Chapter 12
It was a couple of weeks after the day trip to Darling Island. Nina frowned as she saw Ella, Lovely Bay’s estate agent”s number, flashing across her phone screen. She wasn’t sure what Ella might want and contemplated not answering. Perhaps it had something to do with The Summer Hotel. Nina had continued to oversee the hotel’s buildings and garden while Jill was away, and Ella had continued to try to sell it. So far, it hadn’t worked. Ella was also very busy attempting to open another estate agent in a neighbouring town, and she’d had a few niggly health problems which had affected her work. Nina had said she could help out with the new office building. Maybe it had something to do with that. She swiped to answer the phone.
‘Hi Ella, how are you?’ Nina asked. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Yeah, good, thanks. Yep, I’m okay. You?’
‘Yes, I’m well, actually, thanks.’
‘Good to hear. You’re going away soon, aren’t you?’ Ella asked. ‘Birdie said when I was in the chemist picking up a prescription.’
‘Yes, off to Thailand with Robby. Ask me if I am counting down the days to sunshine. Ha!’
‘Ooh, fancy! Sounds good to me,’ Ella chuckled. ‘Wish it was me.’
‘I know, I can’t wait. I’m really looking forward to it. How are you, anyway? How’s the new office going?”
‘Organised chaos. Actually, that’s why I’m calling you. I hope you don’t mind.’
Nina had had a feeling it was why Ella was calling. Since starting her business, she’d helped out plenty of people in Lovely Bay. She was more than happy to lend a hand but wasn’t sure whether it would be possible before she went to Thailand. ‘Yep, what can I help you with? Do you need me to organise the new office? Or get you decluttered?’
‘Gosh, absolutely. Yes, there is that,’ Ella said. ‘But that’s on the back burner for the moment. I’ve got so much work on that I’ve literally just set the desk up and dumped everything else in the room behind it. Anyway, no, so it’s not that. I’ve had an inquiry from someone about the hotel. A serious buyer. However, I’m at that conference I was telling you about, and I don’t really want to leave this with one of the junior members of staff because The Summer Hotel is such a complicated sale, and you’re the one who knows everything about it apart from me. So, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind showing them around? Obviously, you can invoice me. Say no if it’s too much.’
Nina rolled her eyes. As if she was going to say no. It would fly around Lovely, and she would be out of everyone’s good books. ‘Of course, I don’t mind. When is it?’
‘I haven’t locked in a time yet, but they want to come on one of the days I’m at the conference. I thought I’d phone you first and see what you said.’
‘I can do whenever you like, really. I’ll work around you. I’m local for the next few weeks, so it doesn’t really matter to me. Just tell me when and I’ll be there.’
‘Okay, excellent. Thank you so much. I’m really grateful.’
‘No worries. I had to agree. It’s the way it works in Lovely Bay, isn’t it?’ Nina joked.
‘Yeah, well, if you’d said no, you would’ve been in trouble,’ Ella bantered back as quick as a flash. ‘You would have been hung up on St Lovely green and left for dead. Or stuck on top of the lighthouse. Ha!’
Nina chuckled. ‘I wish you were joking. I meant to ask you, actually, completely changing the topic. How did you get on in the storm?’
‘We just hunkered down for the night and got on with it. I actually quite enjoyed it.’
‘Yeah, me too. Did you have any damage?’
‘We did have a bit. A tree branch fell on the greenhouse, smashing a few panes and causing quite a bit of damage and loads of loose roof tiles, but other than that, nothing. I had to claim on the house insurance, so I”m waiting for that to come through, which is always so slow and such a palaver despite what they claim in their adverts. But yeah, no drama, no one injured, so that’s good.’
‘Good luck with that. Yep, they work to a different clock to the rest of the world. I suppose it is what it is.’
‘For sure. Okay, look, I’m driving, and I’m getting to my next appointment now. So, I’ll let you know about the hotel viewing.’
‘Yes, just out of interest, who’s coming to see it?’ Nina asked.
‘A couple of investors who live down in a place called Pretty Beach. Have you heard of it? It’s really nice down that way. It’s not far.’
‘No, not at all. It sounds nice, though.’
‘They are big entrepreneurs with a massive property portfolio, and The Summer Hotel came up in their search. They have a few Airbnbs down in Pretty Beach and other places, and it’s on their radar. So yeah, fingers crossed this is the one, though I won’t be holding my breath anytime soon.’
‘Oh, well, okay, sounds promising. Just let me know. Text me and I’ll confirm.’
‘Yep, thanks, Neens. I’ll be in touch via text. See you later. Take care, bye.’
It was a few days or so after the conversation with Ella and the hotel viewing was locked in with the couple Ella had mentioned for the following week. They were coming to Lovely Bay from a place further down the coast called Pretty Beach. Just as Nina was getting into Robby’s car after finishing a morning of work, her phone buzzed with some texts; she saw two messages come in from Ella.
