Before the ring

I was what some might have called a mess, but for me, I was LIVING! I had been living in Paris for 3 years, a showgirl at one of the Worlds top cabarets, and really living up to expectation of a single girl living out her dreams in a new and romantic city. Now the French men, from my experience fall under 1 of 2 categories, they either fall in love with you in a second... or after a month or 2 of dating, you meet his other girfriends (or he brings them to see you in your show in my case)! I'd been given the amazing opportunity to be the 'Dance Captain' of our new show and threw my mind, body and soul into it whole heartedly. One night after a particularly long and gruelling day of rehearsals, I had decided to go for a drink with a friend who was going to meet a guy she had just started dating from Tinder and his friends, so I had agreed to go along. I always remembered friends saying to me 'it happens when you're not looking for it' and oh how that happened. That night, turning up in a gym bra, leggings, not a scrap of make up on and hair in a sweaty pineapple, there he was, sitting just across the table to me. We had said hello and then continued to ignore each other for at least the first hour of being in the bar, his friends and him chatted easily to each other (in French, which I was still blissfully incapable of learning) whilst we spoke to my friends new date. After sharing a few coy smiles and looking away quickly, he disappeared outside for a cigarette, from outside the window he did the famous "fake walking downstairs comedy trick" and I was done, the search was over! Back in the bar, I had decided a round of tequila shots was called for before dragging everyone on to one of my favourite bars of the time, 'Titty Twister'. Now I was "out out" every weekend, and most nights in between, so the owners of all of the big bars and clubs knew me like family, but bouncing around in my Nikes and lycra, was a sight they hadn't ever encountered, but they still found us a table and let us all drink for free. Tequila now running through my blood I had plucked up the courage to speak to François, and garbled away in English, as I'd found out he was the older brother of my friends new guy who had spoken so fluently in English all night and had just presumed he spoke English perfectly too. I kept thinking what a great listener this guy is, he seems to really get me, nodding and smiling all the time... or later, as I found out, doesn't speak a word of English! Anyway, it was time to go and after making my round of Goodbyes, I left him for last. As the French are so well renowned for their famous 2 kisses on the cheeks, or 'Bisous' we did what came naturally, kiss one cheek, then the other... then looked into eachothers eyes for a second too long, resulting in, well, an embarrassing show of french kissing. From that moment we were hooked, I can't actually remember a day that we didn't see each other, neither one of us played it cool at all. So my friends had been right, that 1 night had changed my whole life, a night I was completely unprepared for, I didn't have time for love, certainly hadn't gone out to find love, it just somehow, in the middle of my crazy and hectic life, found me. A few weeks ago I learnt that later that night, François had been in the car after the club with his friend and had said that he was in trouble. A kiss with some nutcase of an English girl and he knew that this was something different. I have always craved this love, having watched it as a constant with my parents, finding that something special and not settling for anything or taking me away from my fabulous single lifestyle. Now my crazy single days are a thing of the past, but this is just the start of our journey. I'm going to share with you tips, ideas, inspiration and everything else that helps you say 'I do' with a Phew.