I gasp from the tips of my toes as a burst of colourful fireworks explodes over the banks of the River Seine, each pop making me jump a little more into Jack’s arms that snuggle round my waist from behind. Like a wide-eyed child, I gulp in the view through the window of the restaurant, totally mesmerized and pinching myself that I’m actually here in Paris, the most romantic city in the world.

‘I just can’t believe we’re here.’ I can see the lights of the Eiffel Tower from where we’re enjoying our aperitifs in the upper-floor champagne bar of this haute cuisine restaurant. I can smell the finest of food welcoming us in, and the sound of jazz piano music tinkling in the distance over the chitchat of other loved-up couples is making me feel very excited indeed.

‘Is it everything you dreamed of?’ Jack asks me. ‘I arranged this all just for you. Fireworks are much more expensive than I thought.’

I turn towards him and burst out laughing.

‘And for a split second I actually believed you did,’ I say to him, my voice ever so slightly slurred as the bubbly champagne swirls through my veins, making me feel tipsy but elated.

‘Sounds good, though, doesn’t it?’ he laughs back. ‘I was hoping our friends over there might have heard me and believed that I’m boyfriend of the year.’

He takes my hand and kisses it, his eyes twinkling with giddiness that we’re finally here in Paris.

I’m in Paris.

And it’s even more impressive than I could ever have imagined.

‘Do you love it?’ he asks me.

‘I do love it very much,’ I tell him. I lean on his chest and we sway gently to the music, the sound of distant celebrations ringing in my ears. ‘It’s even more romantic than I could have ever imagined. Thank you so much, Jack. This is a birthday present I’ll never forget.’

And it really has been picture-perfect since we arrived here yesterday evening. After an early night in our Moulin-Rouge-style hotel with its red velvet, almost gothic décor, we spent this morning walking the banks of the River Seine, taking in the galleries and cafés of Saint-Michel and strolling along at our leisure, stopping when we felt like it to admire painters and buskers, sip coffee and taste ice cream along the way.

My mouth dropped open as we sailed down the river this afternoon on a boat trip, and I was wowed as our tour guide pointed out the Louvre on our left and Notre-Dame cathedral which stands near our hotel, majestic and magnificent under a pink April sky.