The Valentine

I keep getting the sense of being watched.

But when I glance up, it’s not by the person I want it to be. Dale’s always busy doing something else. Really, I must have the most unromantic partner on the planet.

Or so I thought.

For Dale has prepared a Valentine’s Day surprise and I don’t need asking twice to follow the clues I’ve found. I find my way to the remote cottage he’s booked, gobsmacked as I respond to his written instruction to enter.

Romantic music fills the air, delicious aromas drift from the kitchen and rose petals have been scattered, leaving a trail which starts at the front door and takes me up to a candlelit bubble bath where a glass of champagne is waiting.

But as I peel off my clothes, a sense of unease creeps over me. I should have checked downstairs before I came up here. I don’t know if this surprise is really meant for
me…