Chapter 9 #4
“A staff perk is to get a discount on other hotels in the group. I was thinking of having a few days in Scotland at some point but now I’m wondering if that’s sad and unadventurous.
Which hotel have you liked best out of all the ones in the group?
The one in Cape Cod where you worked last—is that good? ”
“It’s beautiful. Sandy beaches, dunes and whale watching.”
“And what was the best thing you ate when you were there?”
“Probably fried clams.” Abby put her fork down and admired the garden. “Are you a keen gardener?”
“No. I’m a terrible gardener, but it was my grandmother’s pride and joy so I feel compelled to try and keep things alive.
Dad helps me sometimes. A coastal garden isn’t easy, particularly here on the north coast. Plants have to be able to withstand howling Atlantic winds.
So do the locals. We’re hardy specimens.
” Evie’s dimples showed as she smiled. “So it’s mostly perennials—are you impressed that I know what those are?
Sage, rosemary and lavender.” She waved a hand vaguely at the tumbling garden.
“That one by the wall is Rosa Rugosa—my grandmother used to make rose hip syrup. Do you have a garden?”
“No. I live in an apartment, but I can see Boston harbour and the skyline.”
“Sounds amazing. I could come and stay with you, and you could show me around. That would be fun. A girls’ weekend.”
“Yes.” For a moment she allowed herself to imagine that scenario. Showing Evie Boston. She’d take her on a whale watching cruise. Walk the Freedom Trail, take her to the MFA. Perhaps they could do a day trip to Martha’s Vineyard. It would be fun. Two friends, exploring each other’s hometowns.
But it was never going to happen. The moment Evie found out that Abby hadn’t been honest with her, that would be it.
Anticipating that moment killed the rest of her appetite and she put her fork down. “Has your dad always worked in hotels? What did he do before he started working at The Alexandra?”
“He trained as a history teacher. Are you eating your bread? Because if you’re not, I’ll eat it.
I’m so hungry I could eat a camel.” Evie’s hand hovered and when Abby nodded she scooped it up.
“Anyway, he didn’t love teaching. He said it was more about discipline and psychology.
No one seemed that interested in listening or learning.
Then I came along. My mother died right after I was born—it must have been horrible for Dad.
I try not to think about how hard it must have been because it chokes me up. You’re probably the same.”
“I—”
“But you keep going, don’t you? When life knocks you to the ground, you get up and keep going.
And Dad kept going. Of course everyone in the village helped.
The interfering can be annoying, but it can also be a lifesaver and on that occasion, it was a lifesaver.
Do you want a slice of lemon tart? It’s left over from yesterday. We can share it.”
Abby raised her hand and shook her head. She had a growing respect for Evie’s appetite. “Thanks, but I couldn’t eat another thing. You were telling me how your dad started working at the hotel.”
“Oh yes. The school he was teaching at was almost an hour away along roads that were busy in tourist season. He needed to be closer to home, so when he saw that the hotel was recruiting a concierge, he decided to apply. They wanted someone who knew the local area well, but also knew local history and legend. There’s lots of that around here.
Magicians, witches, dragons—you name it.
No one knows more about that than Dad, and he thought it would be nice to chat to people who were interested.
He had an interview, and he got the job.
That was thirty years ago and he’s still going strong. Loves his job.”
Thirty years? No, that couldn’t be right.
Her mother would have been at the hotel still, and she hadn’t mentioned ever meeting any of the current staff.
She cast her mind back to Edward’s file. It had said twenty-eight years, she was sure of it. He’d arrived after her mother had moved to Boston. Evie must have that wrong.
She wanted to ask a few more questions but she couldn’t find a way to do that without arousing suspicion, so she simply listened as Evie talked, enjoying the scent of the garden and watching as the sun streaked the sky with orange and shades of pink.
Evie made coffee and put a slice of lemon tart in the middle of the table. “Two forks. In case I can tempt you. Can I ask you something? But first you have to promise not to mention it to anyone at work. At least, for now. It isn’t easy to keep secrets around here.”
