There’s a dirty great pool of honey in front of me and I’m going in. Headfirst.
27
The next day, Lulu finished her shift at the hotel with thoughts of Ollie going round and round her head. She hadn’t been able to think of anything else all day and when Samantha, the other receptionist, had mentioned his name she’d swallowed hard and could barely stop herself from yelling from the top of her lungs.
Ollie kissed me! I kissed Ollie! Woohoo! I’m not washed up and left for dead.
The thing was, though, what did she do now? It was all very well saying that she was going to dive into the pot of honey, a very different thing to actually act on it. And why hadn’t he messaged her? She knew that he’d mentioned he had an early start and was away for a few days, but still. She must have checked her phone a thousand times throughout the day, desperate for a message to ping on her phone to the extent that Samantha had asked her if everything was okay.
As she walked home in her trainers with her black patent heels tucked safely in her bag, she went through the pros and cons of texting him. What would she say?
If she was going to press the issue of taking it further and taking the lead…
Hi, Ollie. Thank you for last night. Would you like to come over for dinner? Cons; did it look needy? Desperate maybe?
If she was going to pretend she didn’t care…
Hello, Ollie. How are you? Let’s do it again sometime. Cons; it might make him think that she wasn’t interested when she was. Ever so much.
And then how about if she just threw all caution to the wind? Do something she had never even considered. Live a little on the edge while she had the chance…
Hey, Ollie! Fancy a quickie? Cons; she would in actual fact be more than petrified to follow it through and he could quite possibly think no way and run a mile.
Lulu looked at the time and quickened her pace. She only just had time to get home, shower and get changed, and make her way over to Strawberry Hill for dinner at her friend Lottie’s house. Maybe Lottie would have an idea about what to do.
After Lottie’s husband had passed away ten years earlier, she was in a new relationship with a lovely man and had handled a new partnership relatively easily without any dramas. Yes, she would halt on texting him and ask Lottie’s advice. Unlike Willow, Lottie wouldn’t judge, would be more impartial, and tell her what she thought.
Forty minutes later, with her patent heels safely away in their box in the dressing room and in straight-legged jeans, a crisp white shirt, and a pair of Chanel ballerinas, Lulu put Mabel’s lead on, put the lamp on in the study for when she came back, and walked back out the front door.
With a bottle of wine in her basket, she strolled through Pretty Beach taking her time as Mabel sniffed and wanted to stop at every tree and all the lampposts. Finally getting to the bottom of Strawberry Hill and consciously avoiding going anywhere near Ollie’s house, Lulu looked up at the line of huge Victorian villas and made her way to the one on the end.
Lulu smiled as she got to the immaculate garden. It looked like a scene from the Chelsea Garden Show and appeared so different from what she had just come from that she couldn’t believe the two places could both be classified under the same umbrella as ‘garden’. How did Lottie have three teenage boys, a thriving new business, a beautiful house, a new relationship, and a garden which not only had not a single weed, but also did not have a leaf out of place?
Lottie walked up to the door admiring the flowers lining the path and the impeccable plant pots placed just so by the front door. Ringing the front doorbell, she saw the outline of Lottie coming to the front door.
The door opened, Lottie beamed, gave Lulu a hug, and kissed her on the cheek.
‘Ooh, look at you, Lulu. You’re glowing. The Pretty Beach air is clearly working its wonders on you.’
‘Ahh. Thanks. It must be!’ Lulu laughed thinking that her glow had nothing to do with Pretty Beach and everything to do with one of its resident part-time firemen.
‘What have you been up to this week? You have that aura about you,’ Lottie asked with a frown.
Walking in, Lulu looked up at the high ceilings of the beautiful entrance hall decorated in layers of creams and whites. A huge hallway dresser with beach hats on the hooks, an enormous lamp with a white linen shade and a vase full of flowers graced the side.
‘Oh, Lottie! It all looks glorious as usual. I don’t know how you do it all.’ Lulu sighed. ‘Will Seafolly House ever get done?’
