Page 93 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

The following morning, everyone gathered in the kitchen in high spirits, despite the enormous amount of tidying up that needed to be done in the aftermath of the Dragonfly Dance.

‘It was a huge success,’ said Hannah, pouring herself a much-needed second coffee.

‘It was,’ said Walter, with a proud look on his face. ‘I’m very much looking forward to it becoming an annual event once more.’

‘Can we recover from the first one please, Grandad?’ asked Ben, with a groan.

‘Oooh, I shall have to get a different dress for next year,’ said Hannah. ‘And if Lily’s not wearing red again, I could always borrow hers.’

‘I’ll buy you both a new dress,’ Ben told them, which made everyone look surprised. ‘Because we are now fully booked every weekend for the next three weeks!’

There was a huge cheer from around the breakfast table. Everyone was thrilled with the success of the dance but more than that, the hotel was beginning to get a reputation as arelaxing place to stay and the future was looking healthy for the business at last.

Lily looked at Ben once more with a smile. They had danced together in front of everyone. Their secret relationship was not a secret any more. And she was filled with more joy than she ever thought possible. He made her feel cocooned in love, as if the cares and desires of chasing her career had been a mad game. But this? This was the most real thing she had ever felt. Life was sweeter, easier, happier and more fulfilled because she had become closer to her friends and was true to herself now.

Lily was just daydreaming about what colour dress she might choose for the following year’s dance, and also about the kisses that she had shared with Ben the previous evening, when her mobile rang.

She picked up and headed out into the entrance hall, thinking that it was a guest who had somehow got the wrong telephone number.

But it wasn’t about the hotel at all. It was a previous colleague of hers from the interior design firm, full of news.

‘Where are you working these days?’ asked Maisie, once she had told all her gossip.

‘In the countryside,’ Lily told her, looking out at the view across the lake.

‘Poor you! Well, it might be time for you to discard your wellies because have I got big plans!’ announced Maisie.

She then went on to tell Lily that she was creating her very own interior design firm.

‘That’s great,’ said Lily, wondering whether Maisie had merely rung her up to brag about her career.

‘But I’m not good enough to accomplish much by myself, which is why I’ve been thinking about a partnership,’ carried on Maisie. ‘And you’re the perfect person for the job.’

‘Me?’ Lily was stunned.

‘Your work is amazing,’ said Maisie. ‘I know how hard you work and plus I know it’s always been your dream. We can share the stress and the profits too, if there are any. What do you think?’

Lily was so gobsmacked that she agreed to head into London the following day to discuss the matter further with Maisie.

They arranged a time and place to meet up before Lily hung up. She stared across the lake in shock, trying to take it all in, before she jumped as a hand came around her waist and spun her around.

‘Hey,’ said Ben, dropping his head to kiss her on the lips. ‘Turns out I just can’t keep away from you. Was it Frankie’s cocktails?’

‘It must have been,’ she told him in a stilted tone.

Suddenly she was worried. Having her own design firm had been her dream for so long. For a long time it had been all she had thought about.

And then everything had changed over the past couple of months. Suddenly she had been consumed with the hotel. And the family. And Ben, of course. Was she willing to give all of that up for a partnership? She just didn’t know.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked, studying her face with his dark brown eyes.

‘I might have to go into London tomorrow,’ she said slowly, a feeling of dread beginning to wash over her.

‘London?’ He looked astonished. ‘What on earth for?’

She hesitated before speaking. ‘One of my ex-work colleagues is starting up an interior design company and she wants me to be her business partner. She wants to discuss it face to face tomorrow when she’ll have more details.’

Silence followed until she finally dared herself to look into Ben’s eyes. He looked as shocked as she felt.