Forever and For Always

by Sophie Love

  Emily finished her story and was met by silence. She looked over at Gus and found that he was a very active listener. His eyes were wide, his mouth open with astonishment.

  “You never told me,” he finally said, “that you were turning the house into a B&B.”

  She shrugged.

  “Did I forget that bit?” she said. “I guess it’s not hugely relevant to the story.”

  He shook his head.

  “You’ll never believe what I have to tell you.”

  Emily was feeling more and more curious. She wondered what on earth it was he had to say.

  “You came and sat with me because I looked glum, didn’t you?” Gus began.

  She nodded.

  “Well, would you like to know the reason why I was so glum? I’m in awe at the amazing coincidence of it all. The reason why I was glum is because an event I was putting on had fallen through,” he explained. “A St. Matthew’s fifty-year anniversary reunion.”

  “Okay…” Emily said, wondering.

  “Don’t you see?” Gus exclaimed. “It was the hotel reservation that fell through! They’d double-booked us with a wedding party so naturally we were the ones that got canceled. I’ve been driving around all over the place looking for a B&B that could take at least some of us in but I couldn’t find one anywhere. So I thought I’d stop off for a quick drink at my yacht club to give me the courage to call all my friends and tell them the party was off!”

  Emily’s eyes widened as it dawned on her what was happening. “You mean…”

  Gus slapped his thigh and laughed loudly. “Yes, I do! Your dream has answered my wishes! I want to book your B&B!”

  Emily was so shocked she didn’t know what to say. Her throat was suddenly dry. She couldn’t begin to formulate words so she just started laughing along with Gus.

  The two of them sat there howling with laughter, tears streaming down their faces at the improbable coincidence, of the chance meeting that was an answer to each of their conundrums.

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” Emily managed to say through her squeals of laughter.

  Thank you, fate! she thought.

  Gus’s grin was infectious. She couldn’t help but grin along with him. To the casual observer they must have looked like a strange pair of Cheshire cats.

  “Well, Emily, we ought to get down to business then,” Gus said. He coughed into his fist and rearranged his features, putting on a stern businesslike voice. “I’d like to book your establishment for twenty people.”

  Emily felt like she might faint any second. Gus’s reunion party would max out the B&B! And just in the nick of time.

  Despite the shock she was feeling, she managed to join in with the acting by putting on her best receptionist’s voice. “No problem at all, Mr. Havenshaw. And how long will your party be staying for?”

  “For four nights over the long weekend.”

  The news was like music to Emily’s ears. Knowing the B&B would be full for the entire Fourth of July long weekend was beyond a joy, it was like a dream come true.

  “That’s wonderful,” she said, keeping her voice as steady as possible. “I’ll just take down your details.”

  Since Emily was nowhere near the software on the computer she needed to log his details, she just wrote them down on a crumpled napkin sitting on the table. She looked up at him, a little embarrassed, and broke character. “Math isn’t my strong suit. I don’t have the actual cost at hand. Would it be a problem if we sort that out when you arrive?” She chewed her lip in anticipation, suddenly wondering if she’d gotten way ahead of herself by celebrating.

  Gus didn’t seem concerned at all. “Our budget is two hundred fifty a night. At least that’s what we were going to pay at the other place. So shall we just call it an even twenty thousand dollars?”

  Emily’s throat was so dry she could hardly swallow. Perhaps for a man like Gus, spending $20,000 on a single transaction was completely normal, but for Emily that was a phenomenal sum of money. She could hardly believe she’d gone from being flat out broke yesterday to suddenly having nearly $30,000 coming in from trade and diamonds! Daniel was right—life really did throw things at you for the fun of it.

  She finally squeezed out, “Twenty thousand will be absolutely fine.”

  “Delightful!” Gus said, holding his hand out for her to shake. “I think that’s a deal.”

  At that moment, Emily finally lost the power of speech. She shook Gus’s hand vigorously, grinning wildly, making happy-sounding noises.

