Page 162 of Falling for You

I laugh. ‘How are you going to do that?’

‘Well, that’s what I said,’ Penny replies. ‘But then Tanya had the most brilliant idea.’

‘The guest list!’ Tanya cries. ‘His name must be on it. So, I spoke to my friend Yaz who was on the events team, and she gave me the list. All we have to do is find your guy on Instagram and bam! We’ve got him!’

I stare at her. Crikey, Tanya is wasted in PR. She should be a detective.

‘Is that allowed?’ I say. ‘What about GDPR?’

Penny huffs dismissively. ‘Nobody cares about that, Annie.’

‘I think they do.’

‘Nobody cares if it’s in the name of love,’ Tanya cries, beaming at me.

‘And if he does care, then you can just block him,’ Penny adds and Tanya nods supportively.

I’m about to protest again that this is a ridiculous idea, but curiosity begins to tickle behind my chest. Is American Boy’s name on that list? Could it really be that easy to find him? What if it is? What if he’s the love of my life and this is my happily ever after?

‘Oh, look at her face!’ Penny gushes. ‘She’s totally planning her wedding right now.’

‘I am not.’

I will wear white and have a huge veil and my bridesmaids will be dressed in blue.

No, green.

No, all different colours! To match the autumn leaves!

‘I don’t know,’ I mumble, feeling a frisson of embarrassment as I catch their excited expressions. ‘Is this not a bit cringe?’

‘It’s romantic!’

‘Everything about dating is cringe, Annie,’ Penny says, pulling another pillow from the back of my bed and placing it behind her head. ‘Do you find Hinge less cringe?’

Hmmm. She has a point.

‘Just let us try and find him,’ Tanya says. ‘Then you can decide whether or not you’re going to message him.’

‘You’re not going to message him first?’ I ask sternly.

Tanya looks as if I’ve asked her if she’s about to shoplift. ‘Absolutely not!’

‘Penny?’

‘Guide’s honour,’ Penny says, holding three fingers up towards me.

‘Okay,’ I shrug. ‘Fine. Go and internet-stalk to your heart’s content.’

Tanya claps her hands together excitedly. ‘I’m so glad you said that, because I’ve already started.’

‘What?’ I gape at her. ‘Tanya!’

‘Only with the first guy!’ she says, going pink again. ‘Is this your American Boy?’

She turns her phone to me and I see a man sitting on a sun lounger, with six women in bikinis draped around him, looking like they’re in the advert for the nextWolf of Wall Streetfilm.

This is going to be a long weekend.