by Karen King
He’s found it then. Reece sat down opposite him and waited.
Steve muttered an expletive and stared at Reece as if he was mad. “Are you serious? You want us to keep this woman on as manager? And let her continue living there?” He leaned back in his chair and scrutinised Reece’s face. “Why?”
Reece ticked off the reasons on his fingers. “Because she’s got a wealth of experience, she’ll be an asset to us. It’s better than training a new manager. It’s a family hotel, she’s lived there for years, she has its best interests at heart.” He met Steve’s gaze. “Her post is only for five years. We can reconsider then.”
“Five years is a long time.” Steve twiddled the pen in his hand. “This is something we’ve never done, Reece. We’ve always bought the hotels outright so that we can do what we want with them. This complicates things. And I don’t like complications.”
Reece placed his elbows on the desk, locking his fingers. “I know but maybe it’s something we should think of doing in the future. It makes sense, both financially and personally. If we let the owners continue living in the hotel and manage it for us, they’ll have a personal and financial investment, that’s got to be a good thing.”
“Reece, all the hotels we buy are in difficulties. We rescue them. If the owners had good management skills they wouldn’t be in trouble in the first place.”
“In some cases yes. But not all. Take Gwel Teg for example, it was making a tidy profit until the owner’s husband died a couple of years ago. The owner’s struggled to cope since then.”
“Does this owner have a pretty daughter by any chance?”
Reece bristled. “I find that insulting. Since when have you known me mix business with pleasure?”
“Never. But I think you are now. Which is worrying.”
“We have to move with the times, Steve, be seen to be a caring company. We’ve got a bit of a ruthless image at the moment, sort of like vultures that prey on dying businesses, and it’s not how I want people to see us.”
“I thought all you cared about was results? Making money?” Steve leant forward. “You haven’t found religion have you?”
Reece ignored that remark. “I’ve been thinking about our image and think we should rebrand ourselves as a company with a heart. A company people will turn to when they’re in trouble instead of us seeking them out.”
“I don’t like it, Reece. I don’t like things that aren’t straightforward.”
“Think about it. I haven’t taken this decision lightly.”
Steve sighed and leaned back. “This isn’t something I can make a rush decision about . It’s something I need to think about. I can’t give you an answer for Saturday. You’re going back to London then, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’ll come back on Tuesday. Give me your decision then.” Reece got up, ready to go. “There’s just one thing you might like to know.”
Steve raised an eyebrow.
“If you don’t want to go with the contract then I’ll buy the hotel myself. I can raise the cash.”
Steve looked stunned. He shook his head. “Well, I never thought I’d see the day you had a heart. It’s got to be a woman.”
Reece picked up his briefcase and walked out.
He knew that Steve would give the contract careful consideration, he was a business man above everything else. And it was a good contract. Not the one he’d originally been planning, he acknowledged, but seeing how desperate Ellie was to help her mum keep Gwel Teg, and how much Sue loved the place, he’d wanted to help them.
And it was all because of Ellie. His heart quickened at the thought of seeing her again. Steve was right. He’d got personally involved. He didn’t want to walk away from Ellie. She’d got right under his skin and into his heart.
“Well you’re a difficult one to get hold of,” Kate said when Ellie finally returned her calls – one last night and the other early this morning. “Is it that busy at the hotel?”
“Sorry, I meant to phone you back but we’re really busy. We’ve been doing lots of repairs and sprucing the hotel up a bit.
“We? Is your Mum up to all that physical stuff? I thought she had to take it easy?”
“She does. Harry and Reece have been doing most of it.”
“Reece?” Kate pounced on the name. “Reece, as in the guest you walked in on in the shower? The arrogant one.”
Trust Kate to remember that. She’d told her about it in one of their phone calls last week. “Yes but he’s actually really kind. He’s helped me such a lot. We’ve got really friendly.”
“Do I take it that you were with him when I phoned at 10.30 last night which is why you didn’t answer my call?” Nothing much passed by Kate.
“Yes. We’ve spent the last couple of evenings together.” She briefly told Kate how much Reece had helped them. “We just sort of became close.” She didn’t confess just how close.
“A holiday romance!” Kate squealed. “I never thought you’d go for that! Well, why not? It’s about time you had a bit of fun. You’ve been working far too hard just lately.”
“That’s what I thought,” Ellie told her. “And he’s going home tomorrow so no danger of getting too attached.”
She’d miss him though. She’d got used to having him around.
She glanced at her watch. One o’clock. Reece had been gone all morning. When would he be back? This was their last day together.
Suddenly a familiar pair of arms wound around her waist and she felt Reece’s breath on her neck. “I’ve been waiting to do that all morning,” he murmured, nuzzling into her.
She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I take it you’ve missed me then?”
“You bet I have.” His eyes held hers and she saw the flame of pleasure light them up. “I’ve got some good news though. Well, at least I hope you think it’s good news.” He kissed her deeply then smiled down at her. “My business down here isn’t finished yet so I’ll be back on Tuesday for a few days. That is if you still have a room for me?”
Her heart did a somersault. It wasn’t goodbye yet then. She smiled up at him. “Oh I think we can manage that.”
