A Romantic Night In

Lily has finally found 'The One'...

‘So, is he taking you somewhere nice?’

Lily could hear the excitement in her mother’s voice. After five years of dates with men who wore V-necked jumpers and lived with their parents, Lily had finally found The One, as her mother insisted on calling Matt. Normally, she would have strangled this notion at birth, but on their last trip to London, she allowed her mother to visit the hat department in Selfridges, although she drew the line at baby clothes. She had yet to discuss children with Matt, and she didn’t want to jinx the conversation by getting ahead of herself.

‘We’re having a romantic night in.’ There was silence at her mother’s end, and Lily continued before she could pour cold water on the idea. Her mother was a firm believer in restaurants for special occasions, the fancier the better. ‘I’m making a vegetarian lasagne followed by passion fruit pavlova.’

‘So, you’re cooking?’

‘Yes. Matt works late; I’ve told you.’

Her mother lived in Scotland and had yet to meet Matt. She regularly dropped hints about coming to stay, but so far Lily had successfully deflected them.

‘Anyway, I’d better go. Dinner won’t make itself.’

It was the phrase her mother used when she was in what her father called ‘burning martyr mode,’ but Lily wasn’t being a martyr. She enjoyed cooking and had taken the day off to prepare.

Now she jogged upstairs to get changed. Her dress was on the bed, a slinky red number with a slit that came to her thigh. Matt liked clothes that showed off her figure and although he said she looked lovely without make-up, she applied mascara and lipstick. After a tussle with the hair straighteners and a spritz of perfume behind each ear – Miss Dior was his favourite – she was happy, and dim lighting would do the rest.

A text arrived from her friend Maddy, wishing her luck. Maddy, who was single, hadn’t met Matt either and admitted to being jealous that Lily had found someone so amazing. Good-looking, considerate, funny, with a high-powered job. Matt thought Lily was the bee’s knees and the cat’s pyjamas rolled into one. She replied with a thumbs-up and considered adding a heart before deciding against it. Maddy was spending the evening with Bridget Jones and a bottle of Chardonnay, and she didn’t want to rub it in.

By seven thirty, the candles were lit, and the lasagne was browning in the oven. Lily scattered dried rose petals over the tablecloth. She’d purchased them on Amazon and they were supposed to be edible, but when she tried one, it tasted like kitchen towel. A last glance in the mirror confirmed her makeup was intact, and she felt a frisson of excitement. Perhaps he would propose. Although they’d only been together for a month, her mother, who was wrong about so many things, was right about Matt. Replika had delivered where all the dating apps had failed.

Heart pounding, she placed her laptop on the table, logged into the programme, and waited for his smiling face to appear.

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