Page 44 of Date with Destiny

On their way out, Micah nearly bowls Zach over.

‘Celeste Bretherton isin there,’ they stage-whisper in Zach’s face and he nods seriously.

‘Wow,’ he deadpans, as Micah leaves. He turns to me. ‘Ready?’ I nod excitedly, grabbing my bag and coat.

‘Good luck!’ Toni shouts across the room as we head out, ready for our bona fide adventure.

This evening, my customer Joey Addiman is proposing to his partner Hannah, and Zach and I are heading to the hotel to drop off the engagement ring. Obviously it would’ve been easier for Joey to just collect it ahead of time – as we did point out – but he kept saying Hannah was suspicious and he couldn’t risk having it at their flat. The plan is to be in reception as the couple check in, watching to make sure he collects it from our pre-arranged drop-off point. It’s proper spy stuff.

‘Ohhh,’ I moan as we climb into Zach’s car. ‘I wish we’d bought two matching briefcases for the swap, like the spies have in the movies? That would’ve beencool!’

He nods. ‘But then we would’ve needed a park bench to do the hand-off. And I didn’t bring any sunglasses. You can’t do a briefcase swap without a park bench and dark glasses.’

‘Very true,’ I agree seriously.

We pull up at the hotel and I find I’m more jumpy than I’d expected. ‘Where are you going to park?’ I ask anxiously and Zach glances over at me, amused. ‘In the hotel car park, if that’s acceptable?’

‘But what if Hannah recognizes your car?’ I worry out loud.

‘That is a concern,’ Zach nods sagely. ‘If she’d ever met either of us or seen my car in her life.’

‘Right, right!’ I remember.

‘But we could park several streets away?’ he offers. ‘On theoff chance she sees my car and decides to contact her many friends at MI5…’ He glances over. ‘I’m just assuming this woman has MI5 contacts.’

‘I’m sure she does,’ I nod. ‘Who doesn’t?’

‘And asks those contacts to trace my number plate. And then she might google me and see I’m a designer and then she might—’

‘All right! All right,’ I laugh. ‘I get it, I’ll calm down. Just keep your eye out for park benches and briefcases, OK?’

‘OK,’ he laughs, too, as we head into the foyer.

It’s a beautiful old hotel. One of those that feels intimate, despite its high ceilings and low chandeliers. It’s got the air of being freshly done and sleek, but also ancient and steeped in tradition. In other words, it’s suuuuuper romantic.

Zach and I head towards reception, scanning the room. ‘Where’s the plant pot Joey wanted us to drop it into?’ he frowns.

‘Damn,’ I mutter. ‘He said it was right next to the desk, but there’s nothing. They must’ve moved things around since his recce last week.’

‘Crap!’ I breathe hard, checking the huge clock that takes up half of one wall behind the check-in desks.

‘It’s fine,’ Zach says soothingly. ‘We’re really early, we’ve got time to figure this out. Let’s sit down.’ He gestures at the bar area in the corner of the lobby and we head over.

‘I don’t think we can give it to the staff,’ I say, heart in my stomach. ‘I don’t trust them – they’ll just hand it over in front of Hannah.’

‘Let’s get a drink,’ Zach ignores me, studying the cocktail menu. ‘There’s something here called a Fuzzy Navel.’

‘Sounds horrendous,’ I gag slightly. ‘What’s in it?’

‘Peach Schnapps and orange juice.’

I make a face. ‘Sounds like something I would’ve come up with as a teenager.’

Zach waves at the barman. ‘Two Fuzzy Navels please!’ I laugh at his excitement, then remember what we’re here for.

‘What should we do about Joey’s ring?’ I ask, my brow furrowed.

‘Don’t worry about that!’ he waves his hand happily. ‘We can see the entrance clearly from here. We’ll find a way to hand it over once he gets here.’

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