Chapter 14
Evie
Evie was sifting through applications, feeling despondent. Why was it so hard to find good people?
Everyone fell short when compared with Abby.
She wondered if there was any way she could persuade Abby to take a permanent job.
That would at least solve some of her problems.
Tristan’s slightly cynical attitude had made her wary at first. As a result, she’d kept her expectations low when it came to Abby, but within hours she’d proved herself to be nothing short of an asset.
And now, a little over three weeks later, it felt as if she’d always been here.
Evie felt a little smug that her initial instincts had been correct.
She needed to remember to point that out to Tristan next time she saw him, as he was always accusing her of being na?ve and far too trusting.
Not only had Abby proved to be a hard worker who was willing to throw herself into anything and go wherever she was needed, she did it without moaning or whingeing. Nor did she insist on doing things the way Gerald had always done them.
And Abby seemed to have inside knowledge about everything. She knew how to remove stubborn stains from carpets, she could fix a dripping tap without needing to call the maintenance team, and she was able to work at speed.
Evie usually allowed double the necessary time for jobs to be completed because the staff chatted as they worked.
Abby somehow managed to be friendly but still complete a job in under the time allocated.
And she had a keen eye for detail. She noticed the slightest mark on a pillow, or a sticky fingerprint on a cupboard door.
She had an excellent memory for names, and greeted all the guests personally.
When Donna’s mother had fallen and she’d had to take her to the hospital Abby had stepped in and worked the reception desk, charming all the guests and impressing everyone with her knowledge.
And she was becoming a good friend.
Evie smiled to herself. Yesterday on their run she’d confessed to her developing relationship with Luca. Part of her was worried about talking about it in case she jinxed it, but she was falling hard for him and was desperate to confide in someone.
Abby had proved to be the perfect audience. Receptive and excited in equal measure.
When Evie had told her that she’d finally spent the night at Luca’s apartment, Abby had hugged her. His apartment was slightly out of town, so Evie had decided that the chances of bumping into anyone she knew were vastly reduced. Not that Luca seemed to care.
Abby had wanted to know all the details and had seemed as happy about it as Evie was.
But at work she was the soul of discretion.
It was good to have a friend who hadn’t grown up here.
Who hadn’t watched her grow from child to adult and didn’t feel the need to comment on the process.
And maybe their friendship had extra depth because they shared a similar background.
They’d each grown up with one parent. They’d suffered a similar loss and that gave them a connection.
For the first time since she’d stepped into Gerald’s shoes, Evie was starting to enjoy coming to work.
She eyed the email in her inbox. She’d now had two interviews with the hotel in London and really liked the people. She was waiting to hear if she was through to the final stage, which would be an inperson interview in London.
What would she do if that happened?
Finding time to go up to London without everyone asking awkward questions wouldn’t be easy. What would she say to people?
And there was an emotional element, too. Throughout this process she’d been telling herself she was testing the waters, but a final inperson interview felt like commitment. What would happen to her relationship with Luca if she left?
She glanced at the clock. She was seeing him again tonight and she couldn’t wait.
Never had time moved so slowly. She was amazed no one else had noticed and said something because she was struggling to behave normally around him.
Even that morning when he’d come to her office first thing to discuss menus, she found herself distracted by his eyelashes.
They were long and thick and he had a way of looking at her as if—
“Evie!” Donna burst into her office. “Have you heard about last night?”
Last night? She hadn’t seen Luca, so that couldn’t be it.
“What happened last night? Have you seen Abby, by the way? She’s late, and that’s not like her.” Evie checked her phone in case there was a message. “Should I call?”
Donna grinned. “So you haven’t heard.”
“Heard what?”
“She led quite the party in the pub last night. Oh, by the way, Mr and Mrs Spencer have cancelled tonight, but I’ve told them there’s no charge.”
“No charge?” Evie forced Luca and his long eyelashes out of her head and focused on work. “We have a cancellation policy.”
“I know, but Gerald never charges loyal guests, even if we don’t manage to rebook the room. Anyway, and more importantly, it turns out that our Abby plays the piano. According to Nick Holland, who heard it from Steve Mathews who was actually there, she had everyone on their feet dancing.”
