Page 50 of Too Busy for Love

‘Of course,’ I tell him. ‘Give them to me.’

As I climb into bed and close my eyes later that evening, the lingering scent of the flowers is still clearly discernible, but that’s not what comes into my head as I start to drift off to sleep. Normally, I think about Jock, but tonight he’s joined by images of a beautiful, derelict hotel in Margate.

19

It’s Saturday morning, and I’m up early for an airport run to get the first batch of guests to catch their flight home. The audience vote on last night’s live final was close, but Flo and Rob just beat Abby and James to the top spot. The two couples have very sweetly agreed to split the winnings between them, although I think the main prize as far as Flo is concerned will be the inevitable swell in the number of her followers. Abby and James don’t appear to be disappointed and have made all the right noises about trying to take their new relationship back into the real world, although I’m not sure how that’s going to work with him being in London and her in Leeds.

The London-bound contestants, including James, Flo and Rob, are busily piling their luggage into the boot of the minibus as I walk out of the house. Indoors, Chris and Tim have already started the laborious task of dismantling all the cameras under the watchful eye of Rosa.

‘Do you mind if I sit up at the front with you?’ James asks as the other guests climb into the back of the bus.

‘Not at all,’ I tell him. I get the impression he wants to chat, so I’m a little surprised that he doesn’t speak until we’re out on the main road.

‘I just wanted to say thank you again for everything that you did,’ he murmurs, obviously not wanting the people in the back to overhear.

‘All part of the job, and I’m glad things worked out so well for you. I hope you and Abby will be happy together.’

‘Mm.’

‘What?’

‘I’ll confess that I’m worried she’ll get home, come to her senses and promptly dump me.’

‘Have more faith in yourself, and in her. You two have been inseparable since your date night. Why would she suddenly want to dump you?’

‘It’s been a bit of a bubble, being in here. She didn’t have work to distract her, well, apart from that brief thing with the hotel. When she gets home and real life hits, things will be very different…’ He tails off.

‘You’re worried she might beToo Busy for Love?’ I ask.

He obviously recognises my deliberate pun because he gives a weak smile. ‘Something like that. Her life is pretty full on, flitting between her sites in Kent and head office in Leeds, and I do quite a lot of travel with my work as well. When are we going to find time to see each other?’

‘You have to find a way to make time. It doesn’t matter how busy you are, you always have time for things that are important to you. Do you have to be in London for your job?’

‘No. Most of my work is over the phone, so I can pretty much do it from anywhere, as long as there’s internet access and a phone signal.’

‘There you are then. There’s no reason why you can’t work around her schedule. Lots of couples face these kinds ofchallenges very successfully. I don’t see why you shouldn’t be one of them.’

He doesn’t look convinced and stares morosely out of the windscreen until we’re on the outskirts of Palma, when his phone pings with a message.

‘It’s Abby,’ he tells me excitedly when he’s read it. ‘She wants to know if I’m free next weekend.’

‘Are you?’

‘I am now.’

Having dropped a considerably happier James and the rest of the group at the airport, the irony of my advice comes home to roost as I drive back to the villa. Jock and I were in a bubble much like the contestants on the show but, unlike them, we never gave ourselves the chance to take it into the real world. Although we’re back to exchanging the occasional text message, he’s still taking up way more headspace than a normal friend would. I know it’s irrational to miss him and think about him this much, as he’s evidently settled into his new job in Glasgow and I still feel my ultimate goal is to find another position in London once I’ve pushed Hotel Dufour far enough down my CV. There’s literally no point dwelling on him, as I’ve told myself firmly several times without success. I need to focus on work; Casterbridge Media are very pleased with me and anxious to work with me again, according to Gus, but that hasn’t translated into a solid offer yet.

Now that Villa Madrigal is nearly empty again, there isn’t going to be much for me to do apart from helping Rosa to give all the rooms a thorough clean and act as translator while the production team dismantle their stuff. The house seems weirdlylifeless after the hustle and bustle of the show, and I’m amused to see that even Rosa looks a little lost.

‘I won’t deny that it’s been stressful,’ she tells me when I ask her about it. ‘But it’s also been a lot of fun.’

‘You must have other guests booked in, though?’

‘Yes, but this house, it needs to be full to truly bring it alive. The next guests are a couple from America with their two children. They come every year and I like them, even though we can only talk using Google translate on the computer.’ She sighs. ‘It’s going to be a bit dull compared to this, though.’

‘What are you two talking about?’ Gus asks as he strolls in, making Rosa bristle. I’ve told him several times how territorial Rosa is about her kitchen, but he never takes any notice.

‘Rosa’s just saying how much she’s going to miss us,’ I tell him.

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