Melania Trump refused to give her phone number to Donald Trump on their first meeting - insisting he hand over his digits to her

In an extract from her new book 'Melania: A Memoir', serialised by The Times newspaper, she reveals: "He was accompanied by a beautiful date, so initially, I dismissed our conversation as mere pleasantries ... When his companion left for a moment, he asked me for my phone number. I politely declined his request. He was a little surprised. 'Give me your number,' I said. With a hand gesture, Donald called over his bodyguard. His big shoulders leaned in as he listened to him, before discreetly writing a note on a sleek business card.

"Donald took the card and handed it to me. 'Call me,' he said with a smile. I tucked the card into my clutch before his date returned to the table."

Following on from a photo shoot in the Caribbean, she returned to her New York apartment, and left a message on the property tycoon's answering machine.

Donald, 78, called her back where they developed a "palpable" connection.

In the book, the Slovenian-born beauty revealed the pair - who married in 2005 and have an 18-year-old son Barron - spent their first date, "a mix of business and pleasure", at his expansive Seven Springs property in Bedford, New York.

Melania continued: "It was a crisp Sunday when he picked me up in his black Mercedes.

"The house in Bedford sits on 230-acres of land at the end of a long driveway. 'It's like a French chateau,' I said. 'Do you live here?' No, I don't actually live here, I'm just here to make sure everything is okay,' he said with a smile.

"He mentioned his plans to turn the property into a golf course.

"We walked through the rooms, him giving me a tour while also inspecting the place.

"Looking back, it was a very 'Donald' first date - a mix of business and pleasure."

Melania, 54, "found that aspect of him intriguing right from the start", and believes that the 47th President of the United States "appreciated that [she] had knowledge and experience under [her] belt" from her career.