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‘Wow. Oh my God. I’ve never seen anything like it.’

Distracted by the sudden exclamations, Holly turned her attention out the window. The air hitched in her lungs. She was used to beautiful buildings. There was no shortage of them in the Cotswolds. No shortage even in Bourton itself. But this wasn’t like the buildings she was used to. This wasn’t made of Cotswold stone, or beautiful red bricks, or any stone at all that Holly could tell – not on the outside, at least. The outside of the building was made from dark timber. But it was the angle at which it was arranged that was most mesmerising. The wood flowed out and in, in an almost concertina-like manner or ripples, caused by a pebble in a still pond. Lead tinted glass windows, also at similarly curved angles, broke up the mass of wood, and as Holly stared at the feat of architecture, she could help but think that the shape reminded her of something. Though what that was, she couldn’t quite work out. Not until Faye spoke.

‘Looks like a spaceship,’ she said.

‘That’s what it is,’ Holly said. ‘Yes, you’re right. It’s like a wooden glass spaceship.’

‘It’s an incredible building,’ Sienna said. ‘Apparently, the inside is even more extravagant than the outside. But I couldn’t find any pictures of it online. They are so exclusive, they don’t share things like that and you have to sign a document saying you won’t share images on social media. I can’t wait to see it, though.’

The building was a far cry from the stereotypical English manor you’d expect a spa weekend to be held in, but as long as the pool was clean and the food was good, Holly wasn’t going to mind at all. In fact, for the first time since she had accepted the invitation, she was actually starting to feel excited. Very excited.

30

Three minutes later, they were standing in the hotel foyer. Sienna was right; it was extraordinary. The desks were all made of hammered copper, while the chairs, which looked comfy enough, were made of plastic that had been shaped to look as though the legs were melting into the floor. The lighting came from a long pillar placed in the centre of the room, which also acted as a water feature. And though Holly wasn’t able to name the aroma that rose in clouded plumes from various diffusers, luxury was the word that sprang to mind whenever she inhaled.

‘Welcome to You-Topia.’ The lady at the desk drew Holly’s attention momentarily away from the decor and smells. Holly couldn’t help but give an involuntary shudder at the woman’s attire, which was pristine white from head to toe. If she’d had to wear something like that for work, Holly doubted it would last more than ten minutes without her spilling something down it. She and white did not mix well.

‘Miss Sommercroft, I assume?’ the woman said.

Sienna bounded towards her. ‘Yes, that’s us. Thank you so much. We are so excited. I’ve wanted to come here for years.’

‘Yes, well, we’re very pleased to meet you and I hope we surpass all your expectations.’

‘I’m sure you will.’

She was almost as excited at this hotel as she had been about Giles’s proposal, Holly thought, but she quickly quashed the thought. Of course she was excited. Anyone who booked a place with a two-year waiting list was bound to be excited about it.

‘I’ll get a member of staff to show you to your room shortly,’ the lady said. ‘But before you go, I would just like to get your dinner order. You will be eating in tonight, I assume?’

‘Of course,’ Sienna replied.

‘Wonderful. Well, if you’d like to take a look at the menu…’ The woman handed a small piece of laminated cardboard to Sienna, at which point, Holly and Faye both stepped forward to take theirs.

Holly was used to small menus. Her time with Evan had seen her visit a remarkable number of restaurants that served very limited choices, including a Brazilian place that only served three dishes a day. At the other end of the scale, they also ate at one restaurant with a twenty-course degustation meal. But this menu was even more unusual.

The first item was entitledInvigorationand apparently involved a number of fruits and vegetables that no one would ever put together to form a meal: guava, celery, dragon fruit, grass, and pomelo. Holly wasn’t in the mood for some bizarre salad, so she let her eyes move on to the next item. This one was entitledRevitalise. Again, it came with a mix of fruit and vegetables, including rambutan and red cabbage.

Holly found she was missing something somewhere. Perhaps she just had the drinks menu, rather than the food one. Yes, that was the most likely thing – all the strangely named fruits and vegetables were obviously in smoothies.

‘Sorry,’ she said to the receptionist. ‘I think I’ve been given the drinks menu?’

‘Yes?’

‘Well, I was hoping I could see the actual menu,’ Holly said, not sure why the issue needed explaining further.

‘That is our dinner menu,’ she said. ‘You will get a different one for lunch and breakfast.’

Holly pressed her thumb into her temple, not sure why this simple request was proving so difficult.

‘No, sorry, I meant the food menu.’

‘Food?’ Sienna had now joined in the conversation too, although she was currently looking at Holly with an expression of pure perplexity.

‘Yes, food,’ Holly said. ‘Like burgers or salads or pizza, that type of thing.’

At this, the woman threw back her head and laughed. ‘Oh, look at you. Aren’t you funny? You almost had me there.’

Holly looked at Faye, who was holding the same menu and also looking somewhat confused, but it was Sienna who stood up and rested a hand on Holly’s shoulder.