Epilogue
EPILOGUE
THREE YEARS LATER
Beatrice
I wake up to the low hum of electric vans trundling down the driveway to the hotel and pulling into the empty car park, ready to disgorge their loads.
Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I yawn and stretch, then reach out to the space next to me in the bed. It’s empty. Jonah must already be up and out, ready to greet the festival crew as they begin their set-up of the next Terra Firmer festival to be hosted here at Gladbrooke House.
He’s obviously let me sleep in a bit this morning but has left me a still-hot cup of coffee on the bedside table.
I love him so much.
He’s such a thoughtful, generous man.
I can barely believe how I got so lucky some days.
Our relationship has gone from strength to strength since that day in the apple orchard – not that there hasn’t been the odd occasion when we’ve wanted to throttle each other, like all couples. Running the hotel has been stressful at times, especially in the early days when we were struggling to turn a profit.
But we found a way to work through it and I’m so glad we stuck with it.
Sitting up, I take a long sip from the mug, feeling the fragrant liquid warm my throat and stomach.
Glorious.
I swing my legs out of bed and walk over to the window of our cottage, peering out between a gap in the curtains.
The sun is out in full force, making the dew-soaked grass shimmer. I can’t help but smile as I gaze out across the lawns to the clay tennis courts that have been recently upgraded. I can see Jonah shaking hands after a game with Ben, one of the hotel staff he gets on with particularly well.
I watch as he makes his way back over to the entrance to the hotel, where Jay is getting out of one of the trucks, a hand held aloft in greeting.
Jonah looks so happy – absolutely in his element, in fact – his gorgeous face relaxed and his eyes shining with pleasure at the sight of our friend.
I, too, still get excited when I see Jay and his entourage arriving with all the glamping tents, marquees and catering supplies. It’s always a joy to have them here.
In the last three years, we’ve hosted seven different events for him here and each time they’ve got bigger – helped by some brilliant reviews, both from influencers and from some of the traditional news outlets. They’re not on the scale of Glastonbury – not that we could even think about hosting something that large – but they’re now big enough to be highly profitable, which means we’re able to charge a very pleasing fee.
The knock-on publicity from Terra Firmer has also meant that we’re now fully booked for the rest of the year, even in low season, with guests wanting to stay at the hotel where it’s held. It’s actually turning into a bit of a celebrity get-away, with some pretty influential people booking the whole place out for weeks at a time.
My idea to turn the lake into a place for picnics, wild swimming and boating has had a really positive effect too, with people citing it as one of the main reasons they loved staying here. It gives the place an especially retro-British feel, apparently.
In fact, last year, we had a film crew use the house and grounds as a location for a period drama, which came out a month ago. It was a big box-office hit, so it’s also driven up the number of enquiries from people who want to visit the ‘movie set’.
After months of intensive research and networking, Jonah managed to get the funding we needed to start up the cider press and it’s gone from strength to strength – both the business and the cider. In fact, we’ve had some pretty bawdy nights doing our own private tasting sessions of the new barrels.
He’s loved getting his teeth into a new project and has been happy leaving the running of the hotel and rest of the grounds to me.
Once we started turning a profit, I was able to start updating the remaining rooms so we’re now able to accommodate even more guests.
I’ve also been looking into opening a separate restaurant here for people who aren’t staying at the hotel, which will be housed in a purpose-built annex. We’re intending to use produce grown on our land, along with goods from local suppliers and perhaps even have a small farm shop too.
But that’s all to come.
A shiver of pleasure runs through me at the thought of what the future holds.
Moving away from the window, I go and take a quick shower in our en suite, then pull on some of the festival clothes Jonah and I have begun building a wardrobe of, so we can blend in with the festivities and feel more of a part of what’s happening.
We’re able to pay staff members to keep on top of whatever Jay and his team might need while the festival’s running now, which means Jonah and I are free to get involved in the workshops and performances if we want to.
Which we usually do.
In fact, Jonah’s played a set during the cabaret at every festival so far and has roped me in to sing with him for most of them too, which I’ve loved.
There’s something so special about performing with him. So connecting.
I adore listening to him playing his guitar in our home too, which he does nearly every day. He’s even started doing small, local gigs in some of the pubs nearby, which are always sold out.
He’s adamant he doesn’t want to be a career musician any more though, so this way, he can really enjoy playing without the pressure to compete with, or be compared to, his rock-star father.