“Of course.” She was already keeping so many secrets that one more was hardly going to make a difference.
Evie dug her fork into the lemon tart. “So I’m having dinner with Luca tomorrow.” Something about her ultra-casual tone caught Abby’s attention.
“Luca?”
“Yes, Luca. Our Luca. At first I said no because to be honest I’m a bit off dating after my last experience, but then he fed me this sandwich and I thought, why not?”
“A sandwich? I don’t understand why that would change your mind.”
“That’s because you haven’t tasted this particular sandwich. Chicken. The flavours were incredible—a touch of lemon made it sharp, but it was also creamy and smooth with just enough bite.”
“A man made you a sandwich and now you want to go on a date?”
Evie sighed. “There was the cannoli too, but yes, it started with the sandwich. It was his grandmother’s recipe.
Turns out I may have a thing for hot guys who love their grandmothers.
” She fiddled with the slender bracelet on her wrist. “Okay, it’s more than that.
He made me lunch. He noticed I hadn’t eaten, and he wanted me to eat. Nobody notices things like that.”
This wasn’t casual to her at all, Abby thought. It was a big deal.
“That was thoughtful of him.”
“Yes. Deliciously so.” The bracelet was still under attack. “I confess I’m nervous.”
Abby smiled. “I’m getting that. Presumably that’s because you really like him?”
“Yes. I haven’t gone on a date in a while. I almost wish I’d said no. The thought of it is giving me butterflies. I have no idea what to wear. Casual? A bit more dressy?”
Abby waited. “Are you asking me?”
“Yes. All advice gratefully received.” Evie picked up her fork and dug it into her slice of tart.
“I don’t exactly know if this is a date as such, although it’s just the two of us and he picked a place half an hour away in the hope we might have more privacy—” She put her fork down.
“I don’t want to overdress and I don’t want to underdress.
Clothes send a message, don’t they? So what do you think? ”
“I don’t think I’m an expert on clothes, at least not for dating.”
Evie tilted her head. “What did you wear on the last date you went on?”
Todd Tremain, Abby thought. A lawyer who worked for one of the big Boston firms.
“I wore a silk dress, but it wouldn’t have mattered what I was wearing because he spent most of dinner checking out his own reflection in the mirror behind me. Evidently, he preferred his own appearance to mine.”
Evie choked with laughter. “So it went well then.”
Abby laughed too, mostly because Evie’s laughter was infectious. “It was a disaster.” And it felt really good to tell someone and laugh about it. At the time she’d felt annoyed and a little insecure.
“He doesn’t sound like a man who loved his grandmother.”
“I doubt he would even have noticed his grandmother if she’d walked into the room. He was too busy looking at himself.”
“Sounds as if you had a lucky escape. The sex would have been terrible. He would have been wondering how he looked all the time. Do you want any of this tart?” Evie hovered her fork over the last piece. “Because if you don’t speak now, I’m going to finish it.”
“You go ahead.”
Evie speared the last piece. “How did you meet him, Mr I’m-in-love-with-my-own-reflection?”
“He was the colleague of a friend of mine who thought we’d be perfect for each other.”
“You’re kidding.” Evie shook her head. “She doesn’t know you that well, then.”
“No,” Abby said slowly. “I don’t think she does.”
She’d never even thought about it before, but now she was thinking about it.
When did she ever sit with a friend and talk like this? Laugh like this?
Having demolished the tart, Evie picked up her coffee. “As a matter of interest, what exactly did she think would bond you?”
“She said we were both focused on work so neither of us would be annoyed if the other was never around.”
“Wow.” Evie put her cup down. “That’s a low bar for a relationship. Also sad. I assume your friend is single.”
“In fact, she is.”
“Okay, forget that particular date. What did you wear on the last date where you had fun?”
“I went to the opera with a guy who owned a tech startup—Boston is full of them—and he spent the whole night doing something on his phone and being hissed at by the people around us.”
“I said the last date where you had fun.”
“I did have fun. The opera was great, and I ended up going for a late drink with the guy sitting to my left.”