“And I’ve been thinking…”
“Yes?” She wondered if she could hear her heart thudding in her chest. What was he going to say?
“When I go back home next week it doesn’t have to be goodbye…”
She shot a glance at him. “What do you mean?”
He met her eyes, his gaze steady. “I like you, Ellie. And we have fun together. I was hoping we could continue seeing each other. London’s not that far from Birmingham. We could meet up at the weekends. If you’d like that?”
She searched his face, saw the desire in his eyes and knew that he meant it. He wanted to keep seeing her. Well she wanted to keep seeing him too. But she’d try to keep it casual. What harm would the odd weekend meet up do? She nodded. “I’d love too.”
“That’s great. I really don’t want to say goodbye to you.” His embrace tightened and his lips found hers.
I really don’t want to say goodbye to you. Reece’s words kept going over and over in Ellie’s mind. And she had to admit that she didn’t want to say goodbye to him either. He was the sexiest, kindest man she had ever met. And she loved him.
The words popped into her mind before she even realised she was thinking them. Where had that come from? She liked him, enjoyed his company and yes, she’d like to carry on seeing him when she returned him. But love, no. She didn’t do love. She didn’t do serious. Footloose and fancy free, in charge of her own destiny that was her motto. And she wasn’t breaking that for any man.
Not even a man as hot, gorgeous and incredibly kind as Reece Marshall. So it was a good job that they would be living miles apart. That way she could keep the relationship light.
Even so, as she lay in Reece’s arm in his bed much later that night, listening to his gentle snoring, Ellie found herself wishing that she could wake up every morning with Reece.
&nb
sp; Yeah right, and lose your independence, your dreams, she told herself. That wasn’t the life for her. She enjoyed these moments when they came but it wasn’t something she wanted every day. She looked at the clock. Three o’clock. Time to go back to her own bed, as she did every night. As she went to leave, Reece’s arm snaked around her waist. “Don’t leave me,” he murmured. “Stay a bit longer.”
She hesitated.
“Please. We won’t be able to do this again until Tuesday night.”
How could she resist? She turned back and snuggled into him.
Reece left early the next morning. “I’ll be back Tuesday afternoon,” he said as he kissed her goodbye. “Don’t go letting my room out.”
“We might have to if we get lots of bookings,” she teased.
“Then I’ll have to sleep with you in your attic,” he told her playfully.
As she watched Reece walk to his car Ellie realised how much she’d come to depend on him the last few days and how much she’d miss him.
You’ve got a lot to do so stop moping and get on with it, she told herself. It’s only a couple of days. He’ll be back.
Chapter Twenty Three
The weekend zoomed by, there was so much to do. What with reception duty, helping in the bar and restaurant, moving the furniture out of the Honeymoon Suite into the spare room next door and taking up the old carpet, there was little time to think of Reece. The nights were a different matter though. As she lay alone in her bed, remembering their lovemaking and aching for Reece’s touch.
Reece texted her several times but never phoned, and although there were times she longed to hear his voice, Ellie wouldn’t give in to the urge to phone him. There was no way she was turning into a clingy girlfriend.
Girlfriend?
Well they had agreed to keep seeing each other so she guessed that’s what she was. A ‘no strings attached’ girlfriend. She smiled to herself. What would Kate say?
She soon found out. Kate phoned Sunday evening. “How are you getting on without Reece,” she asked when they’d caught up on each other’s news.
“Fine, I’ve been busy helping out at the hotel. I can manage without him for a few days, you know,”Ellie told her.
“Ah, but can you manage without him forever? He’s going home for good next weekend, isn’t he?”
“Actually, Reece wants us to still see each other when he goes home.”
There was a stunned silence on the other end of the phone. Then Kate found her voice. “Wow! He must have made an impression on you. Don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for someone?”
“Don’t get too carried away. I like him yes. And it would be good to see him at the weekend now and again.”
“You’ve fallen for him, haven’t you?” Kate said. “Go on, admit it. Heart of Stone Ellie has finally met her match.”
“Of course I haven’t! I do enjoy his company though and a long distance romance might be good. That way we don’t have to say goodbye to each other and will still have plenty of free time to do other things too.”
“You’re really worried about giving up your freedom, aren’t you?” Kate chuckled. “I don’t know what you’ll do when you finally fall for someone. You’ll be fighting it all the way.”
“I don’t intend to fall for anyone,” Ellie told her. Once had been enough. No one else was ever going to get the chance to break her heart, like Lee had done.
“Maybe not, but it’ll happen. You’ll see. If it already hasn’t,” she teased.
“You wish!” Ellie laughed. “Look I’ve got to go now, Kate. I’ll phone you again in the week.”
“Make sure you do. I want all the goss.” Kate teased.
Ellie smiled to herself as she ended the call and slipped the phone into her pocket. Kate had always been a firm believer in true love and several failed relationships hadn’t deterred her. And she was obsessed with the idea of hooking Ellie up with someone. It was almost as if Ellie’s reluctance to commit was a challenge to her. Well, Ellie didn’t do love anymore. Not even for someone as hot or adorable as Reece.
