That Special Something: A heartwarming, small town romance to fall in love with

Sixteen

Monday morning brought bitterly cold winds and torrential rain, but that was normal weather for February, so Hope didn’t see it as a bad omen. She rather liked the wind and rain. There was something about a walk along the beach on a wet and windy day that made her feel even more alive than usual.

She wanted to look her best tonight, so she would not be walking anywhere if this weather kept up all day. Her dad had already offered to drop her at the grand entrance to the hotel, and the doormen would be on hand with giant sized umbrellas to hold above the heads of arriving guests until they were ushered out of the rain.

The weather was the least of her worries. Hope was feeling far more nervous than she ever had in her life and that very fact made her sure that there was something between her and Tom that was different from anything else she had experienced before.

She still didn’t know what Tom looked like. She had been tempted to Google him to see if there were photos of him online, but for some reason she hadn’t. Sometimes she did that with new clients and sometimes she didn’t, and Tom was only supposed to be a client and nothing more.

Yet almost from the first time they talked, she knew that there was something different about him. That he had something no other client had. That made her less inclined to check him out – not more.

Hope might now have three men who believed they were in love with her but she hadn’t had any real romance in her life for ages. Whatever this was with Tom felt very romantic from the off, almost as if it was meant to be, and she didn’t want to shatter that illusion by searching for him online and seeing someone she didn’t like the look of, or perhaps worse still, seeing someone she liked the look of far too much. She decided to let Fate take its course.

She hadn’t asked Tom if he had looked her up. There weren’t any photos of any of the members of Eversley Events on their website, just photos of some of the events they had organised. Pat and Simon had made the decision not to include photos of themselves or anyone who ever worked for them, especially Grace and Hope. There were some odd people in the world these days and women were especially vulnerable.

That was why Grace, Hope and even Pat never met a new client on their own unless they knew them beforehand, or they were a friend of someone the Eversleys knew. They always went in pairs or with Simon.

Meeting Tom was a risk but Hope had met Della in person on Christmas Eve, even if she hadn’t been able to recall exactly what Della looked like, so as Tom was Della’s brother, Hope felt safe with him. She was meeting him in a packed hotel bar, so she had a chance to get to know him before deciding whether or not to go anywhere else with him alone. A thought which once again sent tingles of excitement through her.

The day seemed to drag and Hope checked the time more than once or twice. A phone call from Rob that afternoon made her feel a little off balance. She hadn’t seen him since the night he had kissed her on the beach and he was calling to say he wanted to meet up.

‘We have things to discuss,’ he said. ‘I know it was a shock seeing me again like that but nothing’s changed for me, Hope. I said the other day that I’d give you time, but I came home to be with you and I know, deep down, you want to be with me.’

‘I don’t know that, Rob. Eight years is a long time. People change. We want different things now than we did back then. I’m not sure what I feel for you right now. That kiss was … nice, and it brought back memories of what we once had, but that was long ago and I’m not sure we can get that back. I’m not sure I want that back.’

‘I can give you more time if you really feel you need it, but I want to see you Hope. I need to see you. Are you free tonight? We could go to The Royal Oak like we used to.’

‘I’m not. I’m meeting someone for a drink. And dinner.’

‘A man?’

‘A client. But yes. A man.’

‘But just a client?’

‘I … I don’t know.’

‘What does that mean? How can you not know?’

‘Because we … because I don’t know, Rob. And you have no right to get cross. We are not together. We’re not a couple. You may think you’re still in love with me but I don’t know how I feel about you.’

‘What do you mean by that? I know I’m still in love with you. But you, it seems, are keeping your options open. Comparing us to one another. Is that it?’

‘No. It’s not. I’m simply getting on with my life. Which was what I had to do when you upped and left eight years ago. I’m not having this conversation, Rob. I told you I would think about what you said and I am. If you want to know how I feel right now I’ll tell you. I think we ended eight years ago and now we’re just friends. Whether we could ever be anything more again I don’t know. What I do know is that I can’t give you what you say you want at this moment in time. What you take from that is up to you. I must go. I have a lot to do.’

‘So you keep saying. Don’t keep me hanging, Hope. I won’t wait around forever.’

‘Then I think you have your answer. I waited for you for years. You’ve waited for me for, oh, less than one week.’

‘Okay. I’ll wait. I’ll call you tomorrow.’

‘No, Rob. I’ll call you.’

