Page 53 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

‘And this is just the start of it,’ said Hannah. ‘Wait until you see the bedrooms.’

‘I only did the rough stuff,’ said Ben, not wanting to do Lily a disservice. ‘Electrics, plumbing, all the boring bits. It was Lily’s designs that made it work. It wasn’t all me.’

‘Some of it was,’ said Hannah, as ever being fair. ‘But yeah, you two make a good team.’

Ben was surprised. ‘You think so?’ he asked.

‘I know so, dummy,’ she said, nudging him with her elbow.

‘Then I can’t wait to meet her,’ said Jake, with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Ben and Alex locked eyes as Jake wandered over to peer into the lounge.

‘I hope she’s got her sunglasses on so she won’t be dazzled by our resident playboy,’ said Alex, with a grin.

Ben smiled but found it grew rictus hard on his face. He was desperately hoping so too. The last thing he wanted was for Lily to fall for Jake’s handsome charms. But why was the question that he didn’t want to answer at that precise moment.

‘When are you due to reopen?’ asked Jake, wandering back to them.

‘First of December,’ Ben told him. ‘Although I had an idea that we could have a preview evening to show the place off to the locals. Then we’ll open up properly the following day.’

Jake made a face. ‘You do realise that it’s only a month away, right?’

‘Why do you think I invited you both down here this weekend to give us a hand?’ Ben told him, with a grin.

His friends rolled their eyes but he knew that they were happy to help.

‘Come and see the family,’ said Hannah, taking Jake’s hand and leading him away. ‘They’re desperate to see you both.’

As his friends headed into the kitchen, Ben looked around the entrance hall once more. There was still so much to do. But he had to admit that it felt like a tiny break in the relentless pressure to have his friends home once more.

However, as he went into the kitchen he was somewhat unsettled to find Jake already doing his best to flirt with Lily. She was smiling back at him, her usual dazzling smile lighting up her pretty face.

Ben found his good mood had instantly evaporated. Surely she wouldn’t be interested in such a flirt like Jake? And why would it matter if she was?

Could it mean that he was beginning to care for Lily? He didn’t want to admit that to himself.

They had grown closer day by day and they had opened up to each other when they had gone out to the restaurant for dinner. He enjoyed her company. But just as friends, he told himself.

But even so, he couldn’t stop himself hoping that she didn’t succumb to Jake’s obvious charms. So where did that leave their own friendship?

26

Lily found that she was enjoying meeting Ben’s best friends. It was like another piece of the Ben puzzle fitting into the overall picture, she thought, watching him laugh along with his friends at the other end of the dinner table.

‘Faye, that meal was incredible, as always,’ said Jake, leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek.

Lily had sensed straight away that Jake was a born flirt but it was offset by a self-deprecating humour. She didn’t think Jake could take anything seriously – that was her main impression of him.

Faye blushed. ‘Oh, Jake, it’s nothing like up to your standards,’ she said.

‘On the contrary, it’s much better than the rubbish that I serve up in that ghastly trendy place,’ Jake told her.

Jake had told Lily that he was a restaurant chef but from the sounds of it, he had travelled around even more than she had.

‘Where are you working now?’ asked Faye.

‘Some upmarket Asian fusion place in Soho,’ said Jake, before making a face. ‘But it’s so boring so I’ll be out of there as soon as I find somewhere else.’