets these whims and we just have to roll with it. He won’t want to piss Jeremy off, though, so you’re safe. Now let’s get you into one of these beauties.’

Shauna decided on a shimmering green satin strapless dress with a slit in the front up to her thigh. It was understated yet elegant, and daringly sexy at the same time. Chantelle helped her pile her hair up into a chignon, and shared some of her expensive Estée Lauder make-up. The blue eyeshadow and dark blue kohl seemed to give her eyes a cat-like appearance, and when Shauna put on the gold strappy sandals and looked in the mirror, she didn’t recognize herself.

Chantelle whistled and grinned broadly. ‘Wow, you are going to blow them away, you look a million dollars! Now grab a clutch and you’d better go – the boss is waiting.’

Shauna tottered a little on her heels as she made her way to the lounge area where he was waiting for her. He had his back turned, and Shauna suddenly felt like a shy child again. It all seemed too much: the yacht, Demetrios, an evening at the palace – this was someone else’s world. She had to fight the urge run away.

Demetrios was pouring out two glasses from a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne. He must have heard her approach because he started speaking before he turned around. ‘I hope you found something that you—’ As he turned to hand her a glass, his eyes widened and he broke off, lost for words.

‘What’s wrong?’ Shauna said. ‘Don’t you like it?’ She looked down at herself, thinking that she must have picked the wrong outfit. ‘Should I have gone for something more formal? I can go and change—’

‘No,’ he answered quickly, then took a step towards her. He came so close that Shauna once again could see the golden flecks of his eyes. ‘No, I …’ He hesitated, then seemed to recover himself. ‘You will do just fine … More than fine.’ He swallowed, then continued, ‘In fact, I think you will turn quite a few heads. I doubt they will have seen anything like you in the Grimaldi palace.’ He handed her one of the crystal flutes. ‘Here, have a glass of champagne while we wait for the car to collect us.’

Shauna took the glass. ‘We’re going in a car?’

‘Of course, how else would we get there?’

‘I thought we would walk. It’s only a few minutes away.’ She looked down at herself and laughed. ‘Actually, I can barely walk in these.’

‘Drink,’ he urged her. ‘It will give you the Dutch courage.’

Shauna raised her glass. ‘Sláinte,’ she said, and took a hesitant sip. ‘Oooh.’ She laughed again, feeling a buzz of excitement enter her along with the effervescence of the champagne. ‘The bubbles went up my nose. It really is fizzy. I’ve never had champagne before.’

He tilted his head as if intrigued by this admission, then lifted his glass and touched it to hers. ‘I hope it will be your first of many.’

Impulsively, she said, ‘I’ve always wanted to go to the sort of party where they serve nothing but champagne or have it for breakfast like Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.’

‘I seem to recall she has it before breakfast.’ Demetrios observed her gravely over the top of his glass.

‘You know it?’

He nodded.

‘It’s one of my favourites, it’s so glamorous. Audrey Hepburn is just sublime, although Grace Kelly is my absolute favourite actress.’ She looked over towards the castle on the hilltop. ‘That’s why I came to Monaco. Sounds silly now.’