  “Well, okay then,” Gus said finally. He removed his hand from hers, though she clung on a little too long, as though unwilling to let go of the lifeline he’d thrown her. “I think this is the part where we exchange business cards.”

  Business cards! That had been one of the things on Cynthia’s list of demands that Emily had not yet gotten around to doing.

  “Oh, I don’t have one on me,” she confessed. “But here,” she added, scrabbling inside her purse for the pen she had just put away. “Why don’t I give you my cell number?”

  “The personal touch,” Gus said, looking impressed.

  Emily smiled weakly, but attempted to play it off as intentional since he seemed to think so anyway. As she passed him the slip of paper with her number on it, the eternal worrier inside Emily wanted to ask him whether he was sure, whether he was really, truly sure, that he wanted to stay at her B&B, that he wanted to pay her $20,000 for the privilege. She had to hold her tongue to stop herself from blurting out that she was just pretending to be a host and that her B&B was actually make-believe, she was really just some silly girl from New York who’d started something that was now running away from her.

  But she didn’t say that at all. She kept calm.

  “I look forward to welcoming you and your friends to the Inn at Sunset Harbor tomorrow evening,” she managed to say, cordially.

  “Thanks a bunch,” Gus said. “You’ve saved my bacon.”

  And you’ve saved mine, Emily thought.

  “I can’t wait to call the others,” Gus said, using his cane to propel himself up to standing.

  “Do you need a hand?” Emily said, standing too to help him.

  “No, thank you,” Gus said. “I don’t actually need a cane. It’s just an accessory really. I think it gives me a sense of gravitas, don’t you?”

  “I guess so,” Emily said. Gus seemed like quite the eccentric. She wondered whether the other St Matthew’s alumni would be like him.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow!” Gus said.

  Emily watched him walk across the terrace with a bounce in his step before descending down the spiral staircase and disappearing out of sight. The second he was gone, she fell back into her chair and let her mouth fall open. Had that really happened? It already felt like a dream.

  Emily suddenly remembered that she’d left Daniel alone for far longer than she’d originally intended. She leaped up and rushed down the spiral staircase in search of him.

  “There you are,” he said as she rushed across the dance floor toward him. “I was worried that some handsome bachelor had whisked you off into the sunset.”

  “Almost,” Emily said, grinning. “Except he was about seventy years old.” She grabbed Daniel’s hand. “You will not believe what just happened!”

  Daniel frowned. “An old guy is whisking you off into the sunset?”

  She shook her head but didn’t have it in her to contain the secret anymore.

  “Better! He’s staying at my B&B over the long Fourth of July weekend. Him and nineteen of his old school friends!”

  Daniel’s eyes practically popped out of his head. “Are you kidding me?”

  Emily shook her head, her excitement becoming impossible to contain.

  “That’s incredible,” Daniel gasped. “Come here!” He swept her up into his arms and spun her around as she squealed. “I’m so happy for you. This is amazing, Emily. I knew it would all work out in the end.”

  “Okay, le
t me go now,” Emily exclaimed. “We have a ton of work to do!”

  Daniel set her down on her feet. They gave each other one last excited grin, then rushed back out of the yacht party and ran full pelt across the beach, kicking up sand in their haste to get home.

  The dream was still alive, Emily thought as she ran. And for now, that was all that mattered.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Gus and his friends were due to arrive at 8 p.m. the next evening, meaning Emily had less than twenty-four hours to get the B&B ready. She knew the only way she was going get everything done in time was to call in every favor she could. So bright and early the next morning, incentivized by free food, Emily’s Sunset Harbor friends filed in through the front door like a colony of worker bees.

  The first arrival was George, Daniel’s friend who had restored the Tiffany glass. He arrived dressed for a day of hard labor in paint-stained overalls. Birk came quickly on his heels, followed by Karen.

  “I’m so thrilled everything worked out for you,” Karen said, smiling jovially at Emily. “I couldn’t believe that you managed to max the B&B out less than an hour after you’d been telling me you might have to close it down!”

