Winter Wishes at Swallowtail Bay: a heartwarming romantic comedy perfect for curling up with this Christmas for fans of Jill Mansell (Swallowtail Bay, Book 3)

by Katie Ginger

  ‘François? François?’ He turned to the pot-wash, a young man not much older than Tallulah. ‘Where is that piece of French … toast? François?’

  ‘Out the back having a fag, I think.’

  Bryan shoved his way past and into the small fenced back yard behind the kitchen. François was sat on a metal beer barrel, puffing away. ‘François, you waste of bloody space. Did you know someone found a fucking spider in their soup? A spider, François! And it was enormous. It wasn’t like a tiny money-spider you don’t know is there until it crawls across your face. It was a giant fucking tarantula thing, its legs all curled in and gross.’ He mimed it with his hands then felt a bit silly as the Frenchman cocked his head and frowned at him. ‘It had been cooked in the fucking soup, François. What do you say to that? Some spider decided to have swim in the carrot soup, and you didn’t notice. How the hell did it get in there? Did you clean the place from top to bottom last week like I asked? Because I know there was a spider’s web in the corner of the room above the extractor. I saw it there and I told you to make sure it wasn’t there this week.’

  The Frenchman shrugged and answered in a heavy accent. ‘It must have happened in the dining room. It cannot have happened in my kitchen.’ The stocky chef threw down his cigarette and ground it out with his foot. Without looking at Bryan, he went back inside.

  With a deep breath, Bryan strode through the kitchen, down the plush corridors of the hotel to the office he shared with Kevin, the manager. The deep pile of the carpet softened his stamping tread, but the slamming of the door could not be ignored. It echoed through the room and no doubt down the hall leading back to reception.

  Kevin looked up from his computer screen. ‘What’s the matter with you? We’re fully booked in the restaurant and the hotel, we’re pretty much guaranteed to meet all our sales targets for November – life’s good.’ He sat back and clasped his hands behind his head, his bright white teeth shining in the light from his desk lamp. ‘Why the long face?’

  Bryan sat down, but just as his bum hit the seat he stood back up again. He couldn’t figure out if he’d done the right thing or not. Normally he’d have apologised for any mistake and offered a free meal. That was the company policy. But as soon as she’d mentioned Holly Lodge and he’d realised she was the owner of the nice boutique B&B on the seafront, and seen that woman recording the exchange on her phone, panic had risen in him like a volcano about to erupt. They’d known the mayor was in tonight with all her cronies and as she was booked in to have her Christmas party there, they wanted to make a good impression, show how amazing the service was as well as the food. The company always started Christmas in early November knowing that people were already booking Christmas parties. If she was impressed, they might get some brownie points locally. The order from the top was that it was important to keep the local dignitaries on side. At the time it seemed his only option was to blame Nell and make out she’d put it there, but now he doubted himself and it was a feeling he didn’t like.

  ‘Oy,’ Kevin demanded, as Bryan hadn’t answered. ‘What’s wrong?’

  Scratching his cheek, he told Kevin what had happened. All the humour fell from Kevin’s face. He hunched forwards, his hands balled into fists and his jaw set. ‘Shit!’ After a second, he said it again and began pacing the room. ‘Someone recorded it?’ Bryan nodded. ‘Shit.’ Kevin ran a hand over his hair. ‘Okay, let’s not panic until we have something to panic about. If she doesn’t post it anywhere, we’re fine. We just pretend like nothing’s happened and it’ll all be forgotten soon. If she does, we’ll have to do something to discredit Holly Lodge and pin the blame on them. Like you said, we make people think she did it on purpose to make us look bad because her business is going under. Sour grapes. That’s what we’ll say.’

  The desk phone rang, and Kevin answered. ‘What? They’re checking out? Why?’ Bryan watched on, and Kevin’s eyes shot to him. ‘Right. Offer them a free spa pass and ring me back if they say no.’ He put the phone down and stared at Bryan, neither of them speaking as the room filled with apprehension. Two minutes later, it rang again, and Kevin listened closely. ‘No, let them go. Just assure them that what Bryan said was true. They’re welcome to go elsewhere if they want. They’re probably not the type of people we want here anyway.’