Ella: Sorry, I’ve made a complete boo-boo! I’ve told you the wrong date for the viewing; it’s not when I said, it’s actually today. I’ve got my weeks upside down! Worse than that, they’re on their way, and I’m on the other side of the flipping county!!! I’m losing the plot. I’ve got so much on my plate. I don’t suppose you’re available; otherwise, I’ll get Lennox to do it.
Nina chuckled to herself and checked her watch.
Nina: I’ve just clocked off. I was going to go home to do a load of quotes, so not a problem. What time are they going to be here?
Ella: Based on what I’ve worked out with the traffic and everything, they should be there in about an hour or so.
Nina: OK. All good, I can be there.
Ella: OMG, thank you so much. I just thought I was going to have to send Lennox from the office, but he’s just not good enough. There’s no way he will quickly get up to speed, and I don’t want to look unprofessional. Thank you, Neens!
Nina: Not a problem, leave it with me. I’m just going to go home, and I’ll change, and then I’ll be there. I’ll probably take the riverboat there and do some quotes on my phone while I wait.
Ella: You”re a lifesaver, Neens, I owe you one.
Nina: Not at all. Don’t worry, I’ll call in the favour one day hahaha.
Ella texted back with a love heart emoji.
Nina smiled as she saw the riverboat puttering along the River Lovely towards her and waved as she spotted Clive at the back of the boat. After it pulled up, she waited behind a woman with a pram and a young toddler, stepped on and then smiled at Clive.
‘Bonjour,’ Clive greeted in his strange half-French, half-English accent that never really sounded like either at all.
‘Afternoon, Clive. How are you? All well in your world?’
‘Oui, oui. Good, thanks.’
‘What a beautiful day for a ride along the river,’ Nina observed.
‘It”s always a beautiful day in Lovely Bay, rain or shine, as far as I’m concerned. I should add hailstones, storms, and snow to that,’ Clive noted with a laugh as Nina sat down near the front of the boat. ‘Sometimes we get all of those on the same day.’
‘Good point.’
‘Where are you off to on this fine day?’ Clive asked.
‘I’m actually on my way to The Summer Hotel. Ella has a viewing, but I’m doing it.’
‘Oh, something wrong with Ella, is there? Is she sick?’
‘No, she just wanted me to do it because I actually know quite a lot about it now, and she’s on the other side of the county.’
‘She’s not wrong there. Well, let me know how it goes. It’s been up for sale for such a long time. It has to be the longest ever in Lovely Bay history. Usually, stuff sells before the board goes up.’
‘True. Will do. Hopefully, someone will buy it this time.’
‘I’d be there like a shot if I had the cash.’
‘Same! Let’s hope they like it.’
‘Won’t hold my breath.’ Clive laughed.
About ten minutes later, Nina hopped off the boat at the jetty nearest to The Summer Hotel, waved cheerio to Clive as he pulled away, and started to walk down towards the hotel. It was a gorgeous day in Lovely Bay. Nina nodded to herself as she looked at things almost glowing in the glorious sunshine. If there was a day the hotel was going to sell, it was a day when Lovely basked in the sun. As Nina got to the hotel, she was flooded with memories of the first time she’d walked up the road not a clue what she had let herself in for. It had been drizzling for hours, she’d been wet through and not happy. She remembered how she’d felt suffocated by the shackles of grief from her husband passing away. Now, she hardly remembered that person at all. She certainly didn’t want to go back to being her, either.
Following more or less the same footsteps as she had that first day, she let herself in through the hotel’s side tradesman”s entrance, walked through the living quarters, and opened the windows to give the place a good air. She then walked around the ground floor as fresh air rushed in, and did the same on the upper floors, too. She then came back down and was sitting at the kitchen table when she heard a car outside. Going through the hotel to the main entrance, she pulled the door open, went down the path, and frowned to herself as she saw a black Range Rover with huge black wheel hubs, blacked-out windows, and very shiny metallic paint pull-up just along from the hotel’s driveway.
Nina stood on the porch for a second and watched as a woman got out of the driver”s seat, walked around to the passenger door, and pulled it open. Nina had to stifle a giggle as she spied a tiny woman with humongous gold earphones on her head, a bright pink, fluffy jumper, and purple tracksuit bottoms take the other woman’s hand and hoist herself out of the car. The woman in the pink jumper was drowned by the size of the shiny black car and huge headphones. As the two women got to the gate, Nina took in the first woman, who was tottering on sparkly wedge sandals, black trousers with a line of diamanté going down the legs, and a black jumper with just as many sparkles as the shoes. The younger woman’s face was absolutely immaculate, with not a line on it; she was so perfect and pretty, almost like a doll, that Nina was speechless for a second and just stared as she got closer to the two women.
