Chapter 20
After one long and very welcome hot shower, Lily joined Ben in the kitchen to regale the family with the story of their disastrous escape from the boathouse over dinner.
‘And then the boat sank!’ said Ben, finishing the story to huge roars of laughter.
‘I should have taken a photo when Ben and Lily came into the reception,’ said Frankie, laughing in memory. ‘They looked like they had actually fallen into the lake.’
‘That’s because we had,’ added Ben with another laugh.
‘Have I taught you nothing about being on the water?’ asked Walter, shaking his head but smiling.
‘You’ve taught me that I shouldn’t get into another boat without checking that it’s actually able to float first,’ replied Ben.
‘Then you’ve learnt your lesson,’ said Walter, with a nod.
After a delicious meal, Lily was enjoying the warmth both from the roaring fire and the congenial atmosphere around the table. For once, the awkward atmosphere between Ben and Walter was nowhere to be found.
She was also feeling warm on the inside as well, mostly from the extremely strong cocktail that Frankie had made them all.
‘Wow,’ muttered Hannah with a slight cough upon taking a sip of her drink. ‘That’s pretty strong.’
‘Alcohol is the glue holding this place together,’ said Frankie, with a wink.
‘Not love?’ asked Faye, with a soft smile.
‘Oh, that’s sweet,’ said Frankie, giving her friend a nudge with her elbow. ‘But no. You’re wrong. It’s definitely alcohol.’
Everyone laughed once more.
‘Just what did you put in this?’ asked Ben, staring at the cocktail glass he had just sipped from with wide eyes.
‘Everything, from what I’ve just tasted,’ replied Walter with a grimace, putting down his half-full glass carefully on the table as if it was about to detonate.
‘Is this something you’ve made before?’ asked Lily, taking another, much smaller tentative sip.
‘It’s an old recipe. I used to be a barmaid,’ Frankie told her. ‘Let me tell you, you never lose that magic touch.’
‘Is that what we’re calling it?’ asked Ben, locking eyes with Lily briefly to share a smile.
He seemed like a different person, thought Lily. Was it the soaking in the lake that they had had? The earlier talk to clear the air? Or perhaps just the strong alcohol, she told herself.
Either way, she was enjoying the new, relaxed Ben who was sitting across the table from her that evening.
‘What I don’t understand is what you were both doing in the boathouse in the first place?’ asked Frankie, looking from Ben to Lily.
‘Lily was looking for artistic inspiration when I left her in there,’ said Faye.
Lily glanced at Ben before taking a deep breath. ‘Then when Ben found me, I decided it was time to tell him the truth about my job.’
Hannah frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked, looking confused. ‘What truth?’
‘I lost my job,’ announced Lily, with a small gulp. ‘Two weeks ago. Just before you rang me, Hannah.’
She was about to carry on when Ben interrupted her. ‘Redundancies,’ he said.
The fierce look in his eyes made her not want to disagree with his small lie.
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ said Faye. ‘That must have been a real shock for you.’
Lily looked at Hannah. ‘I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you but I was embarrassed. You were so keen for me to come here and I didn’t want to let you down.’
Hannah shook her head. ‘You should have told me,’ she said in a quiet tone.
‘She is telling you,’ said Ben. ‘Right now, in fact.’
Lily was grateful for his support but still felt bad about the hurt look in Hannah’s eyes. Once more, she felt bad that she hadn’t owned up before that moment and been truthful with her friend.
‘The most important thing is that Lily is going to help us redecorate the whole hotel from top to bottom,’ said Ben. ‘In her own style.’
They shared a secret smile. She was grateful that he wasn’t going to reveal her clandestine plan that had been at odds with his own ideas. They were finally on the same page, it felt.
‘And then what?’ asked Faye, looking at Lily.
‘Well, after this job, I’ve big plans to set up my own business,’ replied Lily. ‘I’ve always wanted my own interior design company so hopefully that dream will finally become a reality.’
‘Well, if we get this right you’ll have the best recommendation from us,’ said Walter.
‘Where will you go?’ asked Hannah, looking concerned.
‘I’ve no idea,’ Lily replied truthfully, with a sigh.
‘You should stay on with us in the meantime,’ said Dotty, smiling warmly. ‘This place is beautiful in the summer.’
Lily shot Ben a quick glance. ‘That’s very kind,’ she began.
‘Perhaps Lily has other places she would like to go, Grandma,’ said Ben.
Dotty frowned. ‘But she just said that she had no plans,’ replied his grandmother.
