Chapter 23
Beth hugged one of Frankie’s delicious cocktails to her chest as she stared dreamily at the fire crackling away in the large hearth of the lounge.
It was the literal calm after the storm and with all the guests having cancelled beforehand, Maple Tree Lodge suddenly felt like their very own playground, complete with huge comfortable sofas which she and her best friends were snuggled into.
Nearby, she could hear Ben and his friends laughing as they played a game of snooker in the Snug, the hotel bar.
What a difference a day makes, thought Beth.
Jeremy had left, Noah was staying and the atmosphere was markedly different to the day before.
Even Walter seemed buoyed up, despite his injury.
‘Ben’s bouncing off the walls with excitement at ordering the generator,’ said Lily, before taking a sip of her own drink. ‘It’s going to make all the difference in the world to the business. Mmm. This cocktail is delicious. Frankie has outdone herself this time.’
‘What is it called again?’ asked Hannah.
‘The Witch’s Brew,’ Ella told them, looking at the purple liquid in her glass. ‘Blackberry liqueur, home-made apparently.’
‘It’ll be perfect for after the Halloween-themed outside swim this Friday,’ said Hannah, licking her lips.
Ella shuddered. ‘Are you still going ahead with that? You must be mad. It’ll be freezing in the lake.’
‘Alex has made all the necessary safety checks,’ replied Hannah, with a small frown. ‘It should be okay, shouldn’t it?’
‘Thank goodness I’m leaving tomorrow and have the perfect excuse not to go in the water,’ Ella told her. ‘Although I shall be reluctant to give up my beautiful hotel room as usual.’
With Beth and Noah using the spare bedrooms in the private family quarters, Ella had been staying in one of the many empty guest rooms instead.
‘It’ll be fine,’ Lily told Hannah. ‘Besides, everyone can warm up in the new sauna on the beach.’
After a successful summer for the water sports centre, and with the regular swimmers keen to keep using Dragonfly Lake for their health even over winter, Alex had invested their profits in a small portable sauna which had been wheeled onto the beach by the lake.
‘Have you used it yet?’ asked Hannah. ‘It’s amazing. Makes you feel all glowy after the cold water.’
‘I’d rather have a hot bath in private,’ muttered Ella.
‘Now that Alex and I have moved back into our apartment, maybe we can use it just the two of us in the evening when nobody’s around,’ said Hannah, blushing despite her cheeky grin. ‘It could be very romantic.’
‘Only if Tiny doesn’t decide to join you,’ Ella told her, glancing down at the huge dog sprawled in front of the fireplace.
Hannah looked across the coffee table at Beth who was sitting opposite her. ‘You okay? You’re awfully quiet tonight.’
Beth looked at her friend and sighed. ‘I was just thinking,’ she began, before her voice trailed off. She was embarrassed to even entertain her current thoughts without expressing them out loud.
‘Is this about the blog?’ asked Ella. ‘Because I think it’s starting to look amazing. Especially with Dotty’s photographs.’
‘I love that one she took with the moon last night,’ said Lily, nodding.
Beth and Ella had worked hard on the look of the blog that week and Beth had to concede that with the addition of Dotty’s shots of the night sky, it was beginning to look far more professional.
‘And I’m going to mention it on my own blog this weekend so get ready for an influx of visitors,’ carried on Ella. ‘And now that we’ve got the affiliate marketing set up for those telescopes and other stuff I don’t understand, those clicks are going to start to make you serious money each month.’
‘Great,’ said Beth, nodding.
But her heart and head weren’t in her blog that evening, despite it being important to her income going forward.
Finally, Ella rolled her eyes before giving her a nudge with her elbow. ‘Come on. What gives with you tonight? Are you in love with your fake boyfriend already?’ she asked, with a wide grin.
Beth gave a start. ‘Noah? No. I mean, he was perfect for a pretend boyfriend but…’ Her voice trailed off. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about what Noah had said to her that morning. ‘Do you think I dumb myself down for people?’
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Lily, looking bewildered. ‘You’re the brightest person I know.’
‘Yeah, you’re a geek,’ added Ella, nodding. ‘I mean, I don’t understand half of the gobbledygook you say when you come up with all that scientific stuff, to be honest. So if you’re dumbing down then I must be really stupid. By the way, nobody agree with me on that point, okay?’
‘Okay,’ agreed Hannah before looking at Beth. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘I mean, do I change when I’m with my boyfriends?’ asked Beth.
Ella inclined her head and stared at her for a minute. ‘Maybe a little,’ she said. ‘You’re not quite your usual chatty self around them.’
‘That’s right,’ said Hannah, nodding thoughtfully. ‘I’ve just realised that you’re not yourself. You go quiet when you’re with them. Although that could have been because nobody could get a word in with Jeremy, from what I saw.’
