Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
The tyres crunched over the gravel as Ellie guided her car into a parking space behind the hotel.
Alba watched the building through the passenger window, the late afternoon light catching the pale stone exterior and the tall glass entrance that reflected the surrounding countryside.
It was the sort of place people came to forget their lives for a couple of days—the kind of luxury that encouraged people to slow down, breathe deeper, and pretend the outside world didn’t exist.
Rolling lawns stretched out behind the building, dotted with clusters of trees that were already beginning to turn autumn colours.
A large outdoor terrace wrapped around the back of the hotel, and beyond that, Alba could just about make out the steam rising from what must be the heated outdoor pool.
Lois had picked well, of course she had, but she always did when it came to things like this.
Alba kept her eyes on the landscape and exhaled slowly. This was really happening. Two days of sharing a room with Ellie Hamilton. Two days of trying not to stare at her arse. Two days of pretending she wasn’t increasingly aware of every little thing Ellie did.
And then Ellie’s gentle voice floated towards her. “Wow, this is incredible.”
Alba turned her head. Ellie was leaning forward over the steering wheel, scanning the building with the same mixture of curiosity and appreciation Alba felt twisting around in her stomach. “This place is gorgeous.”
Gorgeous was an understatement.
Alba cleared her throat when Ellie’s gaze drifted towards her. “It’s certainly not terrible.”
Ellie laughed. “That’s the most British review of a luxury spa hotel I’ve ever heard.”
“Well, I’m not about to start squealing with excitement,” Alba said with a shrug. “We’ve only just arrived.”
That wasn’t entirely true. A small part of her had been silently squealing since they’d left Ellie’s driveway an hour ago.
The trip here had been easy…comfortable, even.
They’d talked about school for a while, laughed about Colin attempting to climb into the holdall Alba had packed, and then spent twenty minutes debating which of the restaurants they should eat at this evening.
And for the entire time, Alba had been acutely aware that Ellie was sitting beside her. Her perfume, that laugh, and the way the sunlight had caught her eyes when they’d stopped at traffic lights. It had taken everything Alba possessed not to stare too long.
“Well.” Ellie turned the engine off and leaned back in her seat. “I guess we should check in.”
“Yeah. We probably should.”
Except neither of them moved, and for a while, the sound of the cooling engine was the only thing filling the space between them.
Then Ellie glanced sideways. “You ready?”
Was she ready? To spend forty-eight hours in close proximity to the woman she was trying not to fall for? Absolutely not.
“Yep. Let’s go.” Alba reached for the door handle.
The moment she stepped out of the car, the air felt different.
Cleaner. The scent of lavender drifted from somewhere near the entrance as a gentle breeze moved across the grounds.
It should have calmed Alba, but it didn’t, so she chose to focus on what she could control.
She walked to the back of the car and opened the boot, pulling out both holdalls before Ellie could get there first.
“Hey,” Ellie said as she rounded the car. “I can carry something.”
“Nope.”
“Alba—”
“Nope!” Alba repeated, slinging one bag over her shoulder. “Just…lead the way.”
Ellie folded her arms. “You do realise that you offered me the spa trip, not the other way around. The least I can do is carry the bloody bags.”
“You drove,” Alba replied matter-of-factly. “Which means you’ve already contributed.”
Ellie stared at her. “That’s not how this works.”
“It is in my world.” Before Ellie could protest again, Alba grabbed the smaller overnight bag Ellie had brought with her. “Besides,” she added as she turned and looked back at the hotel, “you’re the guest of honour. I’m the one freeloading.”
Ellie snorted. “You literally paid for the entire thing.”
“Oh, details.”
They moved towards the entrance together, the gravel crunching under their shoes. Alba could feel Ellie walking beside her, close enough that their arms brushed once or twice as they crossed the courtyard. Every time it happened, Alba pretended not to notice.
As they stepped inside, the reception area opened out into a large lounge space filled with deep armchairs and low tables. A roaring fireplace glowed against one wall, immediately making Alba want to sink into the nearest seat with a glass of wine and forget the outside world entirely.
God, this entire place whispered relaxation.
Ellie slowed beside her, glancing around. “This is dangerously nice.”
Alba frowned. “Meaning?”