‘Of course Lily is welcome to stay with us to help finish the hotel,’ said Ben. ‘And after that, it’s up to her.’
Walter nodded thoughtfully. ‘Well, we’ll be glad to have you stay on, however long that’s for.’
‘And I’ve decided that the first thing I’m going to do tomorrow is hang a brand-new door on the boathouse,’ said Ben, obviously trying to change the subject for which Lily was grateful. ‘Preferably one that opens from both sides.’
‘What for?’ asked Frankie, looking confused, despite the laughter around the table. ‘Who’s going to be using it?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Ben, his laugh fading. ‘I thought perhaps that in the future we could use the boathouse for something. That’s why I’ve made sure that the electrics and plumbing updates reached that far.’
‘I’ve always loved that building,’ said Dotty in a dreamy voice. ‘The view is one of my favourites.’
‘Mine too,’ said Walter.
‘So we’ll see it renovated as well very soon?’ asked Dotty in a hopeful tone.
‘I think we’d better do the hotel first, Grandma,’ Ben told her, looking a little pale. ‘Before the money runs out.’
‘Oh, we’ll be fine with Lily in charge of the interiors,’ said Dotty, looking not at all concerned. ‘I guarantee that the place will be packed with guests as soon as she’s finished making it look pretty.’
‘I hope so,’ said Lily, giving Dotty a warm smile.
She took heart from the fact that the family weren’t concerned that she no longer worked for the interior design firm. In fact, they seemed more interested and excited by the fact that she was staying on for as long as the updates took.
She was excited too, she realised. It wasn’t just about the job, whatever prospects it would bring her. She wasn’t quite ready to leave this warm and loving family yet.
She looked at Ben once more. He really was quite handsome, she decided as she watched him chat to his mum and Frankie. But it must have been just the strong drink talking, she thought.
After dinner, when the family took their drinks into the lounge, Lily stayed behind in the kitchen with Hannah to clear the table and load the dishwasher.
Lily sensed that Hannah was still upset about her lie and wanted to clear the air. But it was Hannah who spoke first.
‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about losing your job. Don’t you trust me?’ asked Hannah, once they were alone.
‘Of course I do,’ Lily told her. ‘And it was wrong of me not to tell you as soon as I found out.’
‘I should have known,’ muttered Hannah. ‘You’ve always been a little secretive with all of us.’
‘Not deliberately,’ said Lily quickly, anxious that she might have damaged their friendship forever.
She thought back to her conversation with Ben and decided that the time had come to be a little more honest with her best friend.
‘The trouble is,’ she carried on tentatively before hesitating.
Hannah watched her and said nothing, waiting for her to speak.
So Lily had to carry on. ‘The trouble is,’ she began once more, deciding to be brave, ‘I’m rubbish at friends. I never really told you how lonely my childhood was growing up. Until I moved into that house and met the three of you, I had no friends at all. Not through school. Nobody.’
Hannah gasped. ‘Truly?’ she asked. ‘You never said!’
Lily nodded. ‘We moved around so much that we were never anywhere long enough for me to make friends. And since then I’ve been so busy concentrating on my career, trying to prove my parents wrong actually.
I wanted to show them that I had chosen the right job.
And it became all-encompassing, the need to be right.
’ Her throat became thick as she tried to hold back the tears.
‘And that was wrong of me. Because you and Beth and Ella are more important than my job. Than anything. I love having you all as my friends. Truly, I do.’
Lily was about to carry on, when she found herself smothered by one of Hannah’s warm hugs. She let herself lean against her friend briefly before taking a step backwards.
‘We’ve always known that you’re ambitious,’ said Hannah. ‘That’s not a crime.’
‘Yes, but I let it get bigger than everything else in my life,’ said Lily, a tear escaping to roll down her cheek. ‘I started concentrating on my deadlines and cancelling seeing you all. I even missed your birthday party!’
‘It doesn’t matter now,’ said Hannah, reaching out to squeeze her hand. ‘We can start again.’
Lily nodded. Perhaps it was time to start over. ‘I want to stay, if that’s OK with you. To help wherever I can.’
Hannah smiled. ‘Of course it’s OK. It’s the best news I’ve heard for a long time. I want you here. And so do my family. They need you,’ she carried on. ‘We all do. If the hotel is going to be a success.’
‘It will be,’ said Lily, with a firm nod.
Because it turned out that she needed this job. This hotel. This family. Perhaps even more than they needed her.