Chapter 23
Alexandra
Alexandra was eating breakfast on the balcony when there was a tap on the door and her daughter stepped into the room.
She put her coffee cup down. “Come on in. I’m enjoying the sun and the breeze. It’s a perfect combination.”
“You’re eating breakfast?” Abby stepped onto the balcony. “You never eat breakfast.”
That was true. Alexandra glanced at the few flakes of croissant left on the plate. She’d pulled off a corner intending to sample it and somehow ended up eating the whole thing.
“I could tell you that I’m sampling Chef ’s handiwork, but I’d be lying. I’m eating breakfast because I’m hungry and the rumours about Luca’s skills are all true. I was surprised to find him making breakfast.”
“We have an excellent breakfast chef, but Luca is in overall charge obviously and he believes it’s important to work with all members of the kitchen staff. And he has introduced a new breakfast menu. We’re offering brioche and granita for our more adventurous guests.”
“I approve.” Alexandra caught sight of the undisturbed bed and wished she’d had the foresight to rumple the sheets a little. “How was your evening?”
Abby flushed. “It was good. Thanks.”
The flush interested her. She remembered something Edward had mentioned the night before about the man whose family owned the pub. Tristan?
She’d never asked her daughter about her relationships before, instead accepting what she was told and never delving deeper. So why was she suddenly desperate to know more?
It wasn’t her business. Her daughter was allowed to have secrets.
But she wanted to share them. They’d shared so many other things since she’d arrived, why not this?
She stood there feeling clumsy and inept. She had no intention of betraying a confidence, which meant she needed to find another way to coax her daughter to tell her about it.
“I was thinking that maybe later we could—”
“Mom!” Abby blurted out the words. “I need to talk to you. About work.”
Work.
She felt a flicker of disappointment, although she knew that was unreasonable. Work was invariably the focus of their conversation. Up until this moment it had been the way she preferred it, but that was because she’d had so much to hide. So much she hadn’t wanted to talk about.
Now that everything was out in the open, there was no reason for their conversation topics to be constrained or restricted.
But maybe it was going to take a while to change that. Sharing with her daughter was something she needed to learn how to do, and she would.
And in the meantime, she’d listen.
“Why don’t you sit down? Have you had breakfast?”
“No, but I—I’m not hungry.” Abby sat. She perched on the edge of her seat, her back straight. “Do you have a replacement in mind for Jack?”
Alexandra finished her coffee and put the cup down. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about,” she said carefully. “Why? Do you have someone in mind?”
“Yes.” Abby looked at her. “Me.”
“You?”
“I know you probably don’t think it’s the best thing for me professionally—”
“I think the job would be perfect for you,” Alexandra said. “And I think you’d be perfect for the job.”
Abby stared at her. “You do?”
“Of course. I’m your biggest supporter. Surely you know that by now.”
“I thought you might—”
“Want to keep you in Boston?” Of course, selfishly, it was what she’d like.
Her daughter was the most precious thing in her life.
Which was why she would let her go with a smile, at least on the outside.
That was what parenting was all about, wasn’t it?
You taught them to fly, and when they eventually flew you felt equal amounts of pride and loss.
“I want you to be happy, Abby. And you look happy.”
“I am. These last few weeks have been the happiest of my working life.”
It was a relief to hear it because there had been moments when she’d doubted her decision, mostly when Abby had protested at the idea of being undercover.
“You like the people.”
“The people, the place—” Abby glanced out towards the ocean “—all of it.”
“I thought maybe you’d want to be general manager.”
“No.” Abby turned her head back to her mother. “That’s Evie’s role. And she’ll be great at it.”
But did she want it?
Alexandra thought about the call she’d had from one of her contacts who worked at a rival establishment in London. It had been good to catch up after all this time. And it had been an interesting conversation.
Evie had told no one, she thought. Not Abby, who she’d become close to.
And not her father. And Alexandra didn’t mention it now.
If Evie had wanted people to know she was thinking of leaving, she would have told them.
Alexandra believed if someone wanted to keep something to themselves, they should be allowed to do it.
“You’re sure you wouldn’t want it?”
“General manager? No. I’m more interested in being UK manager. We have six hotels here and it’s obvious they haven’t been getting the support they deserve. I think I’d be good at that side of things. I have the experience to—”
“Abby,” Alexandra interrupted her, her voice gentle. “This isn’t an interview. You don’t have to sell yourself to me. No one knows your qualities better than I do. The job is yours if you want it. Where will you base yourself?”
“I thought that to begin with I’d stay here.
It’s easy enough to travel around, and I can give Evie moral support.
And it means I can carry on doing the things I’ve been enjoying—running on the coast path, swimming in the sea—” Abby looked at her and gave a half laugh.
“You know, don’t you? Well, of course you do.
You’ve been here for twenty-four hours which is more than enough time for the gossip drums to beat.
Or are you going to tell me you never listen to gossip? ”
“Not at all. I love gossip, but people rarely include me. It’s a shame, because one learns a great deal. I’m looking forward to meeting this man you seem to have formed a bond with. Tristan, is it?”
“What exactly have you been told?”
“Not much,” Alexandra said. “But I see a change in you that’s not all down to fresh salt air and stimulating employment.”
“I like him. He has been—” Abby paused. “A good friend to me.”
Alexandra was sure it wasn’t the “friend” side of things that was responsible for the healthy glow on her daughter’s cheeks, but she was happy not to delve into the details.
“One good friend is worth a thousand acquaintances.”
“True. So what happens now?”
Good question, and one she’d been asking herself since she’d woken up in Edward’s bed that morning.
She pushed that romantic detail aside. “We’ll need to finalise details for the job here. You’ll fly back to Boston once a month or so. You’ll need somewhere to stay so I assume you’ll keep the apartment.”
“I’ll rent it out. I can stay with you if I’m in the city.” Abby reached out across the table. “I’ll miss you, Mom.”
The unexpected declaration caught the back of her throat.
“I’ll miss you, too.” She was surprised how easy it was to say it, and she squeezed her daughter’s hand. “But we’ll be seeing plenty of each other so I’m not too worried about that. As well as seeing you in Boston, I plan on spending more time here.”
It was something she’d decided that morning, as she’d watched the sunrise from the protective circle of Edward’s arms. The bedroom window had been open and she’d breathed in the sea air and wondered how she could have forgotten all that was good about this place.
A cloud had hovered over it, but now that cloud had cleared.
Abby was watching her closely. “You’ll spend more time here because of the hotel?”
Alexandra thought about everything that had happened the night before. Her own bed might be smooth and pristine, but if anyone had taken the time to glance into Edward’s bedroom they would have found the sheets decidedly rumpled.
“Partly, but not entirely.”
Abby gave a wide smile. “Are you going to give me detail, or do I have to go and eat fish and chips and ask Meg?”
“There’s nothing to tell.” Yet.
But there could be. And she was sure that there would be. And that was as much a surprise to her as it would no doubt be to her daughter.
“He’s a special man,” Abby said softly, and Alexandra nodded.
He was, but still it hadn’t occurred to her that anything might happen. She’d considered their relationship to be in the past. But Edward had made it clear that the past was behind them, and she would be the first to agree with that. What they had now was the present and the future.
She was looking forward to both.