“Meaning I may refuse to leave on Sunday.”
Alba smiled. “Same.”
They approached the reception desk, where a woman in a cream uniform greeted them with a professional smile. “Good afternoon. Welcome to Willowmere Spa.”
Alba glanced at Ellie, who stepped forward naturally. “Hi, we have a reservation under Clifford.”
“Yes, of course. Two nights with the VIP spa access package.” The receptionist nodded as she typed something into the computer. “We’ve upgraded you to one of our superior lake view suites.”
Ellie’s brows lifted. “O-oh.”
Alba felt her stomach dip. A fancy suite? She was completely done for.
The receptionist handed Ellie two key cards. “Your room is on the second floor. Dinner reservations begin from six this evening, and the spa facilities are open until ten.”
“Perfect,” Ellie said with that gorgeous signature smile. “Thank you.”
They stepped away from the desk together, both a little stunned by just how beautiful this place was. But Alba was already spiralling. It was bad enough that she was here at all with Ellie, but a suite that looked out over the lake? The entire thing suddenly felt romantic.
“Lake view suite?” Ellie murmured as they walked towards the lift. “That sounds…expensive.”
Alba shrugged. “Maybe Lois upgraded when she booked and just didn’t tell me.”
“Well,” Ellie said, tilting her head. “Your friend has excellent taste.”
“That she does.”
As they waited for the lift, Alba leaned back against the wall and allowed herself a quick glance in Ellie’s direction.
She looked relaxed and happy. There was a softness in her expression Alba hadn’t seen much at school.
Maybe this had been the right decision. Maybe the weekend would just be what she’d told herself it would be.
Two friends enjoying a spa break. Nothing complicated.
The lift doors slid open, and they stepped inside. The space suddenly felt smaller than it had looked from the outside. Alba became very aware of how close they were standing.
Ellie sighed as she pressed her back to the lift wall and closed her eyes. “This is a nice start to the weekend.”
“Yeah,” Alba said, forcing herself to smile. “Yeah, it’s lovely.”
And it really was. But if she wasn’t careful…it was going to ruin her.
Ellie stepped out onto their private terrace and drew in a slow breath.
The temperature had dipped since they’d arrived, but Ellie didn’t mind at all.
It was that crispness that made the warmth of their hotel suite behind them feel even more inviting.
The lake stretched out before them; its surface barely disturbed as the fading sunlight relaxed everything around it.
It was quiet out here, yes, but it wasn’t that empty kind of quiet Ellie had grown used to at home since Eloise had died, where silence had often felt heavy and hollow.
This was different. This was the kind of quiet that felt intentional, as though the world itself had been asked politely to keep its voice down for the benefit of those lucky enough to be here.
She rested her hands on the metal railing and let the air settle in her lungs before turning her head.
Alba stood beside her, her forearms resting against the rail, her gaze fixed somewhere across the water.
A light breeze caught the loose strands of her hair, lifting them briefly before they fell against the curve of her neck again.
Ellie watched on for far longer than she meant to, but there was just something about Alba Clifford that had quietly rearranged parts of Ellie’s life without warning.
Before Alba had arrived at Park Haven, Ellie had been existing rather than living.
Her days had been measured and careful, her routines deliberately predictable.
Work had given her structure, but beyond that, she’d allowed very little into her world that could disturb the fragile balance she’d managed to rebuild after the loss of Eloise.
People had treated her gently since then.
Too gently most of the time. Their kindness had been genuine, but it had come wrapped in caution.
Every conversation felt like it was being navigated across thin ice.
People hesitated before they spoke, softened their tone, or avoided certain subjects altogether.
Ellie knew they meant well, but it meant she was constantly aware of the weight she carried with her. She’d become something delicate in their eyes. Something people were careful not to disturb. It had been kind, but it had also been exhausting.
Alba, however, had walked into her life and behaved as though Ellie was simply another person.
Someone worth laughing with, someone worth spending time with, someone who could still enjoy things without the shadow of tragedy hovering over every moment.
And somewhere along the way, Ellie had realised she looked forward to those moments far more than she probably should.
“You know,” Ellie said, still looking out over the lake. “I’m really glad you invited me along for this.”
Alba’s head turned. “I think you needed it.”