Page 75 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

‘Humph.’ He looked at his sister. ‘Since when did you get so wise all of a sudden?’

‘I always was,’ she told him, laughing. ‘Now leave that tie alone.’

‘Nobody’s getting married tonight, are they?’ he grumbled.

Hannah glanced over his shoulder and smiled. ‘Well, I know at least one beautiful single woman that’ll be here tonight, if you’re thinking about proposing.’

Ben spun around to follow her gaze and found himself gulping. Lily was coming down the stairs. But it wasn’t the same Lily who had headed up there only half an hour ago, dressed in jeans and jumper.

Now she was transformed and he couldn’t stop himself staring.

She was wearing a grey jumper dress. It was classic and understated but there was nothing simple about the way it showed off her long legs as it only reached above her knees, nor the long suede boots which covered the bottom half of her legs. Her long red hair hung about her shoulders in soft waves and he had to mentally fix his arms to his sides to stop himself reaching out to stroke it as she walked up to them.

‘I love that top,’ she said to Hannah before turning to look Ben up and down. ‘Nice suit,’ she added.

‘Uh-huh,’ he managed to croak out.

Lily raised her eyebrows at him in surprise.

‘He’s a bag of nerves,’ said Hannah quickly. ‘About this evening.’

And Ben had never been more grateful for his sister than in that moment.

‘You look lovely,’ carried on Hannah.

‘You think?’ Lily glanced down at herself. ‘It’s a bit close fitting but all those walks around the lake mean that hopefully all your amazing cakes haven’t done too much damage.’

Ben stared at her curves and found his brain almost disconnecting. Thankfully Lily didn’t appear to notice.

‘So is everyone ready?’ asked Lily, glancing around.

‘We’re all set,’ replied Hannah.

‘Good job there’s so many of us tonight,’ said Lily.

Finally Ben’s brain clicked back into place. ‘At this point we might have more staff than guests,’ he managed to say.

Lily looked at him, her dark emerald eyes smiling softly at him. ‘It’ll be fine,’ she told him.

Ben blinked at her and, finding himself at a total loss for words, spun around to walk away before he did something crazy like take her into his arms and kiss her.

He had nearly done so the previous evening before Ella had interrupted them by the shore. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. His crush on Lily aside, he had far too much to worry about that evening and tried to focus on his to-do list rather than Lily’s curves.

He went into the lounge, checking that the fire was still roaring, that all the fairy lights were on and that the candles were lit as well. Outside, he could already see his grandad’s floating wicker baskets bobbing on the water nearby, lighting up the lake in pretty blues, greens and pinks.

‘We’re all set, I reckon,’ said Alex, coming out of the snug to smile at him. He was also smartened up in a dark shirt and tie which showed off his wide shoulders. ‘Just bring on the guests.’

‘If they come,’ said Ben, his fears still bubbling near the surface.

Jake strode into the lounge, his chef’s apron still firmly in place. ‘Just give me the nod and I’ll start bringing out the trays to tempt our many visitors.’

Ben groaned. This had been a crazy idea. What if nobody came? What if it were a total failure and after all their hard work, the hotel was still doomed?

‘What’s his problem?’ asked Jake, nodding at Ben.

‘He thinks nobody’s going to turn up,’ Alex told him.

Jake laughed. ‘Well, I’ve just seen three cars pull up in the car park so somebody’s come, in any case.’