Chapter Twenty-Seven
Friday, 1 st December
Stacy pulled the vacuum cleaner out to the fourth-floor landing and worked her way round there before going down to reception and starting off again. By the end of the week, the front hall was always more like a gravel path than a hotel reception. With workmen in and out all day, mud, dust, and grit from the driveway gathered quickly, and as the floor was being replaced anyway, no one was particularly careful about keeping it in good nick. But she wanted to have the place respectable – at least on the surface – for Rico’s return later that afternoon. He and Ralph were driving Rico’s car north today, then Ralph would return to Lugano by train on Sunday.
A message pinged into her phone, and she switched the vacuum cleaner off. Ooh, this was from Martin. A ripple of anticipation fizzed through her. Was he coming back? He’d had a real dose of flu, though after the first few days they’d gone back to messaging pretty regularly. They’d face-timed yesterday, too, and he’d seemed like his usual self, apart from the hacking cough. She tapped the message open.
Hope Lakeside’s still standing? Coming home on Mon, will be over to check developments on Tues afternoon. How about dinner afterwards? My treat. xxx
Stacy snapped her phone shut and clutched it to her chest. Time together in real life was what they needed, wasn’t it? She still wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about him – on the one hand, it was five months since she’d split up with David, and it was time to start the next chapter in her love life. But although Martin and his texts were entertaining, and he’d definitely made her heart race last time she’d seen him in the flesh, a relationship conducted over the phone was never going to feel the same as one where you were face to face with the other person. The only way to see what was going on between them was to go out properly again. And that was what she wanted – a fun relationship with a nice guy, to go with her fun but challenging job. It had been a long couple of weeks, waking up alone in the flat every morning.
On the upside, Project Lakeside was going swimmingly. The garden was still a mess, but that would have to wait for spring. A little surge of achievement swelled up in Stacy – who’d have thought a few weeks ago that she’d manage to oversee a building site in another language? With a little help from Andi, true, not to mention all the people who were helping her learn German. She’d spent an hour with Kim every day this week, and Flavia had invited her for a meal on Wednesday, and it all made a difference. The evenings home alone had been the hard part, but her online German lessons had helped, and so had Skype. Mum and Emily had both been on screen last week, to hear the latest news and cheer Stacy up, and of course Rico had been in touch pretty regularly, demanding hotel updates.
She gave up on the front hall, and took the vacuum cleaner back up to the flat. At least the home alone part was over now, though Rico’s company could have its issues too. Stacy wiped the already shining kitchen worktops. It was hard to work out what she thought about Rico. She liked him, that box was definitely ticked, but her pulse didn’t race when she saw him. And yet… her mind went back to those terrible few minutes on the motorway when she hadn’t known if he was alive or blown to bits by an unknown man’s car, and she shuddered. Her pulse had been racing then, hadn’t it?
She went back downstairs and wandered through the new spa rooms. The workmen were gone for the day, earlier than usual because it was Friday. Rico and Ralph would be here any minute; they were going to be pleased by the progress. The small ex-conference room was virtually finished, with one section partitioned off for Viola the beautician, a larger one for the hairdresser, and the one in the middle would be a storeroom. All that was needed here was the new flooring, due to arrive at the end of next week.
She moved on into the large conference room, which was completely transformed. Three large hot tubs were waiting to be filled, and the raised areas separating them would be topped with plants. Shiny white tiles covered the walls and floor, the odd blue and green patterned area breaking up the starkness. A relaxation area at the far end overlooked the garden, and changing rooms and showers were at the other side. Along the back wall they had a medical room and a couple more storerooms. And last but not least, the old storeroom off the front hall was waiting for the massage therapist to inspect it on Tuesday, when they’d work out what needed to be done in there.
Stacy gave a dusty door handle a quick polish. The aim was to have the main project completed by the end of the year, with only the finishing touches to add in January.
‘Anyone home?’
A voice called from reception, and Stacy jogged through the spa. Ralph and Rico were standing there, looking into the brightly lit spa with gobsmacked expressions.
Ralph clapped Stacy’s shoulder. ‘This is looking – different! What do you think, Rico?’
Stacy turned to Rico, and her heart thudded towards the floor. He was thinner, a lot thinner, and he’d been skinny before all this started. His face was a good colour, though, and his eyes were bright.
Rico peered into the nail and hairdressing areas. ‘Wow. This is – amazing.’
He beamed at his father, and Stacy almost laughed. So much for the notion he might still fancy her. He’d barely said hello; clearly the hotel was way more interesting than she was. Well – that did make things less complicated.
‘I’ll give you the guided tour,’ she said. ‘Come and see the small spa rooms first.’
It was nice to have such appreciative tour guests. They went from the small spa to the large one with the two men lapping up everything she told them, and ended up back beside their luggage in the front hall.