  “I know,” Emily said. “It was a bit touch and go there for a while. But without my sign, things are still a bit up in the air.”

  Karen nodded. “About that,” she said. “I’ve been on the phone to some of the other zoning board members. Trevor’s complaint is going to delay the permit by at least another month.”

  “A month?” Emily cried, exasperated. This was the last thing she wanted to hear. She’d already had to hold on by her fingertips through three whole weeks without her sign; she wasn’t sure she had the strength or willpower to hold on for another month. It wasn’t like the world was full of rich old men like Gus waiting to book out her B&B.

  “I know,” Karen said, biting her lip. “It doesn’t help that Derek has got Marcella as his aide now. She does everything by the book. I don’t even think she likes Trevor, but she still makes sure everything is done perfectly.” She squeezed Emily’s arm. “It will be okay. I’m doing everything I can.”

  Emily nodded. But while she believed that Karen would do her best to help, she also knew that Trevor Mann was a formidable opponent. If he had Marcella on his side making sure everything was done to the letter it could be weeks before her permit was granted.

  As Karen went inside, Emily decided she would have to put all of that out of her mind and focus on the present demands—sorting out the B&B, making sure everything was top-notch for Gus and his friends. She was determined to enjoy this weekend and make it perfect for everyone. At least then if everything fell apart, she would have the memory of this weekend to cherish.

  Just then, Emily noticed Cynthia on her bicycle cycling up the driveway—the last helper to arrive. The older woman leapt off her bike and walked up the porch steps to where Emily was waiting.

  “I thought early starts were a thing of the past,” she grumbled. “It’s been a good few years since I had to wake up at this time of the morning for a B&B.”

  Emily laughed and led her into the kitchen where the others had congregated. Daniel handed them all fresh coffee and bagels.

  “Okay,” Emily said, addressing the group. “We have until eight p.m. to get everything ready. That’s only twelve hours! Daniel, can you oversee everything happening on the third floor? I have professional sanders coming to do the floorboards. George, you’re replacing the window frames and glass in three of the top rooms. Karen and Birk, if you could please get all the furniture in place for the second-floor bedrooms, then once the floors are done we can get all the rugs, furniture, and bed frames up to the third floor.” Then she turned to Cynthia. “I’m hoping you have some contacts from your days managing a B&B because I haven’t managed to find a plumber willing to install sinks, showers, and toilets in twenty en suite bathrooms!”

  “Sounds like you might need a whole army of plumbers,” Cynthia replied. Then she beamed. “Leave it with me. I know just the men.”

  Tasks assigned, everyone disappeared to the upper floors of the B&B to get to work. Soon it was a hive of noise and activity—the grunts and moans of Karen and Birk as they wrestled wardrobes and dressing tables up the stairs, the constant background noise of the sanding machines as the professionals got down to business, the banging of hammers as George replaced some of the window frames, and the yammering of Cynthia on the phone as she called every contact she could to get the plumbing sorted.

  Despite the chaos, Emily felt pumped and excited to see everything coming together so quickly. Barry and his army of plumbers arrived at 10 a.m. The window cleaner arrived a half hour later. By eleven there were more people tramping in and out of the house than Emily could count! It was so chaotic she hardly had time to wrap her head around the fact that by 8 p.m. she would have twenty functional rooms and en suites and every single one of them would be housing a guest!

  At midday, Emily called for a break and all her friends congregated in the kitchen for sandwiches and chips, leaving the professionals to plow through with their work.

  “How are the floors looking?” Emily asked Daniel as she made up a fresh batch of coffee.

  “Pretty much done now,” Daniel replied as he munched on his cheese sandwich. “I’m glad you got professionals in for that job. They’re taking about half the time it took us to do the ballroom.”

  Emily smiled at the memory of the time she and Daniel had worked together fixing up the house. If she’d had more time, she would have preferred them to do it themselves. It was more romantic—and certainly cheaper!

