Snowy Nights at the Lonely Hearts Hotel: A heart-warming feel-good romance

by Karen King

  ‘Okay, I’ll do it. I’m sure I can manage to organise a party for a few hours.’

  ‘Oh thank you, Saffy.’ Hannah sounded almost tearful. ‘I’ll message you all the details, and Logan, one of our neighbours, has our spare key and will help you if you need anything. I’ll WhatsApp you his number. Oh and there’s a couple more things…’

  Saffy braced herself. Hannah was such a perfectionist she probably wanted to tell her exactly how to decorate the house and tree. ‘Go on…’

  ‘We always have a real Christmas tree so you’ll have to get one. Logan will help you…’

  Okay, so maybe she’d have to travel down Sunday night so she had time to locate and buy a Christmas tree.

  ‘That’s fine.’

  ‘And Logan is looking after Oscar, but he’s a single parent and works from home and I don’t want to leave our mad English springer spaniel with him for another week. Poor Oscar must be wondering what’s happening too, and would be much happier in his own home, so could you possibly go down as soon as you can? When do you finish work?’

  Saffy bit her lip as she considered her reply. She didn’t want to tell Hannah that she had already finished work. But Hannah had always been able to suss out when she was lying.

  ‘Saffy…?’

  ‘I’ve finished, I go back 2nd January,’ she confessed, knowing what was coming next.

  ‘Oh, that’s brilliant. You can go down today then, can’t you? I’ll let Logan know. Thank you so much, Saffy. You will wait for us to come home before you go back, won’t you? We’d all love to see you.’ And she was gone.

  Well, bang goes my Christmas, Saffy thought. That was typical Hannah; one moment she’d persuaded Saffy to host a party on Christmas Day, the next she’d talked her into going down to Cornwall for over a week. She’d be lucky if she got home for Robbie and Duncan’s New Year’s Eve party at this rate!

  Her phone pinged. She glanced at the screen and saw that it was a WhatsApp message from Hannah.

  Thank you, Saffy. I really am grateful. I forgot to say how many will be coming to the party. There will be ten parents and twenty-five children – ranging from a six-month-old baby to a couple of twelve-year-olds.

  What? Saffy read the message again. Thirty-five mouths to cook for. And to entertain. What would she do with them all? She wasn’t as at home with kids as Hannah was. In fact, they scared her! Why had she let Hannah talk her into this?

  Another message followed, containing details of where the Christmas tree decorations and trimmings were (and that Hannah always put them up Christmas Eve, like their mum always did), games she usually played with the kids, Logan’s telephone number and strict instructions to ask him if she needed any help as he knew how Hannah organised the party. Having persuaded Saffy to organise the Christmas dinner she was now obviously worrying that she wouldn’t do it properly. Hannah always seemed to think she could do everything better than Saffy. Well, if she thought this Logan was so good why hadn’t she asked him to organise it all?

  Saffy sat up in bed, hugging her knees. What had she let herself be talked into? Then she immediately felt bad. Her sister had sounded really distressed on the phone. She was worried sick about the twins and trying not to let everyone down, that’s all. Poor Hannah, what a way to spend Christmas. She knew how much her sister would be missing home, especially at this time of year. It was selfish to bother about having to give up her own Christmas plans when Hannah had so much to think about.

  Well, she’d better let Robbie and Meg know the change of plan. She called Robbie first.

  ‘That’s a bummer, Duncan has a surprise theme this year and you’d have loved it. Still, you can’t let your sister down, can you?’ Then his voice brightened. ‘You’ll be back for our New Year’s Eve party, won’t you?’

  ‘You bet! I’ll be back for the weekend.’

  ‘Well good luck, Saf. It’s not really your thing is it, organising a huge party for families, but I’m sure it’ll be fun. We’ll miss you though.’

  ‘You’ll have plenty of other guests to keep you busy,’ replied Saffy. Robbie and Duncan loved entertaining and she knew there would be at least a dozen other guests there. Shame they weren’t free to come down with her; organising the Christmas party would be a doddle for them. ‘Seeing as I’m not coming to the party you can tell me the theme now, can’t you? Let me know what I’m missing.’

