Chapter Five
Hayley
‘ I ’ve always loved this place.’ Hayley pulled into the car park of The Loch View Hotel. Could have been the fact that it was painted pink. Anything pink was good. Even though no one seemed to know exactly why it was that colour, that unique feature made it a famous local landmark and locals always referred to it as the pink hotel. It was also beautifully situated on the shores of Loch Briar. The surrounding trees were popping with colour in their autumn glory, and it brought a smile to Hayley’s face. Who wouldn’t love living in a place as gorgeous as this? The scenery around Glenbriar was unrivalled and with the town itself being such an awesome little place, she never wanted to live anywhere else.
‘I love it too,’ Genevieve agreed.
‘I haven’t ever been inside,’ Lilah said. ‘But it looks cute.’
‘Let’s get you an education then.’ Hayley smiled at Lilah. She was a real sweetheart, but had had a troubled past. Aidan was the perfect man for her, or more like they were perfect together, but Hayley still liked to keep Lilah under her wing.
‘So, if we come here for the sten,’ Genevieve said, ‘what exactly would we be doing?’
‘The owner, Briony, I don’t know if you know her,’ Hayley said. ‘I’ve been doing her hair for a while now. Anyway, she said they could put on a murder mystery evening for us and we could all dress up in twenties or thirties costumes like we were in an Agatha Christie drama.’
‘That sounds intriguing.’ Genevieve shaded her eyes as she looked around. ‘I like the sound of it, but you know I’ll like anything you arrange.’
‘Agatha Christie’s books are great,’ Lilah said. ‘I always enjoy classic books and they’re so well written, so clever.’
‘I haven’t even read them.’ Hayley gave a rueful shrug. ‘But I love the films and old TV shows. My mum and I love Hercule Poirot. He’s so funny.’
They went inside and were greeted by a receptionist.
‘Hi.’ Hayley approached her. ‘I wonder if I could speak to Briony. She knows we’re coming. It’s to chat about a sten party.’
‘Sure.’ The receptionist picked up a phone, and a few moments later, Briony appeared from a side door.
‘Hi.’ She smiled at them all, and Hayley embraced her. ‘Good to see you. And which one of you is the bride-to-be?’ She looked between Genevieve and Lilah.
‘They’re both brides-to-be actually,’ Hayley said. ‘But it’s Genevieve we’re having the sten for.’ She pointed out Genevieve.
‘Lovely,’ Briony said. ‘And you’re both getting married. That’s exciting. I can show you the function room where we would hold the dinner if you decide this is the option for you. You’d have to give me a bit of notice though, as I have to hire the group who put on the murder. It’s a small group of actors. We’ve had them a couple of times before and they’re great.’
They followed her through the main dining room to a side room.
‘It’s roomy enough for up to thirty people. If you needed more, we could always host it in the main dining room.’
‘I think this would be brilliant.’ Lilah’s eyes widened.
Genevieve took Hayley by the arm and whispered, ‘Maybe we should have a sten here for Lilah, and I could do something different.’
‘That might not be a bad idea. I don’t think anyone has done one for her. I’ll speak to Aidan.’
Hayley looked around with Genevieve as Briony went over to Lilah. Lilah was clearly sold on the idea of a murder mystery, though Hayley wasn’t convinced it was the right thing for Finlay and Genevieve. As Lilah chatted enthusiastically about her wedding plans to Briony, the words drifted into Hayley’s consciousness and a strange sensation crept over her. A shadow of something she wasn’t used to, something that made her a bit hot and slightly sick. Was it jealousy? How could it be? She was happy for Lilah. Just as she was happy for Genevieve and her brother and she wanted them to be happy too. A hollow ache inside grew heavier, like she was hungry for something, but at the same time nothing appealed.
‘Aidan suggested we get married here,’ Lilah said. ‘But we both like the outdoors idea better. Even if it rains, it doesn’t matter. Being outside is much more us. But maybe we could do the murder dinner before the wedding. We don’t have a big budget, but it sounds fun.’
‘I think you should,’ Hayley agreed. ‘I think it’s perfect and we’ll all chip in.’
‘Totally.’ Genevieve brought her hands together. ‘And your outdoor wedding sounds very exciting.’
‘And very Aidan.’ Hayley flicked Lilah a little grin. ‘I even expect him to invite the bees.’
Lilah chuckled. ‘I think he might.’