  Emily finished making the coffee and handed out mugs. But she didn’t even have a chance to sit down for her own lunch because Raj Patel from the gardening shop arrived at that very moment with two huge bouquets of flowers in his arms.

  “Oh my goodness,” Emily cried out, rushing from the kitchen into the corridor. “Those are wonderful!” She took the gorgeous, bright flowers from Raj. “But how did you know I needed them? I haven’t put an order in for weeks.” With everything else she had to organize, it had completely slipped Emily’s mind to order flowers.

  “It’s a small town,” Raj said by way of an explanation. “Everyone knows the inn’s going to be full this weekend. How long until they arrive?”

  Emily consulted her watch and gulped. “Eight hours!”

  Raj smiled. “You can do it,” he said encouragingly. “Now, these are for the hallway,” he explained, pointing to the summery bouquet that contained sunflowers and daffodils, “and these are for the dining room,” he said of the more elegant bouquet, with white petunias, jasmines, and magnolias. “If anyone seems interested, let them know that I do weddings, christenings, funerals, the whole shebang. Here, I’ve got some business cards if you don’t mind displaying them.”

  Emily certainly didn’t mind. If Raj was going to supply her with free flowers the least she could do was send as much business his way as possible.

  “Oh, I really need to order business cards at some point,” she said, biting her lip, remembering her embarrassment at not having anything to give Gus the evening before. Not everyone would be as sympathetic to her disorganization. Plus, she didn’t want to miss out on paying clients just because she hadn’t gotten around to printing her number and address on a piece of shiny card! But there were too many other things that needed to be priorities—like making sure all the guests had a bed to sleep in and all the toilets flushed.

  Just as Raj left, he passed Serena, who was flying into the corridor through the open front door, carrying several brown paper bags that seemed to be weighing her down.

  “What are you doing here?” Emily gasped. She hadn’t called on Serena’s help because her young college friend lived a good two-hour drive away.

  “Well, I went into that department store,” Serena said excitedly to Emily. “And picked up all the things you wanted.” She listed them on her fingers as she spoke. “Duvet covers, pillow s
ets in marine blue, racing horse green, crimson, and mustard yellow, and I even managed to get the matching throws.”

  Emily had asked Serena a long time ago on the off-chance that if she was ever passing this specific small independent store in the town where her college was located, to pick up the luxurious, bespoke bedding and drop them off next time she was driving down to Sunset Harbor. Although she had enough bedding for twenty guests, these were the specific kinds of sheets and bedspreads that Cynthia had suggested she use. But she hadn’t expected the young woman to arrive quite so promptly, or to go so far out of her way just to help Emily out. She was a true friend, Emily realized, and was beyond grateful for her support and help.

  “No wonder your bags are so heavy!” Emily exclaimed, looking through the bags with wonder at the beautiful colors and fabrics. “But I wasn’t expecting you to go out of your way for me. You are amazing. Really.”

  “It’s no problem,” Serena said, rubbing the cricks from her shoulders carrying the heavy bags must have given her. She handed Emily the receipt. “The lady who worked there was thrilled, by the way. She said she hadn’t had such a huge order in one go for years. I think she wants to come and stay at some point over the summer.”

  “Wow,” Emily said, surprised. “Not only did you manage to buy all the bedding I need, you also potentially booked me a customer? I should send you out shopping for me all the time. Want to pick me up some new socks next time you’re in town?”

  Serena laughed. “Oh, before I forget,” she said, searching through her bag and pulling out a small bundle of something secured with an elastic band. “Business cards!”

  “Oh my gosh!” Emily cried as she took the bundle of cards from Serena. “You designed these?” They were a delicate eggshell blue and the font matched that of the inn’s (currently absent) sign, as well as the website logo.

  Serena shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I just knocked them up using one of the college’s computer programs and then my friend who works at a printing shop made a handful for me. I figured you would want some on the reception desk in case people wanted to take them.”