The first woman smiled, and Nina couldn’t quite comprehend for a second how she was smiling when everything else on her face didn’t move. The woman was so pretty it took Nina’s breath away. The woman held out her hand. ‘Hello. I’m Holly and this is my mum, Xian.’ Holly indicated to the woman in the fluffy jumper, who was wearing huge plastic bubble sliders and thick socks on her feet. This older woman, Xian, held her hand up in front of her and continued to chat in the direction of her phone screen in what Nina thought might be Mandarin.
Holly batted her hand in the direction of her mum. ‘Don’t worry about her; she’s chatting to our relatives in Vietnam, and she’ll probably start shouting in a minute. Ignore.’
Nina raised her eyebrows. ‘Right, I see. I’m Nina. Nice to meet you.’
Holly laughed and rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t be concerned about my mum. She’ll be taking everything in as we go around. She’s also doing a share deal at the moment, so she”s kind of half in the conversation to Vietnam, half here and half not, oh and she’ll probably start texting her bridge partner, too. Even though all those halves don’t add up.’
Nina wasn’t sure what to think as Holly laughed at her own joke. ‘A share deal?’
Holly raised her eyebrows. ‘Yes, you wouldn’t know it by the look of her, but she’s all over it. Full-on trading account. Not that I’m complaining; it’s how we got to where we are. My mother loves a good deal, and she’s been working the markets for years. I, on the other hand, don’t have a clue. I spend what she makes on bags and diamonds. Ha! Works for me every day of the week.’
‘Wow, you never do know, do you?’ Nina said with wide eyes, not sure what to think of the pair.
‘Anyway, how are you?’ Holly gestured up at the sky. ‘Beautiful day for it.’
‘Great! Welcome to Lovely Bay. How was the traffic?’
‘The traffic wasn’t too bad, actually. We whizzed along.’
‘Well, here we are.’ Nina gestured up towards The Summer Hotel. ‘This is it.’
‘Yep, thanks for meeting us. Ella told me all about your story,’ Holly said.
‘Yes. I started here a couple of years ago. I came to Lovely Bay and I haven’t really left.’ Nina laughed. ‘I’ve been taken a prisoner by Lovelies.’
‘Oh, I like the sound of that. You must enjoy it here, then. Settled in well, have you?’
‘Oh yes, absolutely. I love it. Where are you guys from? Ella did say.’
‘A little town called Pretty Beach. Not too far.’
Nina squinted. ‘Oh, yes, that’s right. I hadn’t heard of it when Ella told me, but isn’t there a fast train that goes there?’
‘Yes, yes, that’s the place.’
‘How nice to have a train like that.’
‘Absolutely. It’s changed where we live, anyway.’
‘I bet. Right, so you’re looking at this as an investment property, that’s correct, isn’t it? You’re not looking to move to Lovely Bay.’
‘Gosh, no! We’re not looking to move. I’m sure it’s lovely here, as the name suggests, but our heart belongs to Pretty Beach.’ Holly said.
Xian butted in. ‘Always was and always will be.’
‘Ahh, that’s nice to hear. How great is it to love where you live?’
‘It is. You’ll have to come down and visit. It’s a very good part of the world down our way. It”s not that different from this, by the looks of it, and not too far away.’
Nina nodded. ‘Yes, I’ll put it on the list for when we have a day out. So, you’re investors, are you?’
‘We are, yes, for our sins. Joking, we love it.’ Holly laughed.
Nina frowned. ‘What, you have properties and you rent them out, or how does it work with you?’
Holly smiled. ‘We have all kinds of fingers in many pies, as it were. We started off with bakeries when we came here from Vietnam, and yes, now we do Airbnb, and we rent out properties and all sorts. Along with the share trading my mum does, of course. All of it keeps me in my diamonds.’ Holly cackled, flicked her hand, and the huge diamond on her right hand caught the light.
‘I think I need to get myself into the same game,’ Nina laughed as she took in how everything about Holly sparkled and twinkled. Of all the people she had expected to turn up to view The Summer Hotel, with its massive price tag and many investment intricacies, she hadn’t expected to see a tiny woman in a bright pink jumper and gold headphones and a woman who looked like she’d just stepped off a movie set, head to toe in diamonds. She rolled with it anyway and started to explain what had happened when she’d first arrived at the hotel.
The woman named Xian, who continued through most of the conversation chatting in Vietnamese, held her iPad up with her left hand and videoed everything. Holly asked many questions as they walked around and noted things on her phone. After about an hour or so, which had consisted of Nina divulging more than she’d realised she’d known about the hotel and a tour of the garden and beach, they made their way to the kitchen.
Nina made a cup of tea, and the three of them were sitting at the kitchen table chatting.
Holly jumped up from the table. ‘Hang on a minute. I’ve got something in the car you might quite like.’ A few minutes later, she returned with a white paper bag, plonked it in the middle of the table, and pushed it over towards Nina.
