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‘My girlfriend. We’re having dinner here.’
    â€˜Great. Have a wonderful evening, Katherine.’ Matt turned away.
    â€˜You don’t want to take my card?’
    He turned back quickly to catch her expression. Her eyebrow was raised in that definite way he would come to love.
    â€˜Of course,’ he said hastily.
    She opened up her handbag, produced a purple leather card holder and slipped out a white card, holding it for Matt to take. He wondered if he should offer her his card, but wasn’t sure what the American etiquette was.
    â€˜Are you going to call me?’
    He blushed. ‘Well, I’m only here until tomorrow.’
    Her friend was beside her. ‘Hey, Katherine.’
    Katherine hooked her arm into her friend’s. ‘Hi, Nancy.’ She continued to stare at Matt. ‘Okay, we are having a light dinner. Then I’ll come back to the bar. Wait for me.’
    Of course Matt did. Women didn’t ask him to wait; they didn’t make a move. He was stunned. He was sure that he was missing something. She saw him as a sympathetic male with which to share her frustrations about her ex-boyfriend. No more.
    In an attempt to re-bond with his colleagues and calm his nerves, he drank too much beer. When she returned, he was feeling positively cavalier.
    â€˜Katherine, I have to say that I have never been chatted up in a bar. Actually, I don’t think that I’ve ever been chatted up before.’
    â€˜No?’ She looked surprised.
    His ego soared.
    â€˜I thought that you were probably waiting for some incredibly good-looking guy.’
    She smiled. It was like a conversion to some cult. ‘No, Matt, I was waiting for you.’
    Even now, Matt couldn’t quite believe it.
    â€˜Ladies. And gentlemen.’ Katherine stated with the East Coast old-fashioned politeness that had attracted Matt to her when they first met.
    Lizzie and Sara continued chatting to Connie in a tight triangle to the right of the table. Matt liked to believe that they hadn’t heard Katherine. He put his arm around her protectively. She looked elegant in her beautiful taupe safari dress and deep olive scarf. She was fragile and feminine compared with his English women friends.
    Lizzie and Sara helped themselves to more drinks, while Julian insisted that Gus and Ben have one.
    â€˜No, thank you,’ Gus said firmly. ‘I don’t drink while I’m out with guests. Got to stay alert.’
    â€˜I can understand that,’ Lizzie lurched over to him. ‘What would you have done if the lions had attacked us?’
    If Lizzie sidetracked everyone, Katherine might never get out their news, Matt hoped. Maybe she would be prepared to wait until after the holiday…
    â€˜I’d have got you out of there,’ Gus explained earnestly.
    â€˜What if you couldn’t get us out of there?’ countered Sara.
    â€˜I’d have had to shoot the lion, though it’s the last resort. We are taught rifle competency. We have to be able to fire three rounds in nine seconds.’
    They all stopped talking. It was a sobering thought.
    Gus turned round to the vehicle behind them on the track. ‘I’ve got a single shot rifle in there and five extra rounds on me,’ he tapped his belt, which had bullets hanging vertically along the leather strap. ‘Listen, I would never choose an animal’s life over a human life, eh.’
    Katherine edged away from Matt and raised her voice uncharacteristically, her hands held out. ‘Lovely friends, with all this talk about life and death, I think that this really is an appropriate moment…’
    Sara and Lizzie eyed each other and Matt eyed them anxiously.
    â€˜â€¦for Matt and I to share with you, our dearest friends, some awesome news.’
    Katherine, with all her charm, smiled broadly. ‘This is a wonderful holiday that Connie has planned for us all. Thank you,’ she gestured elaborately to