Hayley patted her on the back, trying to stop the sensation rising again. She had no need to be jealous of either Genevieve or Lilah. She loved them both and knew they’d caught two amazing guys in her brother and her cousin. And really, she wasn’t jealous of them – just their situations. It hadn’t been plain sailing for either of them but they’d got there; they’d found their special person and they were happily planning their futures. Genevieve had been the champion of the single girl for a long time, but she’d cast off that mantel and was enjoying life as part of a couple. Hayley might insist she didn’t mind being single, but she kind of did. She wasn’t a loner. People featured heavily in her life and she loved having them about. But that one special person still eluded her.
Why, at that exact moment, did she have to think of Oliver? Seriously she did not need him cropping up anywhere near thoughts about special people. He may be special, but not in a good way. How irritating was he? And how rude to leave her doing this while he buggered off on his cycle run? Granted, it was more fun with the girls, but still infuriating. The vision of him standing by his bike in his cycle gear reared in her mind and she stifled a laugh. Jesus. Those outfits were hideous. She’d often chuckled at Finlay and Aidan in them, but Oliver… Christ . Must stop this train of thought! That Lycra hadn’t left much to the imagination. Why had he hidden behind his bike? It wasn’t like he had anything to be ashamed of… Though she did! Why had she even looked in the first place? This was the slippery slope alright. The door of denial was creeping open. How could she deny Oliver was hot? He might be a grumpy twat, but he was a hot grumpy twat.
‘What are you laughing at?’ Lilah asked.
‘What?’ Hayley glanced at her. ‘Oh… I, er, can’t remember.’
They had lunch at the hotel before driving to a local water sports centre around the lochside. The owner was a pleasant young woman called Eleanor. Genevieve recognised her and they all melted at the sight of her tiny little baby in a carrier at her chest. Hayley’s insides turned to goo at the sight of the baby’s little hands. How cute and itsy bitsy was she? One day Hayley wanted one of them for herself… though, of course, a vital part of the equation was missing.
Eleanor talked them through the various adventure sports they could take part in if they decided to hold the sten here. Hayley tried not to laugh at the expression on Genevieve’s face – outdoor sports were so obviously not her thing.
‘Is Logan doing the Spin-Off today?’ Genevieve asked Eleanor, possibly in a deliberate attempt to steer the conversation away from white-water rafting.
‘Yes,’ Eleanor said. ‘I’m a cycling widow for the day.’
‘Me too.’ Genevieve gave her a commiserative look. ‘Or widow-to-be. So’s Lilah.’
But not me, Hayley thought.
‘If you want to see where we do the water sports, you can walk over the hill and then down the other side to the loch. The new centre is there.’
‘Ok. We’ll take a look. Thanks,’ Hayley said.
‘You know how I said I wouldn’t mind anything you chose,’ Genevieve said as they headed up the hill some minutes later. ‘I don’t think I was including adventure sports. Can you imagine me in a canoe? Or crossing a gorge on a rope?’
Hayley laughed. ‘No, and I can’t imagine doing it either. But I kind of fancied white-water rafting. It always looks so cool.’
‘Not to me.’ Genevieve pulled a face.
‘I’d give gorge-crossing a go,’ Lilah said.
‘You’re braver than me.’ Hayley put her arm around her shoulder. ‘And younger and more foolhardy.’
‘Not that much younger.’ Lilah pulled a face.
‘Five years… That’s pretty young.’
‘The guys would love this.’ Genevieve shielded her eyes and squinted at the view of the approaching loch. ‘We could always do things in tandem with them.’
‘And what about me?’ Hayley asked.
‘We could always strap you to Oliver and send you canyoning,’ Genevieve suggested. ‘Then you could attempt to drown him under the pretext of having fun.’
‘Good god, no.’ Hayley held up her palm. ‘I never want to get that close to him. He drives me insane.’
Genevieve waggled her eyebrows. ‘He may have other ways of doing that… but they all involve getting very close indeed.’
‘Stop.’ Hayley threw up her hand. ‘I forbid you to say anything like that ever again. It’s almost as bad as giving me TMI about your relationship with my brother. Anymore chat like this and I might have to shove you in the loch.’
Genevieve laughed just as Hayley’s phone vibrated in her pocket.
‘Oh heck. It’s Andrew, the salon owner. He never calls unless it’s something catastrophic.’ An exaggeration maybe, but as the owner of a chain of salons across the country, he was a busy man and the Glenbriar salon didn’t usually even register on his recognition scale, which was fine by them. The stylists there got by themselves with minimal interference but still enjoyed the security of being part of a chain, and they also got invited to large company functions in Edinburgh every Christmas. ‘Hello.’ Hayley tried to sound professional, not petrified.