  ‘No can do. Duncan will kill me. You’ll have to check out the pics on FB to find out.’

  Whatever it was it would be flamboyant. Duncan never did anything by halves. ‘Have fun anyway. And good luck with the proposal – I can’t wait to see the ring you both choose. I’ll have to give you your present on Saturday,’ she said.

  ‘You too, hun. And good on you for helping your sister out. Christmas spirit and all that.’

  Saffy couldn’t help feeling a bit wistful as she ended the call. Robbie and Duncan’s parties were always such good fun, she wished she could be there.

  Don’t be selfish, she told herself as she dialled Meg’s number.

  Meg sounded disappointed, and a bit envious, when Saffy told her. ‘Hey, we’ll miss you but that’s so kind of you. And it sounds fun, I almost wish I was coming with you. I think Christmas in Cornwall would be lovely.’

  Saffy looked over at her white Christmas tree decorated with blue and silver baubles twinkling in the corner of her flat. She’d spent hours decorating it but it looked nowhere near as artistic as the one in the magazine she’d copied. She was good at her job but nothing practical that she did ever turned out how she wanted it, so it was no wonder Hannah was worrying about the party. Hell, Saffy was worrying about the party! If she messed up she’d probably never hear the last of it from Hannah. Her bossy older sister was always so in control, and organised.

  And stranded over in another country with two very poorly children, Saffy reminded herself. Well, she wasn’t going to let Hannah down. She was going to make a success of this party. All she had to do was treat it like a project. Plan it all out carefully, stick to the agenda then it would all be fine.

  * * *

  Logan Carter read the message from Hannah again. The twins were laid up with the measles and they wouldn’t be allowed to fly home for another week, but her younger sister, Saffy, was coming down later to organise the Christmas party and take over looking after Oscar, so everything was still as planned. Could he give Saffy the spare key Hannah had left with him and help out if Saffy needed it?

  Hannah had often spoken about Saffy, who had only been down to visit once the entire time Logan had lived in Port Breok. Not that he’d met her; he and Chloe had been away visiting his parents in Scotland that weekend. Apparently Saffy was a career girl who worked hard and partied hard and didn’t have time to come down to Cornwall and visit her only sibling and young nephew and niece. She sounded a bit like Jade, his ex. He was surprised that Saffy had given up her Christmas – which would no doubt have involved lots of kid-free partying – at such short notice to come down to Cornwall and organise a Christmas party for a group of single parents. Not as selfish as Jade, then.

  Well, it was good of her; everyone would be really disappointed if the party was cancelled, especially Chloe. His little daughter was only six and Christmas was still a big event for her. He and Chloe had been going to the LH Christmas party (named after the initials of Liwus Helyk, Hannah and Lee’s B&B) ever since Hannah had seen them move in across the road just before Christmas five years ago and had invited Logan to join them. They’d both really enjoyed themselves and now looked forward to it every year. Hannah and Lee were fantastic hosts, there was always plenty of food and fun games to play. Christmas Day wouldn’t be the same without their party and he was glad that it would still take place, even though Hannah and Lee wouldn’t be there. Of course, it would seem strange with Hannah’s sister in charge, but he was happy to muck in and was sure the other parents would too. He messaged back to say that he hoped the twins would be better soon and he’d be glad
to help any way he could and to tell Saffy not to hesitate to contact him if she needed anything.

  His phone pinged again as an email came in from the client he was designing a new bungalow for. They had originally planned completion for the summer but had made so many alterations to their original design that they’d driven Logan, and the builders who were waiting to start work on it, mad. At this rate they’d be lucky if the bungalow was completed for next winter! Working from home as an architect wasn’t easy, not when you had a six-year-old to look after. It was Chloe’s Christmas play at school today, and her carol service tomorrow.

  Oscar barked and dropped a ball by his feet, tail wagging expectantly.

  Logan stroked the dog’s head. ‘Sorry, boy, but I’ve got work to do. No time for playing today.’

  As if he understood, the dog lay down, resting his chin forlornly on his front paws.

  Logan sighed, sat down at his desk and fired up his laptop. First things first; Chloe broke up from school tomorrow so he needed to get as much work done as he could before then.