  ‘What was that?’ asked Bryan, once Kevin had replaced the receiver, but deep down he already knew the answer.

  ‘The Summertons just checked out. They said they saw what happened in the restaurant and don’t want to eat somewhere spiders can get in the food.’

  ‘Shit, Kevin, I’m sorry.’

  Kevin shook his head. ‘Don’t worry, they only arrived this afternoon and haven’t been happy since they walked into their room. They’re in the one with the broken radiator and had already moaned. They were probably looking for an excuse to get out. When I spoke to them earlier, they said unless it was fixed, they weren’t paying the full rate for staying. I could tell straight away they were serial complainers.’

  ‘How long were they here for?’

  ‘Three nights. It’s no big loss. We’ll fill those rooms in no time.’ He leaned back, perching on the edge of the desk. ‘But we have to do something. We can’t just wait for more people to check out and there’ll be some damage limitation to do if that woman shares that video. Is she a guest?’

  Bryan shook his head. ‘No just a dinner reservation. Someone from the town.’

  Kevin nodded slowly, taking in all the information and formulating a plan. ‘Knowing what these locals are like, they’ll stick together and believe her which we don’t want, even though she is telling the truth. We don’t have the video so we can’t edit it and use it to our advantage, making it look like Holly Lodge were playing dirty. We need to do something that makes Nell Jones look bad. It’s all about reputation. If our reputation’s better than hers, people will believe us. No doubt about it.’ Bryan held his breath and waited for his superior to finish. As Kevin made up his mind, a sly smile came to his face. ‘Don’t worry. I know just what to do.’

  Chapter 6

  The next day, Nell was busy wrestling with the artificial Christmas tree in the lounge of Holly Lodge. It was a bit early to put it up, being only the eighth of November, but after last night she needed some cheering up and wanted it up for the wedding fair. It was important to make Holly Lodge the most amazing hotel at Christmas time, and show how cosy and warm and romantic it was: the perfect setting for a winter wedding.

  Outside it was a damp and rainy day and a flock of seagulls swooped and swayed over the sea, but with the log fire burning and some Christmas tunes playing there was nowhere else she’d rather be. Wizard’s ‘I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day’ had been on three times in a row, and Nell munched a mince pie and drank hot chocolate while she worked. She couldn’t help but buy mince pies as soon as they were stocked in the shops. She even loved the ones with icing on the top. They just tasted and smelled of Christmas and gave you a warm fuzzy feeling when you ate them.

  Having changed the normal blankets and cushions to Christmassy ones embossed with robins, reindeers and festive patterns, Nell was beginning to feel a little more relaxed and able to shake off the embarrassment of the night before. She always went for natural decorations where she could, tiny traditional wooden ornaments being her absolute favourites, and Tom always made something to go over the fireplace. Sat cross-legged on the floor, she began sticking the different parts of the Christmas tree together. As much as she loved real trees, she’d invested in a huge but still gorgeous fake one last year for the hotel. It lasted longer and didn’t need quite as much looking after; there were no pine needles to sweep up and no pots to water. She also had two smaller trees that went either side of the front door, but she’d get around to those later.

  A small wooden box, more like a jewellery box, lay next to her containing her tiny wooden decorations. She always used them to fill in the gaps once all the baubles were up and there were all different types �
�� snowmen, ice skates, a robin, a sleigh – anything remotely Christmassy, bought over the years. Each one had its own memory attached. Some had been bought on holidays with Cat, Kieran and Tom, and others by her family, but each one meant something special to her. Taking a break from the prickly boughs, Nell picked one up and examined it. These just smelled different to other decorations. The woody scent meant Christmas had finally arrived more so than anything else. Beside her was another old cardboard box full of baubles and another that held a collection of different sized nutcracker soldiers. She loved those too with their tall hats and bushy beards and they fitted in perfectly around the hotel, lining the hall and slipping into spaces, making every room feel Christmassy.