I actually got to meet his dad a year ago. He was very charming, very friendly, but not always emotionally present for Jonah, often acting as if he was just another person in his entourage, which helped make a lot of Jonah’s behaviours and choices make sense to me.
Superstardom seems to be an addiction of Jim Jacobson’s, even more so than alcohol, and brings with it extreme highs and lows that keep him on a different wavelength to everyone else.
It was a fascinating insight into something I don’t ever want to be a part of.
Thankfully, neither does Jonah.
We’re both extremely happy with our life here at Gladbrooke House.
The place truly feels like home to me now, which it has been since I moved in with Jonah two and a half years ago.
I’ve never felt so content. At peace. As if I’m in exactly the right place with exactly the right person.
I count myself very lucky.
I’ve not said as much to Jonah, but I suspect Tessa is kicking herself now for indulging in such a cruel and public break-up with him because she’s now not able to visit the place alongside her celebrity and influencer friends.
Not that Jonah’s banned her or anything.
But I can’t imagine she’d be welcomed with open arms by anyone here.
He’s actually much more chilled about the messy break-up with Tessa now. In fact, he’s even able to laugh about it with people if they ever dare mention the Reverse Darcy thing.
He decided to own it and it’s taken the sting out of it for him.
I’m so proud of him.
And myself, if I’m honest.
My dad took a bit of time to come around to my change in career direction and our relationship was a bit fractious for a while. He eventually agreed to meet Jonah and come over to Gladbrooke to look around though and of course, once he saw what a great job we were making of it, and more importantly, how much happier I am now, he reluctantly admitted I’d made a good choice.
He really likes Jonah too. He can see how good he is for me.
And he really is.
Just as I’m thinking this, Jonah strolls in through the front door and comes straight over to me, pulling me into his arms and kissing me hard.
‘Morning, beautiful. I see you’re already ready to party,’ he says, smiling into my eyes.
I’ll never get bored with seeing that smile.
An excited shiver of anticipation runs through me. ‘I certainly am. Are you getting ready too now?’
He shakes his head. ‘I need to make a few calls, then I need to speak to Tony about some repairs to the cider press, but I’ll catch up with you after that and we can practice the set for tonight.’
‘Great.’
I smile and lean in for another kiss, luxuriating in the firm press of his mouth against mine. Breathing in his delicious, unique scent, I feel my body rush with desire and almost suggest we head back to bed before he leaves again.
But we have too much to do this morning. It’ll have to wait.
Reluctantly, I draw away from him and extract myself from his arms.
‘Is Dee coming tonight?’ he asks, running a hand through his now slightly dishevelled hair.
‘Yup. That’s the plan.’
He nods, then drops a soft kiss onto the top of my head.
‘It’ll be great to see her. It’s been ages.’
He’s right. It has.
My sister and I have taken very different paths and we don’t get to see each other much these days. It’s always a joy to be around her whenever we do get together though, especially now she’s taking full responsibility for her life. She and my dad still have a difficult relationship, to say the least, but both of them try hard to get on when we’re all together, which I appreciate.
‘She’s looking forward to seeing you too and she promises to be on her best behaviour and not make any more bad jokes about you being an apple farmer,’ I say with an ironic tilt of my eyebrow.
‘I don’t believe that for a second,’ Jonah says with a grin, before walking back out of the door and heading towards his office to make those calls.
I watch him out of the window as he strides away from me, my body still craving his touch. He cuts a striking figure as he moves through the growing number of festival crew members, who all greet him warmly as he passes.
No matter how much time we spend together, I never get tired of being around him. He’s such an intrinsic part of my life now I can’t imagine doing it without him. I definitely have a sense of my life being split into two halves. Before Jonah and With Jonah.
My heart swells with love in my chest and I experience a rush of pure joy.
I almost want to run after him and tell him how much love I’m feeling for him right now.
Later. I’ll get him all to myself later, once the festival’s heading to bed and my sister has left for the night.
I smile as my thoughts turn to all that’s happened to Dee in the last few years.
She’s in a much better place and situation all round now, which I’m delighted about. Surprisingly, she’s really turned her life around with the help of the one person I thought I’d never see her getting together with.
If you’d asked me a few years ago where I envisioned Dee ending up, I never would have guessed the direction or partner she’s chosen.
I’m very glad she did though.
It was quite a challenge at the beginning, apparently, but one she’s really stepped up to.
But that’s a whole other story.