* * *
Harry declared that the plastered ceiling was dry enough to paint on Monday so Ellie pulled on her dungarees, fetched out the stepladders and set to work ignoring Harry’s protests that he should be the one who did the painting. “It’s no job for a woman,” he told her but Ellie insisted. She knew Harry suffered with high blood pressure and didn’t want him climbing ladders, although she didn’t tell him that. He was a proud man and would take that personally. Instead she told him she enjoyed painting, which she did. There was something soothing about the backwards and forwards motion of the roller as she smoothed the white paint over the ceiling. And she was delighted with the job she was doing. It was looking good.
“You’re making a really good job of that.”
Reece’s voice startled her so much she almost fell off the ladder. He was by her side in a flash, steadying her and helping her down the steps. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump. That was stupid of me.”
“It’s fine.” She smiled at him. “Have I slept a whole day away or are you back a day early?”
“I’m back a day early. I couldn’t keep away from you.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve missed you, Ellie.”
“I’ve missed you too ...” her words were lost as his lips sought hers.
“Careful, you’ll get paint on your clothes,” she said when she came up for air.
He shrugged. “It’s only an old pair of jeans and tee shirt.” He released her and looked around the empty room. “Did you do all this yourself?”
“Harry helped me. We needed it clear for the carpets and bed to be delivered tomorrow.” Is that why Reece had come early? To help them?
“Partly,” he said when she put the question to him. “I managed to get things sorted a bit quicker than I thought I would so it seemed a good idea to come down today instead.” He grinned. “And I told you, I couldn’t keep away from you.”
“Yeah right,” she picked up the roller and paint tray. “I’d better get finished so stop distracting me.” She flashed him a smile. “Shall we meet later? About three?”
“It’s a date. I’ll go and unpack and find your mother, see if I can make myself useful.” A quick peck on the cheek and he was gone.
Ellie returned to her painting. It was few minutes before she realised that she was humming the tune to ‘Rocking my heart.’
Ellie’s feather kiss on his cheeks woke Reece up. He blinked, the room was still dark.
“I’ve got to go now, see you a bit later,” she whispered.
She was doing her usual moonlight flit to her room so her Mum didn’t realise she’d spent the night with him. Reece reckoned Sue had guessed this but didn’t want to say so to Ellie, knowing it would embarrass her. Still groggy with sleep, he wrapped his arms around her neck, pulled her close and kissed her firmly on the lips.
“See you later, Sweetheart,” he mumbled, resisting the urge to pull her back in bed with him. He had to drive to Plymouth today for a meeting with Steve and their solicitor, which meant an early start and a clear head.
As soon as she left, he turned back on his side and was soon asleep again, thoughts of Ellie on his mind as he drifted off.
The alarm woke him again a few hours later. He pulled himself up and looked at the empty space beside him where Ellie had lay.
He hated deceiving her.
You’re helping them, he reminded himself. You’re offering Sue a chance to stay in the hotel she loves, draw a wage, and be free from any of the financial outlay and responsibility. And setting Ellie free to live her own life.
But would Ellie see it that way?
He’d soon find out. Steve had agreed in principal – and with some reluctance – to Reece’s amendment but wanted to discuss it a bit further. When he returned this afternoon he was going to tell Ellie everything.
* * *
“I love it,” Sue said as she stepped into the Honeymo
on Suite. “What a transformation.”
“It looks good, doesn’t it?” Ellie said proudly. “We definitely made the right choice.” The carpet was bright and luxurious looking, making the room look bigger. And it didn’t, as she’d feared, make the wallpaper look old and dated. “I can’t wait to see the new bed now. This room’s going to look even better than it did before.”
“If only I hadn’t been so stupid as to let the insurance lapse, we’d be able to have it all decorated too,” her mum said. “And I wouldn’t have to worry about paying Reece back. I’d have had a really good discount thanks to him, but even so…” her voice tailed off.
“Even so you are still going to struggle to pay for it all, aren’t you?” Ellie put her arm around her mum’s shoulders. “I can help you.” She told her about her plans to use the interest-free balance transfer on her credit card. “So you see, you’ll have eighteen months to pay it back.”
She felt her mum stiffen. “No. Thank you, darling, but you’ve done enough. I’ll sort it. I can do it. I’m just annoyed that I’ve been so foolish and have to pay for it myself, causing us both a lot of worry in the process. But I should be thankful, if it wasn’t for you and Reece, it would be a lot worse.”
“Things will pick up, Mum. We already have a booking for the Honeymoon Suite next week. We’ll soon get Gwel Teg back on its feet again, you’ll see.”
“Of course we will,” Sue said resolutely.
“I’ll ask Harry to help me bring in the furniture now,” Ellie told her.
“I can help you with that if you give me time to change out of this suit.”
Ellie turned to see Reece standing at the doorway. He was back.
“Why don’t you and your mum go take a break? I’ll get changed, find Harry and we’ll both move the furniture back in,” he suggested.
Ellie’s phone rang. “It’s Mandy,” she said, answering the call. “The beds arrived,” she mouthed.
“I’ll go and get changed. Be back in a few mins.” Reece disappeared.