Page 29 of Saved By Love at Christmas
Remember, this is only for you to take a look at. The new year will be soon enough to discuss whether you want to take this project on. Or if it helps, choose one of the hotels instead of all three.
Looking forward to our lunch date.
Love Marie. xx
I studied the exteriors first. All three were set in beautiful gardens with amazing sea views. The buildings were Victorian. Marie had put the number of bedrooms, along with a list of the other rooms that required interior design. All of them needed my work apart from the kitchens, laundry rooms, and storage areas. I clicked on the rooms and was immediately filled with eagerness to bring them back to life. Styles, colours, furniture. Everything started to fill my head. My passion was back. Jamie hadn’t taken that away from me after all. It was a huge relief.
I began making notes. I’d need to get in touch with suppliers I’d used in the past, and I couldn’t wait to start going back to reclamation yards, auctions, and antique shops. These places were where Grandad had taken me when I was younger and had started to encourage me to use my passion for finding items. They were real treasure troves. The thought of reusing items which were no longer needed and bringing them back to life always brought a smile to my face.
There was a knock at my bedroom door.
“Come in, Grandad.”
He poked his head around the corner. “I saw your light on. Is everything okay?”
“What time is it?”
“Six.”
I stared at him open-mouthed. I’d been working on this since midnight. Waving my laptop at him, I beckoned him to come over.
“What’s all this?” he asked as he sat on the edge of my bed.
I explained about Marie’s job offer and the fact I couldn’t sleep. “This is an amazing project. I have so many ideas that I think I’m going to explode,” I gushed.
His eyes softened as he listened to me speak. A tear slipped down his cheek.
“Grandad?”
“Oh, love. It’s not a sad tear. I’m happy to see the light back in your eyes. I know you’ve been through a lot, and you still need time to heal, but it makes me happy to see you so enthusiastic about your work.”
I put the laptop to one side and hugged him close. “What that man did to me is going to take me time to process, and I still keep looking over my shoulder expecting him to appear. But, with you, Ben, and Marie, I can make it.”
“I know you will. We’ll always be here for you. That’s what you’ve got to remember.”
I yawned, feeling suddenly drained.
“Turn that off.” He indicated to my laptop. “And get some sleep. We can always go to Notcutts this afternoon.”
I turned the laptop off and placed it on the bedside table. Grandad put my duvet up to my neck and kissed my head like he’d done since I was a child. I think he said something about sleeping well, but I nodded off.
* * *
BEN
I was taking Fred for a walk along the river. It was still early, the air was cold, and frost clung to leaves and grass like icy decorations. Fred snuffled at some grass by the path along the river, looked up, and let out a woof, his cold breath filling the air in front of his face. He was off the lead because there was no one around. I saw the look of mischief in his eyes and he ended up in the water before I could reach him.
“Fred, get out of there. You’ll catch your death.”
He’d clearly realised how cold it was, ran back to me and showered me with freezing water. Then he pawed at me, whining. I tried not to laugh and wanted to tell him off, but one look at his big brown eyes and I couldn’t help myself.
“Come on, you terror. I need to get us both dry before I head to work.”
We got back home in record time, and as soon as I’d dried him, he curled up in his basket close by the aga.
“Yeah.” I chuckled as I stroked his head. “It’s okay for you. You can have a nice sleep and stay warm. Some of us have work to do.”
I quickly showered and changed, and after giving Fred another pat on the head, I left for work. When I arrived, Sandra, one of the nurses, was just parking up. She was studying the side of my Range Rover, then she looked at me.
