Page 6 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

She sprang off the sofa and was about to whoop with delight when she noticed the handsome man still asleep in the bed and stopped short with a silent gasp.

The night before came back to her at breakneck speed. Rushing away from horrible Jeremy, heartbroken and only thinking of getting back to her beloved home from home. Stumbling across Noah in the middle of the night, in the middle of a power cut. There had obviously been some kind of mix-up with the bedrooms. Not that she minded, the sofa had been comfortable enough.

What she did mind was that she was still in her pyjamas and desperate to see the family downstairs.

So she picked up her bag as silently as she could and crept into the bathroom to get changed. Five minutes later and she was dressed. She checked her phone but there were no messages from Jeremy. No apologies, no voicemail begging her to go back. She sighed and shook her head in sad dismay at her reflection before turning away.

Finding Noah still asleep when she came out of the bathroom, she padded silently across the thick carpet to the bedroom door. She reached out to the door handle, checking back at the bed to make sure she wasn’t disturbing him.

She allowed herself a slow leisurely check of his handsome face, relaxed in sleep. He was around her age, in his early thirties, with dark hair, a five o’clock shadow across his chin and that bare muscular torso that she had already seen the night before.

She stood there admiring him for a moment, a smile beginning to play on her lips before she abruptly shook her head at herself. What was she thinking of? She had literally just been cheated on by Jeremy! It was definitely time to stay single and let her romantic dreams lie dormant for a while.

With a determined nod, she left the bedroom and headed downstairs.

Everything looked and felt better in the daylight, she realised. The double height of the oak-beamed entrance hall shone in the morning sunshine and she was almost tempted to hum to herself as she headed past the reception desk and into the family kitchen.

At once, she was enveloped in the aroma of home cooking and the sound of the Jackson family milling around, getting the breakfast service ready for their guests and chatting away to each other.

However, as soon as they spotted her, acry went up around the large oak table where everyone had gathered and various members of the family rushed across to greet her.

Her best friend Hannah was first, her long blonde hair flying behind her as she raced up to Beth.

‘Lily’s just told us that you arrived last night!’ she said, drawing her best friend into a hug. ‘I hate the reason why you’re here but love that you are.’

Sweet Hannah, thought Beth. As usual, she smelt of the delicious cakes and pastries that she made for her café in the old boathouse on the lake.

Next was Alex, Hannah’s boyfriend. An ex-athlete, he was a gentle giant and when he greeted her with a hug, she barely came up to his shoulders.

‘Sorry about your relationship,’ he told her, stepping back and almost standing on Tiny, his enormous Newfoundland dog, in the process.

Tiny didn’t appear to mind, merely wagging his tail at all the excitement in the kitchen.

Beth shrugged away the pain in her heart and reached down to stroke Tiny. ‘Better off without him, to be honest,’ she replied. Although the worry about how she was going to pay her rent going forward if she had lost her job was beginning to weigh heavily on her. ‘Anyway, I’m just glad to be here,’ she added, as she straightened up.

‘And we’re glad to have you,’ said Faye, Hannah and Ben’s mother, coming forward to embrace her.

She was the kind of mother that Beth had always dreamt of having. Supportive, loving, always available with a shoulder to cry on alongside home cooking to nourish and make you feel better.

After Faye, Frankie stepped forward. She was Faye’s acerbic best friend who had come to live with the family after hermarriage broke down. She wasn’t known for having a soft and forgiving take on relationships so Beth braced herself for the inevitable.

‘Listen,’ said Frankie, after she’d hugged Beth. ‘Men cheat because their brains are in their pants. And pants aren’t known for logical thinking. So, how about I put a shot of vodka in your orange juice to keep the pain away?’

There was a chorus of disapproval to which Frankie made a face at them. ‘It’s for the vitamin C! And it’s very important to keep it topped up with winter coming.’

‘Thanks but I’ll stick with the coffee,’ Beth told her.

‘Spoilsport,’ said Frankie, with a wink.

Next to greet her was Ben, Hannah’s brother and manager of the hotel.

‘Hey, good to see you,’ he said, giving her a wave. ‘Can’t believe you crept around in the darkness like that last night.’

‘It was fine,’ Beth told him. ‘And the power cut’s all fixed now, I guess?’

Ben nodded but didn’t look particularly happy. ‘Till the next time,’ he muttered in reply.

‘I keep telling him it’s just electricity,’ said Dotty, Ben and Hannah’s grandmother, squeezing past him. ‘Nothing important.’