The Big Dreams Beach Hotel
Page 25
‘Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne.’ we all answer.
‘For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.’
The Colonel joins Lill on stage. ‘May I, Lillian?’ With a quizzical expression on her face, she hands him the mic. He holds it like it might bite.
‘Happy New Year, ladies and gentlemen.’
‘HAPPY NEW YEAR!’ the room calls back.
‘Right, thank you for indulging an old soldier. I don’t want to keep you from your R&R so I’ll do this in double time.’ He clears his throat. ‘It seems the right time to say thank you to everyone who’s been a part of this hotel. Whether you’ve worked here – Rose, Chef, Cheryl, Jane, and most recently, Rory – or lived here – Miracle, Peter, Barry, Lillian. Or been a guest or part of one of the events we’ve put on over the years. Without you all, it’s only a draughty old building. You’ve made it what it is: my home.’ He nods to the residents and puts his arm around Lill. ‘Our home. Here’s to many more happy years here together.’
We all cheer, but he says, ‘There’s just one more thing, if I may. Lillian, you asked me what my New Year’s resolution was. I said I’d get back to you. Well, it’s this.’ He slowly lowers himself to one knee. ‘Lillian, if you’ll have me, my resolution is to marry you.’
There’s a collective intake of breath in the room. But not from Lill. She’s too much of a pro to lose her cool onstage, even at a time like this.
She’s smiling. ‘You don’t want to just live together in sin?’
His eyes don’t leave hers. ‘I want to live together with you, Lillian. Sin or no sin. Will you make an honest man of me?’
‘Why, Colonel, I thought you’d never ask.’
She helps him to his feet so that he can kiss his fiancée.
‘There’s just one thing, though,’ she says, pulling her face back from his. ‘You’ve got to promise me we’ll find a way to get rid of all these bloomin’ flamingos.’
Acknowledgments
The Lilly books wouldn’t be possible without the efforts and encouragement of the HarperImpulse team. Thank you to Charlotte and Caz for being great editors, and to Sam, our social media guru who does such a wonderful job building the buzz around my books. A special mention has to go to Stu for designing this cover, which perfectly captures the story, and to Lucy, my exacting copy-editor.
And finally, to Scarborough. The hotel may be fictional, but I hope it captures the essence of Britain’s original seaside resort!
Also by Lilly Bartlett
The Big Little Wedding in Carlton Square
You’re warmly invited to the Wedding of the Century with all your favourite friends. It’s the most gorgeous vintage fun you’ll have this year!
The Second Chance Café in Carlton Square
A feel-good story that’s as scrumptious as your favourite slice of cake!
About the Author
Lilly Bartlett is the pen name of Sunday Times and USA Today best-selling author, Michele Gorman, who writes best-friend girl-power comedies under her own name.
Michele writes books packed with heart and humour, best friends and girl power. Call them beach books, summer reads or chick lit … readers and reviewers call them ‘feel good’, ‘relatable’ and ‘thought-provoking’.
She is both a Sunday Times and a USA Today bestselling author, raised in the US and living in London. She is very fond of naps, ice cream and Richard Curtis films but objects to spiders and the word ‘portion’.
If you want to hear about special offers, receive bonus content, find out when Lilly’s books go on sale and even get to read her books before they’re published, then sign up for her newsletter!
Click to read Lilly’s next book before it’s published, and maybe even for free!
@MicheleGormanUK
@MicheleGormanBooks
www.michelegorman.co.uk
About HarperImpulse
HarperImpulse is an innovative, award-winning digital imprint. In the four years since launch, we have continually hit digital bestseller lists, hosted the UK’s first online romance festival, published into over ten countries and grown an exciting stable of commercial women’s fiction authors.
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