‘Hayley. Wonderful to talk to you again. I really need to make a visit sometime and catch up on the latest in person, but I’m so strapped for time.’
‘Yeah…’ Was this why he was calling? Did he want to arrange a visit? And why call on her day off if that was the case?
‘So, just giving you a call to let you know there’s a spare ticket going for the Hair Show in London. I know it’s short notice, and it’s the girls from the Musselburgh salon’s turn this year, but there’s an extra one. I remembered you and Amber had a wonderful time there last year and the ideas you’ve put into place since then have been excellent, so I wondered if either of you would like to go again.’
‘Oh… That sounds great.’
‘There’s a slight downside. Whichever of you decides to go would have to get to London under their own steam and arrange accommodation. We don’t have an extra flight ticket or hotel room, unfortunately, but if you could get a train or the overnight bus perhaps, that might work. I’ll message you the maximum expenses claim amount and you can see if you can find something suitable.’
‘Ok. I’ll speak to Amber about it.’
‘Perfect. If you can let me know by close of play tomorrow, that would be great.’
Hayley ended the call and pocketed her phone.
‘Was it a catastrophe then?’ Genevieve asked.
‘No. It was quite a good call actually. I might be able to go to the London Hair Show after all, though I need to speak to Amber about it tomorrow.’
‘Ah no,’ Amber said when Hayley told her the dates of the hair show and the expenses budget over the phone. ‘I’ll have to leave it to you. That’s my sister’s birthday week. She’d kill me if I was away for her fortieth. And I’m actually petrified at the thought of going to London alone. You’ll find it tricky getting a good flight and a decent hotel room at that short notice for that price.’
Hayley bit her lower lip, thinking. ‘I wonder.’ The salon didn’t open on Monday or Tuesday, so if she was to be away from Wednesday to Friday next week, she’d need to do some client rearranging. That would take time, so she had to decide now.
‘What?’ Amber said.
‘I’d love to go but this budget is rubbish.’
‘Yeah. Such a shame. Let me know what you find.’
Hayley googled the trains again. She’d already looked at them several times, plus buses, cheap flights and budget hotels, but nothing really fitted, She wasn’t so desperate that she wanted to subsidise it herself, not when she’d still have to eat and use public transport once she got there.
As she swiped through lists of far-too-expensive rooms, a message popped in.
OLIVER: How did the sten hunt go yesterday? You’ve succeeded in making me feel guilty and I therefore apologise for not doing my best man duty properly. Now I suppose I owe you something to make up for this, though I’m not sure what that might be yet.
She did a slow blink as she read it. Was that message serious, or more of his dry humour? But another thought flickered into her head.
HAYLEY: When are you going to London for that conference thingy?
OLIVER: What has that got to do with anything?
HAYLEY: Answer the question. Also, how are you getting there and where are you staying?
OLIVER: Seriously, why do you want to know?
HAYLEY: Answer me, or the price of what you owe me to get you to forgive me will go up and up until you do.
OLIVER: You’re insane.
HAYLEY: That’s the price gone up again.
OLIVER: Monday to Friday next week. Sleeper train. The Royal Saxon Hotel, Mayfair.
Hayley sucked on her lower lip. Could that be more perfect? Well, minus the part that he would be there too. She let out a laugh… like he’d agree to her going too. He wouldn’t want her gatecrashing.
HAYLEY: Will you have a bunk bed cabin on the train and a twin room at the hotel? If you do, can I come with you? I need somewhere to stay for the Hair Show next week and the Royal Saxon Hotel sounds wonderful.
She added hundreds of smiley faces.
OLIVER: You are actually insane.
HAYLEY: Is that a yes?
She knew he was probably crapping himself round about now, trying to think up an excuse to fob her off and no way would he really let her go, but it was fun playing with him like this. Even a tiny false hope that she might get to London gave her the warm fuzzies. She loved a London trip.
OLIVER: You can’t be serious. For all I know, it’s a single room.
HAYLEY: Can’t you change it? And consider your debt paid!
OLIVER: Er… How about no!
Hayley smirked. Well, it had been worth a try, but it looked like the Hair Show was off the calendar this year. As was a trip to London with Oliver, which on second thought was probably a good thing.