I was glad that I did not have to wait long to find out if his prediction was right.
5
LAILA
As I stepped off the Eurostar and heard the tannoy announcements in French booming around me, I pinched myself.
I was in France.
More specifically, I was inParis: one of the most romantic cities in the world.
The last time I went abroad was a girls’ trip to Lanzarote when I was seventeen. Back then, I’d had big plans to travel.
I dreamed of working in a different country each summer. Grape picking in France. Au pairing in Spain. I had it all mapped out. Then when I graduated, I’d spend a year travelling around Asia and Australia.
But then I fell pregnant with Ricky. So instead of spending a carefree summer in Bordeaux, I spent it in a crummy bedsit changing dirty nappies.
And once Ricky arrived, every penny I earned went on raising him. There wasn’t any spare money for holidays. I did my best to make sure he didn’t miss out though. We had occasional outings to Brighton and Hastings and he went on school camping trips, but that was all that I could afford.
Not that I regretted having Ricky, of course. I loved my son with all my heart. It was just every now and again I thought about how different my life was compared to what I’d hoped it’d be.
Anyway, it didn’t matter. Like Juliette had said, now was the start of a brand-new chapter.
I didn’t get the chance to visit France in my twenties, but I was here now, and better late than never, right?
As I stepped out of Gare du Nord station, I looked out for the car that the hotel said they would arrange for me.
Within seconds, I spotted a man who was suited and booted holding up a sign with my name on it and wheeled my suitcase over to him.
‘Hi!’ I said. ‘I mean,bonjour.Je m’appelleLaila.’
‘Bonjour, Laila.Enchanté!’ He held out his hand and I remembered that word meant something like nice to meet you. ‘Your French is very good!’
‘Merci!’ I said, glad that my GCSE French had come in handy.
‘Je m’appelleAntoine. I am your driver today. Come with me.’
When Antoine stopped in front of a silver Rolls-Royce, I nearly shit myself.
‘We’re travelling inthis?’ My jaw slackened.
‘Oui, Madame. Only the very best for our Love Hotel guests.’
‘Wow,’ I said as he opened the door for me.
The fanciest car I’d ever been in was Juliette’s Porsche and Cordelia’s Range Rover, butthiswas next level.
‘Merci,’ I said as I slid onto the soft cream leather seats.
Once Antoine had loaded my suitcase in the boot, he climbed into the driver’s seat then set off.
‘How was your journey?’ he asked.
‘Good. Really quick,’ I replied. Juliette had offered to pay for a first-class Eurostar ticket, but I’d refused. She’d already done enough, so I booked a standard seat instead.
‘Are you excited about your stay at the hotel?’
‘Very!’ I said enthusiastically.