‘What’s this?’
‘Have a look inside,’ Holly said with a chuckle. ‘You might like.’
Nina pulled the white bag towards her and delved inside to find another smaller white paper bag. She pulled open the top and peered in as an amazing smell hit her nostrils. Some kind of delicious-looking bun looked back at her, and she realised she could smell cinnamon. ‘What are these? I don’t know what they are, but I think I’m going to like them.’
‘These are our famous cinnamon buns from Pretty Beach. They are highly sought after. I had some leftovers from a delivery we made on our way here. I think you’ll approve.’ Holly said with a smile.
‘I think so! They smell and look amazing,’ Nina said as she got up and took three plates out from a cupboard. ‘I put the milk and teabags in at the last minute, wondering if I might stay here this afternoon to do some work and now we’re having a nice cup of tea together. I didn’t expect you to bring treats with you. I shouldn’t really, but I will…’
Xian laughed and finished what she was doing on her iPad. She pulled her earphones to rest around her neck, took one of the buns, and put it on her plate. ‘Oh, yes, just what I need. That was intense.’
Nina watched and attempted to keep her chin from dropping to the floor as Xian then whipped a silver flask out of her tracksuit”s pocket and started to deftly pour an amber-coloured liquid into her cup of tea. Nina didn’t know where to look first. Xian then popped the flask back into her pocket and continued the conversation as if it was completely normal to lug alcohol into one’s afternoon tea.
‘What are your bottom-line views on the hotel?’ Xian asked bluntly as if she had been in on the conversation right from the start and had not conversed in Vietnamese pretty much all the way around the building.
Nina contemplated for a second. ‘It’s a lovely old place, and I think if the right person buys it, they will be able to turn it around...’
Holly interjected, ‘It sounds as if there might be a but there.’
Nina shook her head. ‘No, no, not really. It’s just that Lovely Bay is the sort of place where, well, you know, you have to be a certain type of person to get on here.’ She gestured with her hand. ‘I suppose that wouldn’t be a problem when you’re running it as a business. You need to, well, to fit in.’
‘Yeah, I don’t think that would be a problem, ” Holly said, shaking her head. ‘We fit in anywhere.’
‘No, I don’t think it would be a problem, either. That would be fine.’ Xian cut to the chase. ‘I’ll be frank, it’s the price that’s the problem. As far as I can see, it’s too highly priced considering everything that might go wrong. I reckon that’s why it’s not sold. It’s not rocket science. Quite a big gamble.’
Nina was surprised that this woman had more or less nailed it in one sentence. Unsure what to say and feeling some loyalty to Jill, she just made a noncommittal sound.
‘There are quite a lot of things to consider with this place, that’s for sure.’ Holly mused.
Xian shook her head, whisked out the flask again and glugged some more of the amber liquid into her mug. ‘The price is too high for the gamble. See? You have to take on whether or not it will rent out, and the fact that you will never be able to do much with it because it’s a listed building. Add in maintenance and management. Unless they’re willing to take an offer, it’s probably not going to be for us.’
Holly sighed. ‘That’s about the nuts and bolts of it. It was worth a look, though. It is absolutely beautiful and it has so much potential for the right person…’
‘Yes, indeed. I’ve had that same conversation with my partner many times.’ Nina agreed.
‘You didn’t think about buying it?’ Xian asked. ‘You seem to love the place.’
Nina flicked her hand dismissively. ‘No, no, it was never going to be an option for me, and it’s a bit of a long story. I bought a property over on the harbour side and now I’ve ended up marrying somebody local here, so yeah, it’s a bit complicated. Anyway, the property”s not for me.’
Holly nodded. ‘Ahh, makes sense.’
‘So, the owner is away at the moment?’ Xian continued.
‘Yes, she is. Her name”s Jill. She’s in Australia at the moment. I ended up here because I house-sat for her when she was away on a year-long trip. She got the bug for the nomadic life, I think. She never turned around and came back.’
‘Interesting. Never seen the attraction of that myself. Each to their own. Different strokes.’
‘She’s been travelling for a long time now. I think she’s one of those people who loves changing scenery all the time. From what I”ve gathered, she doesn’t want to come back and settle, anyway. So yes, I’ve ended up looking after the place and overseeing gardeners, etcetera, so that it doesn’t get run down. It was a huge mess when I arrived here. You wouldn’t believe it looking at it now.’
Xian nodded. ‘I see.’
‘My husband’s aunt lives next door, so we keep an eye on her, too,’ Nina explained.
‘So, you must know the place like the back of your hand now.’
‘I do. It’s a nice property, a lovely setting, and it could work for the right person who buys it,’ Nina confirmed.
Xian nodded. ‘Yeah, totally. At the right price, it could.’
Holly sipped her tea. ‘Not sure that’s going to be us.’