‘Now I am even more impressed!’ A warm smile spread across his face. ‘It is excellent that you make the effort to speak French. I am sure your match will appreciate it.’
‘So he’s French?’ I asked quickly, desperate for any little clues he was willing to share.
‘Ah, I am afraid that I am unable to disclose any details about your match.’Oh well. It was worth a try. ‘All will be revealed when you meet him at dinner this evening. In the meantime, I will check you in, then give you a tour of the hotel.’
‘Sounds great!’
‘But first, would you like a glass of champagne or orange juice? We also have a water menu if you prefer?’
‘Champagne will be perfect,’ I said, thinking that if they sent a Rolls-Royce to collect me and had a reception like this, the glass of bubbly was probably worth fifty pounds so I may as well get my money’s worth.
And a water menu? I always thought there were just three types of water: tap, still mineral water and sparkling. Maybe this hotel had water that was filtered through gold taps or sprinkled with the essence of diamonds. This was a completely different world.
After check-in, Claude showed me the plush restaurant where I’d be meeting my match for dinner in just three hours, the spa which had the most incredible indoor pool I’d ever seen, then he took me to my room.
Once he’d left, I raced towards the balcony and screamed.
Oh. My. God.
My room had full-on panoramic views of Paris. And I could even see the freaking Eiffel Tower!
Suddenly the cost of this hotel all made sense. Even though I hadn’t met my match yet, I already knew that if I had to work overtime for the next five years to pay off what Juliette shelled out for me to come here, it’d be worth every penny. This was beyond my wildest dreams.
The room had a luxurious cream and gold colour scheme with thick velvet armchairs and a plush cream carpet that I couldn’t wait to sink my bare feet into.
There was even a gold tray resting on the elegant glass table with a selection of chocolates and sweet-smelling macarons. I’d definitely be demolishing those later.
I flopped onto the huge bed, marvelling at how amazing the crisp white embroidered bedsheets felt. I’d lain on them for all of thirty seconds but could easily tell they were expensive. Definitely a step up from the ones I had at home that I’d got for half price from Asda.
It was tempting to stay here forever, but I was desperate to check out the bathroom. I jumped off the bed and raced inside.
Bloody hell. Everything screamed luxury. The floor-to-ceiling white marble tiles, the ginormous waterfall shower that even had a bench and a shelf inside, the rolltop clawfoot bath and the thick white fluffy branded Love Hotel towels along with the matching robe.
As I stood there and attempted to take it all in, I was overcome with a flood of emotions.
I didn’t get to go to places like this. And it’d all been made possible because of my dear friend, Juliette.
A tear rolled down my cheek and then another.
Although I’d bought her a bunch of flowers to say thank you and the best chocolates M&S had to offer, I needed her to know how grateful I was.
I went back into my bedroom (still couldn’t believe I’d be sleepinghere), grabbed my phone and called Juliette. She answered on the second ring.
‘Have you arrived?’ she said quickly.
‘Yes,’ I said, trying to fight the fresh tears of happiness that were still flowing. ‘And it’s absolutely incredible! I just had to call to tell you how grateful I am. It’s… I can’t even put into words how much I appreciate this.’
‘Are youcrying?’ Juliette asked, a tinge of disgust in her tone.
‘A little,’ I said sheepishly.
‘Stop that nonsense immediately! It’ll make your eyes puffy. Do you want to meet your match looking like a panda?’
‘I can’t help it. I’m so happy!’ I wiped the back of my hand over my cheek.
‘Save your happiness for when you’ve met your hot man. When will you be introduced?’
‘In just over two hours. We’re meeting for dinner.’