Hope had hung up but the conversation left her with doubts. Was she doing the right thing by meeting Tom?

She had known Rob all her life – with the exception of the last eight years. They had a history together. Their parents were friends. They could build a life together in Betancourt Bay, assuming Rob meant what he had said about being home for good. They had been in love once. Could they be in love again? And would it last this time?

She knew nothing about Tom other than his voice turned her insides to goo and her heart raced every time they spoke. He lived hundreds of miles away. For them to have any sort of relationship meant she would have to move closer to him or he move closer to her. But Della and Alice had managed to have a relationship before Della moved to Folkestone to be with Alice.

Would Hope be prepared to move away? Her parents were upset about Grace moving across the road. Imagine how they would feel if Hope said she intended to move to Bournemouth.

She hadn’t been prepared to travel the world with Rob. Not that he gave her that option. She could have tagged along perhaps, but he hadn’t actually asked her to join him on his travels. She had always made it clear her intention was to return to Betancourt Bay after uni and work for the family business, Eversley Events so perhaps that was why Rob hadn’t invited her to go with him. But when she asked if he planned to go alone, he had shrugged and said that it made sense, so she knew the answer was yes.

‘This is something I need to do,’ he had said when he’d first told her of his plans. Although he had clearly been planning it for a while and hadn’t thought to tell her until a day before he left. When she had asked him why he had kept it a secret, he said that he knew if he told her she would ask him not to go and he had to do this for himself. He needed to get it out of his system.

Bournemouth was hardly the same as travelling the world, but it would still mean moving away from her family, her career, and the life she had always known.

Was that a bad thing though?

‘Change is as good as a rest,’ Granny Joy was often saying. Although Granny Joy frequently talked nonsense so putting store in anything she said might not be wise.

But Hope was jumping the gun. Moving to Bournemouth, or even having a real relationship with Tom might not be on the cards.

The one thing she hadn’t thought about was that she and Tom might not like one another in the flesh. They might meet tonight and instantly hate each other. She doubted that very much bit it was a possibility.

She spent the rest of the afternoon worried about what would happen if an even worse scenario came to pass. What if she liked Tom, but he did not like her? Or worse still from a business as well as a personal viewpoint. What if he liked her but she did not like him? After all the flirting she had done he would have a right to be a little … cross. Della’s event was still two days away. Could she keep up a pretence until that was over? As she had as good as said she would possibly be spending the night with him, that was a pretence too far. She had never slept with a man just for sex. To sleep with a man for her business, was a definite no-no.

By the time she got out of her dad’s car that night, she was a nervous wreck. She had told her parents that she might be very late home, or possibly might be out all night. All she said was that she had a meeting in Folkestone that might run very late.

‘I can come and get you,’ Simon offered. ‘I don’t mind staying up.’

‘No!’ exclaimed Hope. ‘I mean, no thanks. I’ll sort myself out. I’ll text you so that you don’t have to worry and I’ll see you at breakfast. Or maybe later if something comes up.’

The Trulove Folkestone Hotel was one of Folkestone’s most prestigious hotels and the Trulove Hotel Group was known throughout the world for its culture of excellence. All the hotels had luxurious furnishings, first-class hospitality, and beautifully designed hotels. They had devoted hotel staff, the best chefs in the business, the finest wines, Michelin starred restaurants in many of the establishments, and most were situated in prime locations offering some of the world’s finest vistas outside the grand entrances.

Portia Trulove now ran the hotel chain, together with her husband, Mikkel Meloy, and although they had made some changes since Portia took the helm, like making the hotels more eco-friendly, the same standards guests had come to expect from a five star, luxury hotel and spa, still held true. Portia’s dad had handed over the reins earlier than most people expected, had gone off on a round the world cruise, and was now retired and enjoying life with his new wife. The seventh one, according to the online gossips. Hope didn’t read those things but Granny Joy did, and Hope could remember her saying that there was another man she would have to cross off her list.

‘You’ve got a list?’ Hope had asked surprised by that.

‘Of course I have. I’m not dead yet. I could still tango in the bedroom with the right man given half a chance.’

Hope had decided not to pursue the subject. Or to ask to see the list.

This hotel was near the Harbour Arm and offered superb views of the Harbour Arm, the white cliffs, and the English Channel, including Locke Isle.

But Hope was not interested in the view, or what the hotel had to offer. Tom was inside and this felt as if it might be the most important meeting of her life.