  Despite last night’s horrifically embarrassing dinner with Tom, one good thing had come out of it. A couple who’d been in the restaurant had decided not to stay at the Langdon Mansion, and had checked in to Holly Lodge instead. They’d arrived shortly after she and Tom had settled with fish and chips in the lounge. They had seen the whole spider-soup incident. Just remembering it made Nell shiver with humiliation at being asked to leave, and disgust that it had happened in the first place, but she pushed the horrid thoughts to the back of her mind and made an effort to focus on the positives. The Summertons had been incredibly nice and agreed that she’d been treated badly. Tom had been wonderfully indignant on her behalf and she loved him even more for his support. The Summertons loved their room and as they were here for a few more nights it meant a nice boost to Nell’s income.

  Nell checked her watch. Tom was arriving shortly to attend this marketing meeting she was having with a local firm. As business had slowed, she’d been tempted by their free consultation. As the Summertons were out for the day and had booked to eat at a local Indian restaurant for dinner, they shouldn’t be disturbed. They’d wanted to eat at Holly Lodge if it was possible, and even after last night’s debacle and the fact that her offering would have to be much simpler, it had made the idea of opening the dining room a little stronger in her mind.

  With a satisfied sigh, the bottom part of the Christmas tree was finally together, and Nell began work on the middle section. She needed a big tree to fill the wonderfully large and airy lounge, but it was a giant pain in the backside to put together. Once it was up it always looked amazing and Nell beavered away, fixing up the bare tree, until a strange voice from the hallway caught her attention.

  ‘Hello? Anyone there?’

  Making her way out to the hall, she saw a man placing a small suitcase down by his feet before loosening his stripy scarf decorated with little snowmen. Nell took a moment to control the buzz of excitement. His large, well-built frame was encased in a black wool coat and the removal of the scarf showed a clean-shaven, chiselled jaw. ‘Hi,’ Nell managed to say. ‘Can I help you?’

  ‘I was hoping you had a room for a few weeks.’ The American accent sent a little shiver through her. The Christmas music playing in the background broke into something orchestral and it was like the moment she’d been waiting for all her life. Her brain suddenly transported her to her dream where she was dressed in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle to this American god. And had he said a few weeks? Nell almost jumped up and down on the spot. ‘Umm, yes, yes, I do.’ She went to her little reception desk and opened the laptop to process the booking. ‘It’s £130 per night, bed and breakfast. Is that okay?’

  ‘Sure, fine,’ he replied, giving a killer smile that showed beautifully even white teeth. ‘I’ll need it for three weeks initially but if my work can stay under control, I might need to extend. I’m here seeing family.’

  ‘Oh, how lovely.’ Nell loved a man who valued family and friends. ‘Can I take your name please?’

  ‘Harry. Harry Decker.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Nell typed his details into her computer booking system while her imagination swept her back to their wedding day, him saying his name during the vows, gazing longingly into her eyes. She pressed enter on the keyboard and chanced a glance to find him looking around.

  ‘This is a nice place. I’m surprised you’re not fully booked at this time of year. Is it yours?’

  ‘Yes. It was my parents’. I started running it after they moved away. I’m glad you like it.’ She didn’t bother telling him she was virtually empty in case he saw it as a reflection of quality, and she wasn’t going to mention the Langdon Mansion Hotel in case he decided to try there instead.

  ‘Awesome. I see you’re getting ready for the holidays?’ He nodded to the tree branch she’d placed next to her laptop.

  ‘Yes,’ she replied a little too loudly, regaining control of her voice. ‘Oh, yes. I’m a bit mad for Christmas.’

  ‘So, it’ll be up for Thanksgiving? I appreciate that.’

  ‘Well, that is the type of service we offer here at Holly Lodge. Is the room just for you or for you and your wife?’ She tried to keep her voice easy and free but almost held her breath waiting for his response.

  ‘My wife?’ He laughed, tilting his head. ‘No wife. Just me.’

  She finished taking his details, saying silent prayers of thanks, and got the key for the room. She’d thought about getting those snazzy card jobs installed but the cost didn’t seem worth it for the nine rooms she had. There was just a good stock of spare keys, plus master copies in case anyone lost theirs.

  ‘Wow, an old-fashioned key.’