“Oh, respect!” Evie studied her. “And what did tech guy have to say about that?”
“Nothing at all. I don’t think he noticed I’d gone.
He was too busy trying to take over the universe.
But I think I’ve proved that I’m not the person to ask for recommendations on clothing that might enhance your sex life.
I can’t remember what I was wearing but I think it’s safe to say it didn’t capture his attention. ”
“Mm. Maybe I should be the one giving you tips. I thought my dating history was sad, but yours is pitiful.”
“You’re right.” She wanted to ask Evie why her dating history was sad but wasn’t sure that would be appropriate.
She didn’t have conversations like this with people.
It was whole new territory. Presumably if Evie wanted to talk about it, she’d talk.
She didn’t seem to be holding back on other things.
Evie sat back in her chair. “Okay, we’re going to spice up your love life while you’re here, but first we’re going to focus on me because my situation is the more urgent.
I have a blue linen dress that’s pretty.
Cute and summery. I was thinking of wearing that.
Creases like mad of course, so option one is to hang it in the back of the car and drive naked. Change in the car park.”
Abby laughed. “What’s option two?”
“You could drive me, and I could lie flat on the back seat. That would have the added advantage of making sure no locals see me. It would be like driving a getaway car. Also, if it goes badly and I literally want to get away, you’d be there with the engine running. Sounds exciting, don’t you think?”
“It sounds unsafe and not ecofriendly. Is it that important that no one sees you?”
“Yes.” Evie’s smile dimmed. “That’s been a problem for me in the past. I’ll tell you about it sometime, but not now or I’ll talk myself out of going.”
“Right.” Abby moved the subject along. “But what does a getaway driver normally do while they’re killing time and you’re deciding if you want to get away or not?”
“You act as a lookout and message me if someone we know arrives in the car park.”
“The problem with that is that I know very few people and you know everyone.”
“Yes. That’s my problem, right there.” Evie shrugged. “I’m kidding, obviously. I’ll arrive creased. Or try and sit like a plank in the driver’s seat. The creases are always worse when you bend in the middle.”
“Which road will you be taking? Just so I can make sure I’m nowhere near your route.”
Evie stood up. “Come up to my bedroom and I can show you a few more options.”
“I—now?”
“Yes, we can pull out everything I own and you can say yes or no. I don’t have that many options, so it won’t take long.”
“What do you want this outfit to achieve?”
“You mean do I want it to lead to a night of hot sex?” Evie gathered up the plates and pondered. “Probably not. It’s a bit soon. It’s not only about physical chemistry, is it? I want to know if we have other things in common.”
“Given your appetite and his cooking skills I’d say you were a perfect match.”
“Tris said the same thing.”
“You two are close.”
“Yes, we are, but as friends. Nothing more. He’s a sweet-heart when you get to know him.
I can see from your face you don’t believe me.
But he’s had a lot to adjust to lately. He was a mountain guide, you know.
Serious stuff in the Himalayas and the Alps.
Led a pretty nomadic lifestyle so being trapped in one place, even a place like this, is a struggle for him.
That’s why I give him a free pass when he’s grumpy.
He came home to support family. That tells you everything you need to know about him in my book.
” She walked back to the house. “How about a glass of wine? We can take it upstairs while we’re going through the contents of my wardrobe. ”
“Sure. Why not. A small one.”
Abby scooped up the rest of the plates and followed Evie back into the house.
She should have said no, of course. She should have thanked her for inviting her on the run, and for the food, and then made a rapid exit before Evie could spill any more intimacies and secrets.
But Abby didn’t want to. She was enjoying herself too much.
It felt good to make a friend, to chat and joke about normal things, to laugh with someone about the terrible dates she’d had.
Just this one evening, she promised herself, and then she’d find a way to put some distance.
Her phone pinged and she checked it quickly while Evie was raiding the fridge for wine.
It was an email from her mother. Her finger hovered, ready to open it.
“You take the wine, I’ll bring the glasses.” Evie held the bottle out to her and Abby took it and shut her phone off.
She’d answer the email later.
Right now she had to help Evie choose a dress.