Chapter 38
Ben tugged at his tie, which he had only just knotted over his shirt.
‘Damn thing’s strangling me,’ he muttered, pulling at it as he checked his appearance in the large mirror in the entrance hall.
‘Leave it alone,’ said Hannah, reaching up to pat it back into place. ‘I’ll loosen it a little but we’ve all got to look smart this evening.’
He had to admit that even his sister had made an effort that evening, teaming high heels and black trousers with a silky blue top.
‘Don’t know why we have to be trussed up like this,’ he moaned. ‘I mean, these are local villagers. I went to school with some of them.’
‘Not everyone will be,’ she reminded him. ‘Ella’s put the word out and you’ve got local travel bloggers and influencers coming here as well, thanks to her. These professionals could make a real difference to our success.’
‘Humph.’ He looked at his sister. ‘Since when did you get so wise all of a sudden?’
‘I always was,’ she told him, laughing. ‘Now leave that tie alone.’
‘Nobody’s getting married tonight, are they?’ he grumbled.
Hannah glanced over his shoulder and smiled. ‘Well, I know at least one beautiful single woman that’ll be here tonight, if you’re thinking about proposing.’
Ben spun around to follow her gaze and found himself gulping. Lily was coming down the stairs. But it wasn’t the same Lily who had headed up there only half an hour ago, dressed in jeans and jumper.
Now she was transformed and he couldn’t stop himself staring.
She was wearing a grey jumper dress. It was classic and understated but there was nothing simple about the way it showed off her long legs as it only reached above her knees, nor the long suede boots which covered the bottom half of her legs.
Her long red hair hung about her shoulders in soft waves and he had to mentally fix his arms to his sides to stop himself reaching out to stroke it as she walked up to them.
‘I love that top,’ she said to Hannah before turning to look Ben up and down. ‘Nice suit,’ she added.
‘Uh-huh,’ he managed to croak out.
Lily raised her eyebrows at him in surprise.
‘He’s a bag of nerves,’ said Hannah quickly. ‘About this evening.’
And Ben had never been more grateful for his sister than in that moment.
‘You look lovely,’ carried on Hannah.
‘You think?’ Lily glanced down at herself. ‘It’s a bit close fitting but all those walks around the lake mean that hopefully all your amazing cakes haven’t done too much damage.’
Ben stared at her curves and found his brain almost disconnecting. Thankfully Lily didn’t appear to notice.
‘So is everyone ready?’ asked Lily, glancing around.
‘We’re all set,’ replied Hannah.
‘Good job there’s so many of us tonight,’ said Lily.
Finally Ben’s brain clicked back into place. ‘At this point we might have more staff than guests,’ he managed to say.
Lily looked at him, her dark emerald eyes smiling softly at him. ‘It’ll be fine,’ she told him.
Ben blinked at her and, finding himself at a total loss for words, spun around to walk away before he did something crazy like take her into his arms and kiss her.
He had nearly done so the previous evening before Ella had interrupted them by the shore. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. His crush on Lily aside, he had far too much to worry about that evening and tried to focus on his to-do list rather than Lily’s curves.
He went into the lounge, checking that the fire was still roaring, that all the fairy lights were on and that the candles were lit as well. Outside, he could already see his grandad’s floating wicker baskets bobbing on the water nearby, lighting up the lake in pretty blues, greens and pinks.
‘We’re all set, I reckon,’ said Alex, coming out of the snug to smile at him. He was also smartened up in a dark shirt and tie which showed off his wide shoulders. ‘Just bring on the guests.’
‘If they come,’ said Ben, his fears still bubbling near the surface.
Jake strode into the lounge, his chef’s apron still firmly in place. ‘Just give me the nod and I’ll start bringing out the trays to tempt our many visitors.’
Ben groaned. This had been a crazy idea. What if nobody came? What if it were a total failure and after all their hard work, the hotel was still doomed?
‘What’s his problem?’ asked Jake, nodding at Ben.
‘He thinks nobody’s going to turn up,’ Alex told him.
Jake laughed. ‘Well, I’ve just seen three cars pull up in the car park so somebody’s come, in any case.’
Ben gave a start. ‘You did?’
He rushed out of the lounge and into the reception, just in time to watch Lily step forward to greet their first guests. When another group of people followed almost immediately behind, Ben went to meet them. At least this time he recognised the faces.
‘Welcome to Maple Tree Lodge,’ he said, with a warm smile.
He instantly relaxed. He knew the Connolly family already as he had gone to school with the two brothers standing in front of him. ‘Ryan, Ethan, glad you could come,’ he said, shaking their hands.
‘Nice to see you, mate,’ said Ryan, stepping forward. ‘Thought I’d check out our competition.’
Ben had heard that there were now a couple of Airbnb railway carriages that Ryan and his fiancée Katy had renovated to hire out.
‘Of course we were going to come,’ added Ethan, Ryan’s brother, before shaking his hand. ‘We wanted to see what you’ve done with the old place.’
‘Well, we took inspiration from what you’ve done with the Cranfield,’ Ben told him with a grin.
After Ryan and Katy had updated the nearby railway station into a successful coffee shop and restaurant, Ethan had completed the family success story with overhauling the steam engine, making Cranfield a now much-visited local attraction.
‘Then I know how much hard work and money this has taken,’ said Ryan, looking around. ‘This looks great.’
‘Thanks,’ said Ben. ‘Look, come in and I’ll show you around.’
But as he said that, he glanced over their shoulder and saw Dodgy Del.
‘Del?’ he said, surprised to see him.
‘Our cousin tagged along,’ drawled Ethan, rolling his eyes. ‘Hope you don’t mind but we can’t seem to shake him off.’
‘No need to be so mean after all I’ve done for you all,’ said Del, looking almost insulted.
‘Done?’ said Ryan, laughing. ‘You’ve nearly destroyed most of our hard work a number of times!’
‘You too?’ asked Ben, with a sigh. ‘I thought it was just us.’
‘No, Del’s catastrophes are not just limited to Cranley,’ said Ethan. ‘He can cause chaos wherever he goes.’
‘Charming,’ muttered Del, before looking at Ben. ‘And you owe me, mate.’
‘How on earth do I owe you after all the electricity you’ve been stealing for your bloomin’ taxi service?’ asked Ben.
‘Because I’ve put the word out for you all,’ he said, glancing over his shoulder. ‘Pulled in a few favours and, well, see the results for yourself.’
Ben peered over Del’s shoulder and gasped in shock. There was a long stream of cars weaving their way through the woods towards the car park which was already over half-full. Masses of people were climbing out of their cars, all intent on seeing the hotel’s renovation.
Ben turned to Del in awe.
‘Looks like you owe me a nice big drink after all those insults,’ said Del, with a wide grin. ‘I’ll be at the bar if anyone needs me.’