  Nell flushed. ‘Sorry. We’re a bit low-tech here, but the beds are the most comfortable you’ll ever sleep in. I can promise you that.’

  ‘Then I’ll look forward to a good night’s sleep tonight. I don’t know about you, but I can never sleep on planes.’ Nell, who apart from some holidays to Spain and Ibiza hadn’t really travelled much, mumbled an agreement and showed Harry up to his room. He looked around appreciatively, admiring the deep sage-green accent wall behind the large king-size bed. Every room had been designed with relaxation in mind and as soon as you walked in it felt calm. ‘I can tell I’m going to be real comfortable here. Thanks.’

  ‘You’re very welcome. There’s tea and coffee over there by the window and the bathroom is through there. There’s a lovely view out towards the seafront as well.’

  ‘Wow. It’s beautiful. I love that you’ve kept the period features. You can’t go wrong with a big ol’ fireplace.’ She was just about to leave when his deep voice called her back. ‘Say, what should I call you? As we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other, I should know your name.’ Her ribs vibrated in her chest with the power of his voice.

  ‘My name’s Nell.’

  ‘Nell.’ He repeated it, nodding approvingly. ‘That’s a pretty name. Thanks for the room.’

  She backed out of the door, closing it behind her, then blew out a breath that lifted her fringe. Now that was the type of visitor she liked: tall, handsome and staying for at least three weeks. As she walked down the stairs, she wondered what his chest looked like under the heavy cable knit jumper he’d been wearing, imagining a scattering of hairs on smooth, tanned skin.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Nell grabbed the branch she’d left on the reception desk when Harry arrived. Feeling the most positive she had in ages, she carried on with the tree and was just thinking how she’d need to decorate the fireplace when, as if by magic, Tom arrived bringing with him some willow branches that he’d made into a beautiful display to go over the fireplace, studded with dried apple slices and cinnamon sticks. It was the fanciest potpourri Nell had ever seen. ‘What’s this?’ she asked, as Tom secured it on the fireplace, resting it behind a couple of redundant bookends he’d grabbed from the bookcase.

  ‘You’re my guinea pig. And you always have something to go over the fireplace at Christmas. I thought this might be a nice change. I’ve gone along rather than up this year.’

  ‘It’s gorgeous,’ Nell replied, immediately noticing the perfume filling the room. Not only was the place beginning to look a lot like Christmas, it was smelling like it too. Last year, Tom had made her a stunning display i
n a vase using white and red flowers; this was even more exquisite and would last all the way through until January. She marvelled at how creative he was. ‘What made you think to do that?’

  ‘I don’t know really. I just wanted to do something slightly different. If you like it, I can do some for the bedrooms.’

  ‘That would be great, they’ll look amazing. And they smell absolutely gorgeous.’ She ran her finger over the willow branches. Tom had kept some of them in their natural state but a couple he’d spray painted silver and it added a touch of festive sparkle.

  Tom blushed as he always did whenever he paid her a compliment or she paid him one. ‘How were the Summertons this morning?’

  ‘Good. They’re so lovely and they love the room. And I’ve just had some American guy turn up wanting a room for three weeks!’ She bounced onto her tiptoes. ‘He said he’s visiting family. I was really worried that once the Limstocks had gone I wouldn’t have anyone here, but I’ve got two lots of guests! Two!’

  ‘I told you things would pick up, didn’t I? And we’ll see what this fab marketing team have come up with in a bit.’ Tom’s voice dripped with derision as he puffed one of the Christmas cushions and sat in the armchair by the fire. He believed that Nell knew everything there was to know about the business and if she put her mind to it, she’d figure out the best ways to market the place. But she was feeling a bit insecure at the moment, particularly about herself and the future of Holly Lodge, which made it hard to look at things objectively.

  ‘It’s a free consultation to see if we want a full-on marketing package. I’ve got nothing to lose. We might learn something that neither of us would ever have thought of.’

  ‘All right,’ Tom said, sliding his coat down his shoulders.

  ‘I do feel a little bit guilty about the way we left the Langdon Mansion last night though. I mean, I know the whole spider thing wasn’t my fault—’

  ‘And Bryan with a Y treated you appallingly.’