Evie made a mental note to review the cancellation policy and talk to staff.
No wonder their profits were down. They might as well let everyone stay free.
She tried to focus on what Donna was saying.
“Abby played the piano?”
“Yes. And she hasn’t mentioned it once in all these weeks we’ve been working together.”
“But I saw her last night. We went for a run. I left her on the cliff because she had to call someone in Boston. She didn’t mention playing in the pub.”
“From what I could gather it was a spontaneous thing. Ray went down with something and called in sick. She stood in for him. And after she’d finished playing, she and Tristan were dancing together.”
Evie tried to picture it. “Tristan? Dancing? Are you sure?”
“Yes. I would have given a lot to see that, too. And at one point Abby was dancing on the table. Ask anyone who was there and you’ll get the picture.
But I was thinking that seeing as she’s such a good piano player, maybe we ought to make use of her talents here.
Get a piano in the bar. Liven up the evenings. ”
“There is no way Abby would have danced on the table! She’s far too dignified.”
“Not last night she wasn’t. There’s obviously another side to her.”
Evie wished she’d been there to see it. “You’re sure it was Abby?”
“Oh yes.” Donna winked at her. “There are photos doing the rounds. You just have to ask the right people.”
“But—” Evie broke off as Abby walked into the office. “Hi there! I was starting to worry about you. Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I’m sorry I’m late.” She walked carefully, as if every step was painful. Her face was a sickly colour, and she had black smudges under her eyes that make-up hadn’t managed to conceal.
“You look terrible. Are you ill?” Concerned, Evie stood up quickly. “Sit down.”
Abby grabbed the back of the chair, her knuckles whitening. “I can’t apologise enough.”
“Really, it’s fine. Why are you even here? You should have called in sick.”
“I’m not sick. Not exactly. And I’ll make up the time, obviously.”
“Abby, it doesn’t matter. And from what I’ve heard, you earned that lie-in. Rumours about your amazing piano playing have spread through the village. And your dancing. You should have called me! I love dancing.”
Abby winced and rubbed her forehead with her fingers. “It was all a bit spontaneous. Ray was sick. I played a few pieces. People seemed to like it.”
“From what I’ve heard, you were a hit.” She was dying to ask how Abby had come to be dancing with Tristan, but she was going to wait until they were alone together because Abby was unlikely to reveal anything with Donna in the room.
“I really am sorry I’m late. I’ve never been late to work in my life.”
“Well, I’m sure you—” Evie broke off as she saw Abby’s expression. “Never?”
“Never.”
“Not even five minutes when the traffic was bad?”
“No. I always leave enough time for the unexpected. This is a first for me. There have been a lot of those since yesterday.” She fumbled for her bag and poked inside for a moment before giving up and closing her eyes briefly. “Do we have a first aid kit? I could use some painkillers.”
“That would be the third glass of wine you had. Large glasses, from what I heard.” Donna patted her on the shoulder. “I know exactly what you need. Painkillers, a bacon sandwich and a strong black coffee. Leave it with me.”
“I really couldn’t eat—” Abby began but Donna had gone. “I’m sorry, Evie. You have every right to be angry.”
Evie grinned. “I’m angry that you didn’t invite me. It sounds like a great evening. You had three glasses of wine?”
“Please don’t remind me. I only ever have one, but when I offered to play piano and realised how many people would be watching—well, I thought a second one might be a good idea.
And maybe that would have been okay but then Tristan brought me a third one.
” Abby rubbed her fingers across her forehead.
“Drinking that was a bad decision. One of many that I made last night.”
“Ooh—” Evie leaned forward “—please tell me one of those bad decisions involved Tristan.”
Abby swallowed. “Evie, I have to talk to you. There’s something I have to—need to tell you.”
Evie decided the day was getting better by the minute. “Did you have sex with him? You need to tell me everything that happened. I want all the details. I promise I will not tell a soul.”
“No, we didn’t have sex! Although I think I might have tried. But—that’s not it. I—” Abby rubbed her forehead. “I don’t even know how to say this. I don’t know where to start.”