Beth sighed and leant back against the sofa cushions. ‘So Noah was right,’ she said.
‘He pointed that out to you?’ Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise. ‘Maybe he’s not so bad after all.’
‘He’s absolutely not that bad if he’s helping to build the lodges for us,’ said Hannah. ‘Not that I think he ever was, according to Grandad.’
‘So what’s going on?’ asked Lily, looking at Beth.
‘It was just something that Noah pointed out,’ Beth told her. ‘He said that I let Jeremy take over what I was saying as well as what I was wearing.’ She sighed. ‘And I guess he was right.’
‘Which is why Jeremy is a louse and we hate him,’ said Ella.
Lily nodded. ‘He was always a bit too full of himself.’
‘He made me feel small,’ said Hannah, looking downcast.
Lily grabbed her hand. ‘Which you’re absolutely not,’ she said, giving her friend’s hand a squeeze. ‘You’re wonderful and the most brilliant baker. Which is why the café is such a success.’
Hannah looked across at Beth. ‘And you’re successful too,’ she said quickly, ever fair.
Beth shook her head. ‘You’re sweet but even I can tell that’s an outrageous lie.’ But as her friends began to protest, she held up her hand to quieten them. ‘That’s okay. I know that I haven’t really got a career in astronomy.’
‘Well, you’ve been a huge help around the café these past couple of days,’ Lily told her. ‘And it’s really busy at the weekends so we always need a hand.’
But for once, Beth didn’t feel any better. The hotel was Lily’s dream job, not hers.
‘But what else?’ asked Beth, with a shrug. ‘The column pays minimum wage so it’s not enough. And yes, I appreciate the blog is up and running thanks to Ella’s hard work but I’m not sure that’s enough either.’
She looked up as Noah suddenly passed by the sofas and everyone greeted him. It seemed as if he had quickly become a part of the rhythm and pattern of life in Maple Tree Lodge, she thought.
‘Hey,’ he said, by way of greeting.
‘How was your journey to Brighton?’ asked Hannah. ‘Did you manage to get everything in your truck?’
He nodded. ‘All good, thanks.’
He would have carried on walking when Ella called out to him.
‘Hey, Noah,’ she said. ‘You seem to be full of ideas for our Beth here. Try this one on for size. What can she do job-wise using her vast and somewhat freaky knowledge of space and the universe?’
‘But would also keep her nearby because we love having her here,’ added Hannah in a soft tone.
Despite her embarrassment at Noah’s bemused expression, Beth shot a smile at her friend in grateful thanks.
‘Well, here’s an idea,’ said Noah. ‘What about showing the hotel guests the stars?’
‘You mean like one of those stargazing guides?’ asked Lily.
Noah nodded in response.
‘Ooh, that’s a great idea,’ said Hannah, looking delighted.
‘I agree,’ added Ella, also fired up with enthusiasm. ‘We can charge people and you take a hefty percentage as you’re the guide. So it’s another way of making money.’
‘Well, the hotel will already be full next weekend with guests after the Halloween swim on Friday night,’ added Lily, clapping her hands. ‘So what about Saturday night, okay?’
Beth blanched. ‘I can’t do that,’ she told everyone, shaking her head. It was a terrible idea.
‘Why not?’ asked Noah, raising his eyebrows at her. ‘You showed me the stars the other evening. What’s the difference?’
‘You weren’t a stranger,’ she reminded him. ‘We’d already spent the night together, remember?’ She faked a laugh and tried to ignore how brittle it sounded with her tension at his awful idea.
Noah didn’t laugh but merely kept looking at her. ‘How can I forget?’ he murmured.
Her friends suppressed their giggles.
Then he carried on. ‘But I also remember the passion you had in your voice when you told me about the planets. It was really interesting.’
Beth made a face in reply, still uncertain.
‘What harm can it do?’ he asked.
She rolled her eyes. ‘Puncture my already low self-confidence? Make me feel even worse about myself?’ she muttered.
Ella elbowed her in the ribs. ‘Hey! Jeremy’s not here. And he was wrong to make you feel that way.’
‘I absolutely agree,’ said Noah. ‘So what do you say?’
He and her three best friends all looked at her until Beth shuffled on the sofa, uncomfortable in their gaze.
‘Well?’ asked Ella.
‘Just remember that we’ve got your back,’ Hannah told her.
‘And your sides and front too,’ added Lily.
It was a familiar mantra between the four of them and helped ease some of Beth’s nerves. Could she really do this? But with her friends’ support and even Noah’s approval, she felt she had no choice but to nod her head in agreement, wondering what on earth she had let herself in for.