I’ve been lucky enough to land two dream jobs in my life.

      Being an author is one of them – something I’ve longed for ever since I left childhood behind and imagined working for a living one day.

      The other was a dream job because of the industry I was in – global aviation and travel – and the crazy, fabulous people I worked with. Without naming all the lovely folk who came into my orbit during my long career in one of the best airlines in the world, I’ll say that in this moment, I’m specifically looking at you Holly, Dickon, Lloyd, Melissa, Joe, Nicky, Lucinda and Sophia.

      These are the people who contributed the most to one of the best professional years of my life – the year I privately refer to as ‘The Year of Holly’, in honour of my smart, beautiful PR colleague who decided the time had come to find the man of her dreams and stationed the rest of the team along the sidelines to provide romance advice date by hilarious date.

      Which brings me to an acknowledgement that although this book is a work of fiction from start to finish, some of its funniest scenes were inspired by actual events from that time – one reason The Dating Game has become my favourite book.

      And for those of you who like a Happily Ever After…? Well, I can tell you that Holly nailed it when she found Mike during that unforgettable year.

      Thanks guys – all of you! – for the fun and the memories.