Page 128 of Brighter Together

“You mean terrify everyone.”

“I prefer leadership.”

I laugh. “Thanks, Sheila.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“Monitoring my love life?”

“No. Helping you run the hotel.”

She opens the door. “Your love life just happens to be part of the management challenge this week.”

Then she leaves.

I sit there for a moment after the door closes.

She is right about one thing. Keeping Ella a secret made sense while we worked out whether Manchester had been a spectacular mistake.

But now we know it wasn’t, maybe it really is time.

My gaze drops to the folder on my desk.

The expansion.

I’ve been through every proposal several times, and the one from Ella’s family is still the strongest.

My solicitor has raised a couple of contract points, but nothing serious. Frank likes the commercial potential. Even looking at the plans again gives me the same spark of excitement I felt in Manchester.

The design understands Greenview.

It doesn’t try to turn the hotel into something fashionable or sleek simply for the sake of it. It respects what is already here and builds around it.

It feels right.

I should be drafting my response.

Instead, I look at the clock.

Ella left less than half an hour ago and I already want to see her again.

Ridiculous, perhaps, but I’m past pretending otherwise.

I gather the proposal papers into one neat pile, push back my chair and grab my phone and car keys.

The work will still be here tomorrow.

For years I have known that while behaving as though everything has to be finished immediately.

Tonight, I leave it.

I stop at reception long enough to let them know I’m heading out, then walk to the car.

As I drive down the driveway, I’m already thinking about Ella’s flat, whatever she has planned for dinner and whether we’ll actually manage to eat it before ending up in bed.

Leaving unfinished work behind used to make me restless.

Nowadays it feels surprisingly easy.