Page 23 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

She knew he would disagree but she was determined to prove him wrong.

Sitting down later in the lounge with Ben to discuss her ideas for the design, Lily had butterflies in her stomach.

She had spent all afternoon working on her own designs and her heart was singing with the thought of decorating the hotel in her own style.

But first there was Ben to contend with.

She flicked on the first file on her laptop to show him what she had created.

He peered at the design on the screen before nodding his head in approval. ‘Looks great,’ he told her, looking once more at the almost white palette of the bedroom. ‘Just the vibe we were going for.’

She just managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes in time. She had blocked out every log, every piece of wood. It hardly even looked like a lodge any more.

‘So your USP when you open it is for the whole place to look like this?’ she asked.

‘Absolutely,’ said Ben in a firm tone. ‘Sharp. Modern. Slick. That’s totally the in-look at the moment. A lot of the hotels in the area are going the same way.’

Slick and modern? thought Lily. Was the man insane? He seemed bright enough but Ben was insistent that he wanted some kind of urban take on a modern hotel. It was totally at odds with both the people who ran the hotel and the place itself.

‘So about the budget,’ she began.

Ben’s face fell into a frown. ‘It’s got to be pretty tight, I’m afraid.’

She nodded. ‘I understand. You know, as I’ve been invited to stay on by Hannah for a while, I can do a lot of the decorating myself. I’m very good so there wouldn’t be a problem about the quality of the finish.’

He looked surprised but pleased. ‘That’s great,’ he said, relief filling his voice.

‘Obviously I’ll cost up all the materials for you but I’ll get going on the bedrooms in the morning, if that’s OK.’

‘Sooner the better,’ he replied.

‘When’s our deadline?’ she asked.

He leant back on the sofa. ‘I was thinking about that. We need some kind of grand reopening, I guess.’

‘That would be good in getting the word out,’ Lily told him.

He nodded. ‘I agree.’

‘Obviously there’s still the bedroom furniture to be ordered, curtains and the rest,’ Lily reminded him. ‘As well as the actual decorating.’

‘And the plasterers haven’t finished yet. And it’s already October,’ said Ben. ‘OK. How about 1 December?’

‘Sounds good,’ said Lily, thinking that the extra time might just be enough for her to decorate a few extra rooms. ‘And what about the lounge and dining room?’

‘Oh, I think we can make do as we are,’ said Ben. ‘Like I said, the budget’s pretty thin.’

Not wanting to push her luck at this stage, Lily merely nodded. ‘OK,’ she told him.

‘Well, this is great,’ said Ben, looking at the screen once more. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’

‘See you later,’ she replied, as he got up from the sofa and headed out of the lounge.

As soon as she was sure that he wasn’t in sight, Lily flicked the screen onto the secret plan that she had been working on that afternoon.

Immediately she found herself nodding at her own design. This was much better. They were the same bedrooms but in a completely different colour scheme. It was still modern but it was also cosy, warm and comfortable. The wall of wooden logs behind the bed glowed against the soft green of the walls. Touches of pale pink came from a blanket and cushions that shehad placed on the bed. In addition, she had added some more homely touches such as candlesticks and a pile of books on a small wooden table.

She knew that it was going to be tricky. That she would have to work fast to complete the room before someone saw what she had done. She planned to put up a ‘wet paint’ sign once she was done to keep everyone out. Hopefully it would sustain her for long enough to persuade Ben that she was right with her ideas.