‘I never sit down! That’s my secret. And yes, it will get done and it will be the best decision you’ve ever made.’ Lottie smiled, ushering Lulu through the long hallway to the kitchen at the back. Opening the door, the warmth from Lottie’s Aga and a plethora of smells hit Lulu’s nostrils. It smelt of comfort, safety, a beautiful family home. Mabel was obviously thinking the same, as she sniffed around contentedly, and then collapsed slap bang in front of the Aga.
‘I think Mabel’s happier here too!’ Lulu said as she pulled out a chair and looked around the huge kitchen.
‘Okay. Time for a few bubbles I believe,’ Lottie said with a giggle.
‘You hardly drink, Lottie! And there’s no way I’m polishing that off on my own,’ Lulu replied.
‘I’ll just have a sip. I’m sure it will get finished with Dimitri around,’ Lulu said as she popped the top off a bottle of champagne, poured it into two beautiful flutes, and passed one over to Lulu.
‘Cheers. Here’s to friendship. So pleased you can pop around for supper so easily now,’ Lottie said and after taking a tiny sip of her bubbles pottered around the kitchen and took a loaf of bread out of the Aga.
Climbing up a small ladder on a set of open shelving, Lottie grabbed a large bottle of olive oil, climbed back down, put the bread on the table, poured the olive oil onto a platter and splashed balsamic vinegar on top.
‘Dimitri’s best olive oil for the occasion.’ Lottie laughed.
‘Wow, I’m getting all the special treatments this evening.’
‘You are, because you deserve it with what you’ve been through.’
‘Ahh, I’m fine. It’s funny, you know, I never would have thought it at the time, but underneath the nice life with the house and the husband and the holidays, I think I sort of knew things weren't right. I can’t explain it, but now I’m here I feel almost pleased to be on my own? Not sure if that makes sense or not?’
Lottie took a sip of her bubbles, ripped off some of the fresh bread, dipped it into the oil and then into a tiny dish of sea salt. ‘Yeah. I do know what you mean. I was on my own for a long time and until Connor came along it was the better alternative to settling for someone who wasn’t right.’
‘Hmm. I don’t think I settled for Fenton - remember how head-over-heels I was? Crikey, I look back at it now and I cringe. I was nuts about him.’
‘You were. You need it to be like that at the start though, or you’d never get past the things that come later - washing their dirty socks and listening to the football.’
‘True.’
‘I remember you then in those early days. You had a funny look about you,’ Lottie said and then suddenly looked up. ‘Hang on! I knew it. There is something about you. It’s that same look!’
Lulu took a large sip of her champagne. ‘Oh dear, I don’t believe it. I can’t keep anything quiet.’
‘What? What is giving you that look? I knew it as soon as I opened the door!’
Lulu put her drink down. ‘It’s a bit of a long story, but I’ll get to the end. Remember the guy Ollie I told you about?’
‘The one who knocked you off your bike and then helped with the strimming?’ Lottie asked.
‘The very one,’ Lulu replied and couldn't stop her face from breaking into a grin. ‘Turns out he’s part of the Cavendish Group.’
‘Oh right. He works at the hotel, does he?’
Lulu coughed. ‘Yeah, more than that. He sort of owns it and I sort of kissed him last night.’
&n
bsp; Lottie jumped up from her chair giggling and started doing a little jig around the table and punching her fists in the air. ‘Woohoo. Go stick that in your pipe, Fenton!’ Lottie yelled. Mabel woke with a start and started barking. ‘Oops, sorry Mabel.’ Lottie giggled and sat back down.
With bright flushed cheeks Lulu continued, ‘I was taking Lulu for a walk last night and ended up getting fish and chips with him and then boom, I was kissing him at the end as we went to leave.’
‘That explains the look you’ve got,’ Lottie replied. ‘Wait a minute, back up a bit. He owns the hotel? I thought Atlanta Cavendish bought the hotel a few years back? I remember it was the talk of the town.’
‘Yep, Ollie Cavendish is one of Atlanta’s sons. He helps out with the business and he’s a part-time fireman.’
Lottie sighed pleasurably. ‘Ooh, this is just the best news ever! Get a picture and splash it all over Facebook as Fenton has with his new bit of stuff. Talk about a spectacular rebound.’
