A week later and I am walking on air… never mind coffee, I am floating on bubbly for breakfast!
Remember Joe, the handsome Viking, yacht club owner? We are in love! Absolutely, passionately infatuated. Forget about all the half-baked stories of guys I recently met. Who cares? This is the real thing!
Last Sunday, Joe and I had a date and I opted for meeting him in public, rather than on his private yacht (after all I have a reputation to consider and a working week and a passionate kiss are not sufficient grounds to meet in private). I threw myself into my brand new, pale golden Prada dress, matched with cute ballerinas and a leather bolero, and cabbed it to the Landmark Hotel on Marylebone Road for champagne brunch.
Joe’s dark blue Aston arrived at the same time and my heart started racing when I saw him. There are few things in a man’s appearance that really matter to me, but if a man is so absolutely perfectly gorgeous (to the point of the casual effortlessness of soft stubble), I find it surprisingly hard to resist. But resist I must… for now. I had the fleeting image of Grace Kelly in High Society and felt truly glamorous when Joe kissed my cheek and offered me his arm to lead me into the beautifully decorated rooms.
Brunch was a delicious and exceedingly jolly affair and we were laughing all the way to East London, where we visited the gallery of one of Joe’s friends. Holding hands like love-struck teenagers, we explored the works of a NY photographer and chatted animatedly with his friends. It felt as though we had known each other forever. And when the light started to fade, I almost shyly kissed him good-bye and left.
Since, he has been calling and text messaging almost every other hour and on Monday morning I was surprised by a giant bunch of golden roses (the exact same colour as my dress) delivered to my door without note but with two tickets for the Royal Enclosure at Ascot next week and an appointment to have a hat fitted to my exact specifications with Philip Treacy!
On Tuesday, a handwritten note was delivered, saying that he would like to see me for dinner. How could I possibly resist? We enjoyed a culinary revolution at Heston Blumenthal’s new venue in the Mandarin Oriental and a spent a delightful evening with covert smiles and casual touches. The very air seemed to vibrate with anticipation and the butterflies in my belly buzzed excitedly. Tragically, Joe had to leave on business Thursday early morning before we could go on the magical third date.
I have spent every waking minute of the day dreaming of his smile, his touch and his scent; I have perhaps a thousand times since fantasised about making love; and I have allowed my mind to explore the sweet notion of having found a man I could live with happily ever after.
It wasn’t until Kate nearly dropped her wineglass, when I told her I had fallen in love and was probably going to move out soon, that I stopped for a rational thought. There I was, completely and utterly blinded by spring feelings and what did I actually know about Joe? And more important, did I care that I knew nothing?
I have never fallen in love easily. And whereas sexual attraction and personal interest spark within seconds, the pillars of a good relationship develop over time and through mutual experience. And even though… have you never met a person and instantly felt, they are the one? Are such feelings completely deceptive? I ask Kate, a hint of panic in my voice.
I have, she replies, too often witnessed how women fancy themselves madly in love. Without reason. And more often than not, this leads to bitter disappointment once the bubbles have gone and reality has kicked back in.
She looks at me very seriously.
If you really think, she says, that he is the one, enjoy every precious moment. But if he is, there is no rush and he will give you the time to adjust. Please be careful and don’t throw your own life, and everything you have worked for, overboard in a heartbeat. Only time, she continues, will reveal the truth about you and your man.
And where infatuation and passion turn into trust and respect, your love will prevail.
xx Sophie
