My soppy side, a year on.

You may remember me; I was the gushing girl who went to great lengths for her first Valentine's Day with her boyfriend of four months. Well, we're still together if you were wondering. But the day didn't go exactly to plan...

I came into work excited and anxious at what Valentine's Day would bring. As I'd planned a surprise for that weekend, he'd arranged a special dinner at his place. I love a man who can cook. Within an hour of coming to work the receptionist skipped over to my desk with a large box filled with the most beautiful flowers I'd ever seen. Wow. The card read: 'From your hero' (private joke!) I was over the moon, the boy had done well. About ten minutes later another box was placed on my desk. The first bunch had made me go red in the face, but in a lovely way. Now I was practically cowering under the desk with embarrassment at my soppy boyfriend - who'd have thought it?! I opened the card and gasped out loud. My colleagues crowded around my desk and begged me to read it out. I couldn't, I was too shocked. He'd said those three magic words for the first time! 'Love you lots, all the time', it read.

The cards were written in the same handwriting, so there was no doubt it was from my lovely boyfriend. I was in utter shock, but also deliriously happy. I'd wanted to say those words for weeks but hadn't the nerves to do it, and neither had he. The embarrassment of the second delivery was instantly replaced by full-blown happiness. I jumped off my seat and ran outside the office to call and thank him for the flowers, and the special words. Strangely, my boyfriend said he hadn't meant to send two bunches. That's odd, I thought. But he'd looked at various different flowers and had obviously clicked on two, instead of one - yes that must be it. So I said it back,  "I love you lots too." I could sense his face go red over the phone. He hurriedly said that he was glad I liked the flowers and looked forward to seeing me that night.

"He'd said those three magic words for the first time! 'Love you lots, all the time', it read."

It was only when I arrived at his flat and he asked: "What exactly did those cards say again?" that my big, huge, embarrassing mistake finally dawned on me. The first bunch was definitely from him, 'My hero', the second had been meant for some other lucky girl! The florist had made a glaringly big delivery error. Oh dear. So I'd said those three magic words when he'd never even said them. When he held me tight and reassured me that of course he did, I felt slightly better and relieved that my feelings were out in the open. Still, it was two weeks later when he properly told me he loved me - just to make sure I knew it was because he wanted to say it, and not simply to make me feel better.

A year later

Now I have the new dilemma of how to beat last year's surprise to go to a beautiful day spa for a rasul experience for two. This involved getting into an egg-shaped sauna filled with stars and relaxing music and herbs and slapping heaps of different coloured muds on each other's naked bodies. Great idea! The problem is that now we've been together for a year and four months, we've exhausted many of the romantic things you can do with your partner. There's been our first year anniversary when we received beautiful pieces of jewellery from one another, we've been on surprise dates to the theatre and have indulged in lovely holidays and picnics. What now? Is this where I decide that Valentine's Day is purely commercial and just revert back to a card and a nice meal? Or should I think up another cunning plan? The thing is that I prefer to think about Valentine's Day as something that happens throughout the year, not just on one specific day. Not that I won't be disappointed if I don't get another bunch of flowers though. But this time I'll double-check the note before I go and say 'Yes!' to a marriage proposal that was actually meant for the girl in the next department. Ouch.