Page 2 of One Night in Edinburgh

‘You’re right.’ I beam at him. ‘Nothing. We’re forever.’

We simultaneously lean in for a kiss, sealing our commitment to each other, and what starts as an innocent smooch quickly turns into a full-on snog.

‘Get a room, weirdos,’ Becca sneers at us as she flounces out of the common room, causing us to pull apart suddenly and dissolve into giggles.

‘And that’s why we can’t wait to get out of here,’ says Connor. ‘Now… as we’re all good, you’ve got to hear this. I reckon it’s going to be the song of the summer.’

He flicks through the songs on his iPod, then hands me one earphone and stuffs the other in his own ear. A catchy, upbeat pop-slash-R&B track fills my ear and within seconds I’m bobbing to the rhythm on the spot.

‘I can’twaitto dance to this tonight.’

Chapter 1

Nine years later

‘Steph, are you ready to go?’

‘Give me five minutes, Anna.’ I run the curser down the rows on the spreadsheet, stopping when I find the details of the person I’m looking for. ‘I want to make one final call.’

Anna leans against the doorframe with a chuckling sigh. ‘Think you’re the only person I’ve ever met who’s happy to work Hogmanay and isn’t desperate to get away as early as possible.’

‘The kids we look out for don’t stop needing us just because it’s New Year.’ I shrug, picking up the receiver from my desk phone.

‘Sure. But the spring fundraiser isn’t till April. We’ve plenty of time to source the items for the auction.’

‘That may be the case, but people are at their most generous this side of the holidays. Once the mammoth hangovers and the January blues kick in, that spirit dissolves faster than their Alka-Seltzer. Plus, I don’t want to miss the chance to sweep up some unwanted Christmas gifts.’

‘Fine. You win. Make your call.’

I give my friend and colleague a grateful thumbs up, then punch in the number and wait for a response.

‘Mrs Carmichael? Season’s greetings to you. It’s Steph from Edinburgh Youth Kickstart.’

‘Steph, how are you, my darling?’ Mrs Carmichael’s overenthusiastic, plummy voice sounds like it’s laced with a rather expensive brandy. ‘Season’s greetings to you, too. Are you working today? Goodness, you are a dedicated young lady.’

‘It’s hardly a chore.’ I smile into the receiver. ‘Nothing quite like knowing that fewer youngsters will end up on the streets in the coming year.’

‘Absolutely. Now, what are you after? I feel in the mood for a good deed today.’

I raise my eyebrows at Anna to punctuate my earlier point, aware that she can hear every word Mrs Carmichael is practically bellowing down the phone at me.

‘I’m on the hunt for items to auction at our spring fundraiser. Preferably high-value goods that are brand new. It helps entice people to come along, and also means we can set the starting bids quite high.’

‘Right… let me think… you are in luck, Steph. I have a couple of items I bought in the Boxing Day sales that I have changed my mind about: a television, quite top of the range, and one of those enormously heavy mixers for baking. Watched a lot of cooking shows in the run-up to Christmas, so thought I would try my hand at some bread making. But I have just discovered the mostdarlinglittle artisan bread shop nearby and my housekeeper, Angelika, would be extremely put out if I baked my own cakes, so I don’t need the mixer after all. Would save me a trip back to the store if you can take those two off my hands.’

‘Those would be perfect. Thank you so much, Mrs Carmichael.’

‘Of course, Steph. Anything I can do. Actually… I also received one of those vibrating things as a gift… what do you call them…?’

There’s a snort of laughter from the doorway, and I hold up my hand to warn to Anna to be quiet. I know exactly what’s just entered her mind.

‘An electric toothbrush?’ I grimace as I suggest this, sincerely hoping my lewd-minded friend is not correct.

‘No… a massager thing that fits onto my armchair like an extra layer. I havesuchterrible pain in my back, so my son bought me it for Christmas. Quite state of the art he said, but I can’t get the hang of it. I can package it up as new for you.’

‘OK, fantastic. As long as you’re sure. I wouldn’t want to take something from you that might help you feel better.’

‘Not at all. Think I shall stick to traditional massage. There is a wonderful masseuse five minutes away who gives me exactly the pummelling I need.’

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