Lulu smiled. ‘I have to admit, it is tempting.’
‘God he will be green. Bottle green in fact. You know how obsessed Fenton is with money.’
‘I know. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. It was a one-off kiss and I think there might be a girlfriend involved but I’m going to cross that bridge when I come to it.’
‘How do you know that then? He told you he has a girlfriend and then kissed you? I don’t like the sound of that,’ Lulu said shaking her head and scrunching up her face.
‘No, he didn't tell me that. I may or may not have spent a whole evening Googling the heck out of the Cavendish Group the other night. I now know their inside leg measurements and what they like for breakfast in the morning. And someone mentioned a rumour of it at the hotel, but as far as I can tell there is no serious girlfriend as such. Well, not down here in Pretty Beach at least.’
‘Right,’ Lottie said nodding.
‘The more important question is: What am I going to do? Do I text him? Do I wait? I've no idea. Do I pop round there on the off-chance?’
Lottie giggled as she got a huge dish of lasagne out of the Aga. ‘You’re asking me for relationship advice! Hilarious, Lulu. I can barely get it right myself. You’re barking up the wrong tree. I’m useless in this department.’
‘True. Wills is being her usual dramatic self and saying I should be careful.’
‘I believe she may have a point. You’re just out of all that stress and drama with Fenton.’
Lulu nodded and sighed. ‘I am. I don’t know though, this feels different.’
‘Then again, what the heck, why not jump straight in? If he makes you look like that, sod it, just go for it. What have you got to lose? We might all be dead tomorrow, right? And I say that with only half a joking tone. We don’t exactly need to reiterate how I know that to be true.’
Lulu spooned a large helping of lasagne onto her plate and slowly nodded. ‘You see, that’s why I’m friends with you, Lottie. We most certainly might all be dead tomorrow. Meaning I’m going to go for it. Thank you for your most treasured assistance.’
28
The next day, still having heard nothing from Ollie and deciding to bide her time, Lulu jumped off the ladder in what was going to be her bedroom, pulled her hair out of its ponytail, and redid it in a bun on the top of her head. The whole room, above and below the picture rail, was now finished and wearing a very delicious, very fresh shade of pure brilliant white.
After another visit to the DIY store and a long conversation with Paul about Lincrusta wallpaper, the peeling paper had now been fixed and painted, the floor vacuumed and scrubbed, and the woodwork rubbed down and painted. Painting the high ceiling had been a perilous job, with Lulu standing on the top of the ladder precariously holding an extendable pole with a paintbrush on the end and painstakingly getting through one small patch of ceiling at a time.
Now all of the effort, resultant tight shoulders, and the odd blue word had been worth it. The whole room seemed to be smiling. What was once a depressing mouldy dark space framed with rotting orange curtains was now clean, sanitised, and just needing one thing to call itself a bedroom. A bed.
Lulu had spent hours looking online for a bed. After life with Fenton had meant a new bed every two years and the last one having a cringe-worthy screen, powered by remote control, that came out of the foot of the bed, Lulu had decided a huge bed in the same era as the copper bath was what she was after. A few visits to fancy furniture shops where the beds were nearly as much as a small car had put paid to that idea and Lulu needed to find a Plan B.
Then one evening scrolling through Facebook Marketplace a bed popped up in her feed and she couldn’t hit the button to find out more fast enough.
Vintage-style brass and copper bed.
Emperor size (bigger than a super-king).
Bought for our guest room and never used.
Deluxe mattress still in packaging.
Need gone ASAP as moving to Spain.
Price negotiable.
Pick-up Pettacombe (pier end).
Can deliver for a small fee.
Lulu had pressed the message button to ask if the bed was still available with fingers crossed and two seconds later, a message had pinged from a woman named Cynthia to say that it was still available, and they needed it gone as they were moving in a week.
With that knowledge, Lulu had bitten her lip and offered a lower price than she thought Cynthia would accept but was delighted when Cynthia replied in the affirmative.