Ralph loaded both cases into the lift. ‘He’s your patient now, Stacy. He shouldn’t lift anything heavy,’ he said, winking at her. ‘He’s supposed to be taking it easy until New Year, so you’ll have to keep an eye on him. Good job you’re a nurse.’
Rico rolled his eyes, and Stacy laughed. ‘I’ll do my best.’ She led the way into the flat, and Ralph took the luggage to the two smaller bedrooms.
Rico was looking round with a huge grin. ‘I’m glad we made this the staff flat,’ he said, lowering himself carefully onto the sofa. ‘Nothing like having your own coffee table to put your feet on!’
Concerned, Stacy watched as he lifted first one foot and then the other, and placed them on the coffee table before relaxing back with a little sigh. He’d still be pretty stiff, and his ribs would be painful for a while longer, too. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to stop him trying to do too much. He wasn’t someone who’d take kindly to others telling him what to do.
She made a face at Rico and his feet, then spoke to Ralph. ‘Any more instructions from the doctor?’
‘Hey, I am here, you know!’ Rico glared at them both.
‘He shouldn’t drive yet,’ said Ralph, ignoring his son. ‘Can you drive, Stacy?’
She shook her head. Apart from her twenty-metre reverse up that snowy motorway, she hadn’t been behind the wheel since she arrived in Switzerland.
‘I have a licence, but you drive on the wrong side here!’
Ralph laughed. ‘You can come out with me tomorrow. It only needs practice.’
He went to unpack, and Rico raised his eyebrows at Stacy. ‘Is a driving lesson what you want? If it’s not, just tell Dad. He means well, but he can be a bit overpowering.’
‘I’ll be glad of a lesson or two. And it’s important you’re sensible – the better you look after yourself, the sooner you’ll be fit again.’ Gawd, now she sounded like her mother. And Ralph was right – she should be able to drive here. It couldn’t be too difficult, could it? Her phone buzzed in the pocket of her sweatshirt, and Stacy hurried to her room to answer it. That would be Martin. Anticipation surged at the sight of his face on the screen, and wow – they had a date on Tuesday night. Things were looking up.
***
Rico eased himself out of the sofa – getting up out of a low, soft chair was one of the things he still struggled with. In general, though, he could agree with Dr Grasso in Lugano – the extra week had made a difference. He went and leaned on the kitchen doorway. Dad was unpacking, so he could seize the chance of a word with Stacy.
‘Did you manage to keep yourself entertained while you were alone here?’
She laughed. ‘I was quite busy, actually! Everyone rallied round. It was an odd experience, though, rattling around in this huge place all by myself.’
And Martin was one of the people who had kept her busy. A little stab of jealousy went through Rico, and he cursed himself for feeling like this. It wasn’t like him to be jealous. Correction; he’d never had to be jealous before. It wasn’t a feeling he liked.
He cleared his throat. ‘That’s good. How’s Karen’s daughter, by the way? And is Martin back at work yet?’ Hell, she’d given him a nursey look there; he did not want to be thought of as her patient.
‘Melanie’s doing well, though Karen says she’s bored, she has to rest such a lot. And Martin’s still in Lucerne, though he’s coming back soon. He’ll be here on Tuesday afternoon to see the place and go over the accounts.’ A rosy blush spread over her face as she spoke, and she turned away to open the fridge, leaving Rico gaping at her back.
Hell on earth. Had they made plans for when Martin was back in town and able to take Stacy out to elegant restaurants and heaven knows what else? All that was none of his business, though, so there was literally no way he could find out about it. Fortunately, Stacy didn’t seem to notice he was getting in a stew, because she went on to tell him about Kim and her new plan for working at home. Ralph came in in the middle of this, and that was the end of any personal convo with Stacy. Rico took his usual place at the table, and forked up his chicken and rice. She’d remembered he’d asked for this meal, so that was good… Or was it merely Stacy the nurse making a nice healthy dinner for her patient?
After the meal, Ralph bundled Stacy out of the kitchen. ‘You cooked, so we clear up. Fair’s fair. Are you going out tonight?’
Stacy shook her head at him. ‘That would be a bit rude, with my boss and his dad newly arrived! I do have a message to answer, though, so thank you.’ She wandered down the hall, and closed her bedroom door behind her.
Ralph gave Rico a pointed look. ‘I’m not interfering and I know you don’t want my advice, but you have to step back, Rico. Your face is like someone’s who’s lost every penny they owned when you look at her. She’ll notice soon if you keep on like that, and that’s not what you want if you’re going to run this place together. Let Stacy live her own life.’ He piled plates into the dishwasher, his lips pressed together.
Rico buried his face in his hands. Dad was right on two counts. One, he felt like he’d lost every penny he owned. And two, he didn’t want Dad’s advice. But he was going to have to take it, wasn’t he? Because in a duel with Martin, Martin was going to win every time.