  * * *

  Saffy pulled on her coat and grabbed her car keys. Her suitcase was packed, she’d even had time to go shopping and buy gifts for Hannah, Lee and the twins. She’d left the presents she’d received from friends under her Christmas tree; she’d open them when she came home.

  As she loaded the car she cast her mind back to the one and only time she’d visited Hannah and Lee, for the twins’ christening when Hannah had asked her to be godmother. Their beautiful six-bedroomed pebbledash cottage was named Liwus Helyk, which was Cornish for ‘colourful willow’, after the gorgeous willow tree in the back garden. And it was only a few minutes’ walk from the beach. She remembered staying in a pretty room with an en suite, overlooking the harbour, but couldn’t recall much else about it. Hannah and Lee had bought the cottage with the intention of running a bed and breakfast business during the summer and from what she gathered it was very popular. She felt a bit guilty that she hadn’t been down again even though Hannah had invited her to stay several times. She had always been too busy doing other things – working, partying, dating. Well, now she was going to be spending more than a week there, most of it on her own. She’d have Oscar, she told herself; they could enjoy some long walks along the beach. And maybe she could take a look around the local craft shops too. She might spot someone suitable for buycreative.com. If she could go back with a couple of potential partners that might impress Ajay enough to give her that promotion.

  Chapter Three

  ‘Can I put the decorations on top of it, Daddy, please?’ Chloe begged as she watched Logan pipe icing around the edges of the cake.

  Logan finished the curl of icing then looked at his precious daughter’s eager face. ‘Sure you can.’ He smiled. ‘How about we go and choose some new decorations for it on Saturday?’

  Chloe clapped her hands excitedly, her dark bunches bouncing animatedly. The thick dark hair was definitely from Jade, but the smiling blue eyes were a replica of his. And, thankfully, she showed no sign of having Jade’s temperament. ‘Can I ice a bit of the cake too? I’ll be really careful.’

  Logan concentrated on filling the piping bag with more icing while he considered this. He’d taken up cake-making and decorating as a way of relaxing and spending time with his daughter, partly spurred by the constant guilt of spending hours working on his laptop while Chloe watched TV or played. Then, a couple of months ago, Hannah had admired the Dory birthday cake that Logan had made for one of the children in the village and asked him to make the Christmas cake for the party. Logan had been a little hesitant, but it was a way of contributing and paying Hannah and Lee back for their hospitality, so he’d agreed. Now he was trying not to fret over it, but his competitive streak was kicking in and suddenly it was ridiculously important that the cake was a success. He pushed down the competitiveness. He’d started this hobby so he could do something with Chloe, he reminded himself, and none of the families coming to the Christmas party would mind if the icing was a bit askew. He handed her the piping bag. ‘Go ahead.’

  Chloe’s face lit up in delight. ‘I’ll be really careful,’ she promised.

  Logan guided Chloe’s hand as, tongue sticking out between her teeth, she squeezed the icing down through the nozzle and carefully wove a rather wonky swirl of icing around one edge of the big square cake – big enough for about thirty people to have a slice, he was hoping.

  ‘That’s brilliant,’ he told her.

  Chloe grinned triumphantly. ‘Can we save a piece for Mummy too?’ she asked. ‘She will come and see us at Christmas, won’t she?’ The little girl bit her lip anxiously as she waited for his answer.

  Logan fought down the familiar surge of anger whenever Chloe asked to see her mum. It wasn’t that he still had feelings for Jade – they had disappeared years ago when he’d realised how self-centred she was – but his ex-partner’s casual attitude to their daughter infuriated him. She’d finally walked out on them both just before Christmas, when Chloe was only eight months old, although she had hardly been home before then. And rarely visited Chloe since, just flying over for a couple of days when she could spare the time from her high-powered job in Brussels as MD of an international gift company. He couldn’t understand how she could be so cold-hearted towards their little girl.

  ‘You’ve never understood how important my work is,’ Jade had complained when Logan had pointed out that she hadn’t seen their baby daughter for two weeks and he was struggling to hold down his job and arrange babysitters. They were still together at the time. ‘I never wanted kids, you know that. I love Chloe but this isn’t the life I planned.’