With a few messages back and forth, delivery arranged, and two huge pale cream bedside lamps thrown in for good measure, Lulu now had a bed, two lamps, and a mattress. Things were very much looking up from the airbed in the study. A few luxuries would have been nice but Lulu wasn’t complaining and a few things from Lovely Little Things would soon sort that out. A bed was the first step up the mountain of her new home, her new life in Pretty Beach.
Lulu looked down at her phone and checked her Facebook messages again. The delivery man had said he would be arriving at two, so she just had time for a quick sandwich and a cup of tea.
Rolling up the sleeves of her paint-covered shirt, she carefully made her way down the huge sweeping staircase, made herself a ham sandwich and a cup of tea, and with Mabel at her side sat out on the terrace in the sunshine enjoying her lunch.
As she finished the sandwich, she heard a vehicle out the front and walking down the side of the house she was reminded of the day in the pink gloves when Ollie had been standing by the end at the gate. Trying to put him out of her mind, she pulled open the gate and strolled in the sunshine across the weed-covered driveway. A man with a huge stomach, black t-shirt, shorts, and trainers jumped out of the cab of a white van and stood on the pavement looking up at the house. Five seconds later another taller, leaner man joined him and grinned.
‘Hello! Lulu, is it?’ the plump man asked with a kind face.
‘Yes, you must be Larry.’ Lulu smiled.
‘Exactly the one,’ Larry replied as he shaded his eyes and looked up at Seafolly House. ‘I thought it was! My old nan lived in this house for a while when I was a young lad. Cor, this is bringing back memories. I used to fly down here through the alleyway on my bike. When Cynthia told me the address I was sure of it and now I’m here I’m certain. Goes down to the sea at the back? Huge kitchen overlooking a block-paved terrace?’
‘Wow! How interesting. Yes, it does go down to the sea and still has the original kitchen.’
‘Blimey. It’s not in a good way now, though. You live in it, do you? In this state?’
‘I do.’ Lulu nodded.
‘Beautiful spot. I dread to think what it’s worth nowadays,’ Larry said, shaking his head.
Lulu smiled and followed Larry’s gaze back at the house as he continued, ‘A pretty penny I can tell you. Wow, look at that old shingling! Fantastic.’
‘It’s an amazing house. It just needs a lot of work. I’ll get there in the end...’ Lulu said trailing off.
‘Hmm. I tell you what, I have a number for some blokes who do gardening and stuff if you’d like it. I’ve used them for both my houses and they’re really good value for clearing and all that. Cash in hand, mind. I guess that’s how they keep their prices so low. They come in, out, and get the job done in no time at all. They’d make short work of this. Looking at the state of the front here, just getting the weeds down and trees trimmed alone would be an improvement,’ Larry noted while the taller man looked down the side of the house to the sea.
Lulu smiled to herself. Amazing how many people liked to offer their opinion on Seafolly House. ‘Ahh thanks for that but I’m not in the market for getting any help in. The budget I do have has already dwindled with having the place re-wired, getting all the locks changed, sorting the plumbing and fixing the windows.’
‘Yeah, houses soon eat up the cash. This will be worth it though. Right. Brand new bed coming up,’ Larry said and rolled his eyes to the sky. ‘I told her not to buy it and that it would never get used. Did she listen? Did she heck. We’ve never even so much as taken off the packaging and that mattress cost me thousands. We already had one guest room all set up for the grandchildren; apparently, we needed two.’ Larry laughed and opened up the back of the van and pulled a huge cardboard box towards him.
Fifteen minutes later Lulu, the taller man whose name was John, and Larry stood in Lulu’s white bedroom.
‘What a room!’ Larry said with his hands on his hips peering over towards the bathroom. ‘Copper bath! Ahh, perfect to go with the bed then.’
Lulu smiled and as Larry and John continued chatting about the view, she looked at the boxes containing the pieces of the bedframe and realised that she wouldn't be sleeping in the room for a while. She had no idea where to start, very few tools and wasn't sure if she was going to be able to put it together on her own.
Larry, seeing her frowning and peering into the box, smiled. ‘I’m getting the feeling you’re now wondering how that becomes your bed?’ Larry asked.
Lovely Little Things in Pretty Beach : A magical feel-good romance book to escape with in summer 2021. Page 18