Page 50 of Moonlight Kisses at Willow Tree Hall

‘It’s being famous again,’ said Mick, rubbing his grey sideburns, which he’d missed with the hair dye. ‘People wanting money everywhere I look. Vultures, the lot of them.’

‘Poor you,’ said the stranger in a sympathetic tone. ‘You really enjoyed those years being has-beens after all, eh?’

‘Turns out, I really did,’ said Mick, with a rueful nod of his head.

‘So, who is this creature?’ The short man turned his laser eye on Lily once more.

‘Play nice and don’t be a bitch,’ said Mick. ‘Lily, this is Alex Smith.’

‘It’s Alessandro these days,’ said Alex in a lofty tone.

Lily realised that this must be another house guest. This time it was Alex, the best friend of Sam and Will, who apparently was the interior designer who had made the house look so beautiful during the renovations.

Mick rolled his eyes. ‘Well, whatever your name is, you can take this bloody bunting and help me string it up.’

Alex sighed. ‘I hate manual labour.’

‘Tough,’ Mick told him. ‘The family are already stressed out and don’t need your attitude stinking things up as well.’

‘They’re stressed?’ asked Alex quickly. ‘What’s up? Is it the baby?’

‘Nah, mate. It’s the Hall, ain’t it?’ Mick told him. ‘Where have you been these past few days?’

‘I’ve been in Rome decorating some Z-list celebrity’s house,’ said Alex, with a heavy sigh. ‘I’m exhausted and now I just want to enjoy the fete.’

‘Especially if it’s the last one,’ said Mick in a grim tone.

‘What are you talking about?’ asked Alex, wide-eyed.

‘They’re talking about razing our beloved Willow Tree Hall to the ground.’

Lily discreetly left Alex staring goggle-eyed at Mick’s shocking words. This piece of bad news she was already aware of, unfortunately.

20

By early evening, all the family and guests were exhausted from setting up the fete and had congregated around the large patio table and chairs overlooking the back grounds.

Thankfully for Lily, dinner had only consisted of cold meats, quiches, salads, and lots of bread and potato salad, so she didn’t have to worry about cooking a meal. She brought in a second jug of the cocktail she had made, as well as all the plates and cutlery.

‘I can bring some of that outside for you,’ said Sam, leaping up.

‘You’re making me feel guilty that we’re all resting and you’re still working,’ Annie told her, frowning.

‘It’s fine,’ said Lily, putting the plates onto the table. ‘It’s my job.’

‘What am I drinking?’ said Alex, staring down at his glass in amazement, having taken a sip. ‘This is fabulous!’

‘Lily made it,’ said Rose. ‘She’s a whizz at cocktails, so I asked her to whip up something for us.’

‘Can I taste lemon?’ asked Alex.

‘It’s prosecco, limoncello, frozen raspberries and a leaf or two of mint,’ Lily told him.

Alex took another sip. ‘It’s wonderful. Just right for a summer’s evening.’

‘The limoncello was from the batch I picked up from a monastery in Tuscany a few years ago,’ said Rose, with a dreamy look on her face. ‘Does anyone want to know how I managed to seduce a monk?’

‘No!’ came the resounding shout in response.