‘But I want you to be able to take your time and make those changes on your own terms,’ she said sagely, ‘not get railroaded into something when you’re still reeling from shock.’

‘But what if it is fate?’ I laughed. ‘What if the universe has lined this all up for me with perfect timing?’

Dolly looked doubtful.

‘Even if it has, that doesn’t mean you just have to accept it,’ she told me. ‘Don’t forget how you really felt about the city when you spent Christmas there.’

Clearly, she wasn’t about to gloss over my memories and first impressions, even if I was.

‘Can you honestly imagine building a whole life for yourself there, Hattie?’

She was right of course. It wasn’t something I had even considered since we arrived home, not like when we came back from a weekend in Paris and I’d secretly fantasised about living in one of the chic apartments for months afterwards. However, I had given plenty of thought to the plethora of stunning hotels which graced the streets of Abu Dhabi. I wondered now if I would be able to find a position in one of those. Perhaps my years of hard work at the hotel would pay off after all.

‘And there’s your family to consider,’ Dolly reminded me.

‘I don’t see why,’ I shot back. ‘What difference would it make where in the world I was living when we don’t have anything to do with each other anymore?’

She couldn’t argue with that.

‘Well, what about your marital status then?’ she carried on.

‘My marital status?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘If you do decide to go, you’d have to marry first, wouldn’t you?’

‘Well, yes,’ I stammered, only just realising. ‘I suppose so.’

‘Is Jonathan really the man for you, Hattie? Is he someone you can imagine spending the rest of your life with? Have you ever considered a long-term future with him, because marriage isn’t something to enter into lightly, you know and don’t forget . . .’

‘Please don’t bring up what happened before again,’ I cut in. ‘Everything’s fine now.’

But was Jonathan the everlasting man for me? I suppose, given the length of time we’d been together, we were travelling down the serious relationship road, but like moving to Abu Dhabi, it wasn’t something I’d consciously thought about. Not all that long ago our relationship had encountered more ups and downs than a rollercoaster and, in spite of what I had told Dolly, I was only now beginning to believe that the track had properly levelled out again. I certainly hadn’t had time to consider committing to the long haul.