Page 21 of The One That Got Away

‘It starts in ten minutes. Try not to be late.Again.’

‘Yeah, about last night, I didn’t get to apologise for not being on time. I would’ve been early, but there was this woman and she…’

‘Doesn’t matter,’ I replied, pushing my sunglasses further up my nose then striding off to the pool. I didn’t want to hear about Max chatting up another woman when he was supposed to be meeting me.

Pairs of chairs had been arranged near the pool in a semicircle. Soft music played in the background and a gentle sea breeze tickled my bare legs.

A few couples were already seated. I headed to the back row. If we sat at the front and Max was late, it’d disrupt the presentation. I readjusted my white kaftan and sat down.

We’d been told to wear swimwear, so I’d picked the new bikini I’d bought just for this trip. It was bright orange with a pretty green palm tree pattern. As soon as I saw it, I loved it.

It was the last one the shop had and although the top was a little tight, I’d reasoned that wasn’t a bad thing because it squished my boobs together, giving me extra cleavage. But if I’d known Max would be here, I would’ve brought a swimsuit that covered everything. He didn’t deserve to see my body.

Two more couples filtered in and took their seats. The sound of chatter vibrated in the air. Everyone seemed to be conversing happily. I was glad their matches were more successful than mine.

Jasmine headed to the front of the section of chairs and waved when she spotted me. I waved back then started to wonder what our first activity would be.

A delicious woody scent flooded my nostrils. I turned to seeMax had sat next to me.Ugh. I moved my chair away to create some distance.

‘Hello, everyone! Welcome!’ Jasmine raised her voice, causing all the chatter to die down. ‘I’m Jasmine – one of the Love Alchemists here. Are you enjoying your stay at The Love Hotel so far?’

‘Yes!’ everyone cheered, except me and Max who kept our mouths firmly shut.

‘Great!’ Jasmine responded. ‘Now you’ve had a chance to meet your match, I’m going to explain how things will work. During your first week, usually there’ll be one organised couple’s activity each day in a group setting. Then in the second week, although we’ll be here to help and support you with whatever you need, you’ll organise your own one-to-one activities, based on what you think your Mr or Mrs Right will love. Sound good?’

‘Yes!’ everyone but us replied enthusiastically again.

I was glad that at least this week Max and I wouldn’t be stuck alone. With other people around that I could chat to, hopefully it’d be less awkward.

As for week two, I didn’t need to worry about that because I doubted we’d make it that far.

‘Wonderful!’ Jasmine smiled. ‘Loving your enthusiasm! As well as the scheduled daily activity, you’ll also have Love Tasks to complete in your own time. One of those tasks will be compiling a memory book.’

‘What’s that?’ a guy at the front asked.

‘I was just about to explain,’ Jasmine smiled.

‘Sorry!’ he said. ‘I’m too eager!’

‘No worries! So the memory book is like a photo album. You can of course use your phone to take pictures, but each of you will also be provided with a digital camera to take photos of theactivities you do together. During group activities, our Love Alchemists will take photos for you. Each night, they’ll be uploaded and printed. Then the next day, we’d like you to spend time as a couple going through the pics from the previous day. You’ll then each pick one of your favourites to be put in your book. So by the end of your stay, you’ll have an album filled with happy memories!’

‘Awww,’ the woman in front of me gushed. ‘That’s a lovely idea!’

I could see how it would be romantic: if youhadn’tbeen set up with your ex. Spending time with Max was bad enough. The last thing I wanted was photographic evidence to remind me of the ordeal.

‘Your second daily Love Task will be creating a playlist for your match.’

‘What?’ I called out, my brows shooting to the sky. Everyone looked at me.Oops. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Preparing a playlist was so romantic and intimate, so in our case it wouldn’t be appropriate. Hopefully Jasmine would understand and let Max and me skip it.

‘A playlist,’ Jasmine repeated. ‘You’ve all been set up with Spotify so we’d like you to select at least five songs each day, to reflect your feelings about your partner, so that by the end of the experience, you’ll have a soundtrack of how you both fell in love!’

I resisted the temptation to laugh. There was no way I’d fall in love with Max again.

Speaking of the devil himself, I wondered how he felt about all of this. Considering he was the one who dumped me, he couldn’t be happy about cosying up for photos together and making me a lovey-dovey playlist.

When I tried to steal a look at him from the corner of my eye, his face seemed expressionless. As he played with the hem of his shorts, I tried not to look at his muscular thighs which had a sprinkling of dark hair.

As my eyes roamed downwards, I noticed a scar on his right leg. I knew exactly how he’d got it, but it was the first time I’d seen it in the flesh.

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