Me
Dinner was lovely, but I had to leave the restaurant early. Time of the month. Sigh. I’m back in my room now about to get ready for bed.
There.
Done.
Almost everything I said was true. Dinner was delicious, I did leave early and I was about to get ready for bed. The period thing was a little white lie. No harm done.
My phone chimed.
Juliette
You got your period again? I thought you had it last week and it finished a few days ago?
Shit.
Juliette knew me too well. It was impossible to lie to her.
Juliette
This could be the start of the peri-menopause. When I was going through it, my periods became so irregular. Sometimes I would have none for months and other times I would get two ‘visits’ within weeks. You poor dear.
Rest up and feel better.
Guilt twisted in my gut. I’d lied to her. Juliette was an angel of a friend and I was a terrible person.
But although I felt shitty about lying, if Juliette thought I wasn’t feeling my best, she was less likely to ask about my match. Which meant I’d bought myself at least another day, maybe two, which would tie in well with my decision deadline.
It also meant that I had to make the most of that time, because in just forty-eight hours I’d be heading back home to London.
11
GABRIEL
I glanced at my watch. Breakfast service would be finishing in ten minutes and there was still no sign of Laila.
When I came down to the restaurant over an hour ago and spoke to Claude, he said Laila had made a decision about whether she would be staying or leaving, but he was not able to elaborate, because discussions between Love Alchemists and guests were always confidential. He said that although he understood it was difficult for me, I would have to wait to hear from her directly.
Naturally, I hoped that she would see sense and stay, but there was no guarantee. Either way, it was out of my control, so I just had to get on with my day.
I headed out of the restaurant and towards the lift. The first briefing would be starting soon and I wanted to go to my room first.
After brushing my teeth, I picked up my wallet and was about to go to the rooftop for the briefing when my phone rang.
‘Salut!’ I said as I answered the call. It was Nico.
‘Cassie and I are on our way to a meeting and we wanted to hear how it went with your first date. And of course hear about your experience at the hotel so far.’
‘I wanted Nico to call last night,’ Cassie jumped in, ‘but then I thought if you two had hit it off, you might be otherwise engaged, if you catch my drift!’ She laughed.
‘The first date was… unexpected,’ I said.
‘What happened?’ Nico asked.
‘Didn’t you feel the sparks?’ Cassie added.
‘I felt it. She is my dream match. But I am her nightmare.’