  Chloe had been an ‘accident’ and Jade never let him forget it. They had only been together for six months and had got carried away one night after a party. Neither of them had a condom on them so had decided to chance it – something Jade had never forgiven Logan for. She’d carried on working right up until two days before Chloe was born and started again when she was two weeks old, despite Logan begging her to give herself longer to recover and the chance to spend some precious time with Chloe. At first, Chloe was left with a succession of childminders if Logan was at work, then Jade booked her into a day nursery when she was just three months old. One Sunday afternoon, Logan had arrived home from a weekend business trip to find four-month-old Chloe crying alone in her room while her teenage babysitter entertained friends. Furious, he’d picked up and cuddled Chloe, told the babysitter in no uncertain terms that she would never be babysitting for them again and vowed that from now on Chloe would come first. He tackled Jade when she returned home from Brussels later that evening, but she merely replied that she’d had to go away on a last-minute business trip and the babysitter was the daughter of a friend so she’d trusted her. ‘Chloe is as much your responsibility as mine,’ she retorted. ‘Why should I have to give up a career I love? You’re not giving up your career, are you?’

  That was when Logan made the decision to work from home and take care of Chloe himself. The company he worked for had been very understanding and agreed he could be home-based as long as he attended regular meetings. He’d reduced Chloe’s nursery hours, and worked around his baby daughter. Jade came home less and less, until a few months later she left for good, telling Logan that ‘she wasn’t a natural mother’ and that Chloe was better off living with him, promising she would visit regularly and put some money in his bank towards Chloe’s keep. Obviously, Jade’s idea of ‘visiting regularly’ wasn’t the same as Logan’s, as she only turned up every few months and didn’t always make it for Chloe’s birthday or Christmas. Logan was still waiting to hear if she intended to visit this Christmas. She was just as irregular with her maintenance money. A year after Jade had left, Logan had moved to Cornwall, wanting Chloe to live in a house with a garden to play in, and near the sea rather than an apartment in the city. He’d met Hannah and Lee, and Hannah had offered to look after Chloe whenever he had to attend a meeting, while Annie Mackintos
h, the friendly next-door neighbour, babysat now and again if he wanted a couple of hours out in the evening. Chloe was now a happy, settled six-year-old. But she missed her mother.

  ‘I’m sure she’ll try,’ he reassured Chloe. ‘You know how busy Mummy is, she’ll make it if she can.’ Angry as he was with Jade’s careless attitude towards Chloe, he was determined not to badmouth her to their young daughter. Chloe feeling loved and wanted by her mother was far more important than his irritation towards his ex.

  ‘Not Christmas Day though, Daddy. I want us to go to the LH party on Christmas Day. It’s the bestest part of Christmas. ’Sides, we have to go ’cos we have to take our cake.’

  ‘We’re definitely going to the LH Christmas party,’ Logan told her. ‘Mummy will probably come to see you on Boxing Day.’

  Chloe looked relieved. ‘Can I lick the icing bowl?’ she asked.

  ‘You can.’ Logan grinned and ruffled his daughter’s hair

  Oscar, who had been watching them from the corner of the kitchen, stood up and trotted over, wagging his tail too.

  ‘You can’t have any, Oscar, it’ll make you ill. Won’t it, Daddy?’ Chloe said.

  ‘Yes it will.’ Logan took his mobile out of his pocket. ‘I’m just going to make a phone call, poppet. I’ll be back in a minute.’

  ‘Okay.’ Chloe was used to Logan having to make calls and knew she had to keep quiet while he did, but this wasn’t a work call to a client. He wanted to call Jade again and find out what her plans for Christmas were. If they didn’t include a visit to Chloe he would let rip, and he didn’t want Chloe to witness that.

  To his surprise Jade answered on the second ring. ‘Ah, Logan, I was about to phone you.’

  ‘You were?’ He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He hadn’t heard from Jade for over six weeks.

  ‘Yes, I’m flying over for a few days next week to visit my parents so I’m going to pick up Chloe on Boxing Day and take her there overnight. Can you make sure she’s ready for about ten a.m.?’