Fully Booked

by Cressida McLaughlin

  It was Will, she realised. His appearance in her life – his presence, his eyes, his warmth – affected everything, as if he’d tilted her world on its axis and given her a different perspective.

  ‘Right then,’ she said, injecting forcefulness into her voice.

  Tim cut her off. ‘Of course, Robin’s not been back here very long, have you, Robs?’ This time his hand stayed on her knee, rubbing it.

  Robin stared down at the white shirt cuff with another expensive cufflink, this one with a dark red stone. She was too shocked to move his hand, and instead looked up at Will, who turned away just as she caught his eye.

  ‘September,’ she said. She moved her knee, forcing Tim to release his hand. ‘But it was the right decision. Leaving one life behind and starting a new one – even if it’s returning to a place you know well – is always difficult. It’s hard to be absolutely certain you’re making the best choice, but I have no regrets about moving back here.’

  ‘Some things are worth coming back to, aren’t they?’ Tim gazed at her adoringly.

  Robin inhaled, trying to work out whether Tim was being genuinely territorial over her, or if it was a ploy to show Will that he was out of luck if he was harbouring those particular ideas. The thought that he might be gave her a surge of adrenaline, but it was swiftly replaced by anger at her ex-boyfriend. Whatever his motives, she wasn’t going to be a part of it.

  ‘I have to do a few things before bed. Nice to see you, Tim.’ She stood and hovered, waiting until he got reluctantly to his feet. ‘I’ll just show Tim out.’ She gestured for Will to stay where he was.

  She walked towards the door, shepherding Tim in front of her, and then opened it.

  ‘Sorry if I’m intruding on anything.’ He gave her a wolfish grin. She sensed that he didn’t feel threatened by Will, more that he was amused by the situation. His arrogance was unwavering.

  ‘It’s late,’ Robin said, ‘and I’m still getting used to the routine of running the guesthouse.’

  ‘Well done for finding Tabitha’s nephew.’ He whispered it, leaning in close and moving one of her curls off her face.

  Robin flinched. ‘I didn’t find him. God, Tim. You’re so—’

  She stopped as Tim stood up straight and raised his hand, and Robin realised Will was standing behind her.

  ‘I’ll pop round tomorrow,’ Tim said to Will, ‘and you can give me the grand tour.’

  ‘Not so much of the grand,’ Will said. ‘It’s a bit of a wildlife park at the moment. Spiders, mice – there might be a family of jackdaws nesting in the roof.’

  ‘Can’t wait! Catch you later, Robs. Nice to meet you, Will.’ He kissed Robin on the cheek and then was gone – hurrying down the steps and jumping into the polished black Audi, screeching away from the kerb.

  Robin shut the door slowly and rested her forehead against the wood. She sighed, mustered up a smile and turned to face Will.

  ‘I should head up,’ he said.

  ‘You don’t have to, I just wanted to get rid of Tim.’

  Will frowned. ‘You don’t get on? I got the impression you were close.’

  ‘We used to be, but that was a long time ago. Sometimes he can be … full on.’

  ‘I noticed.’ He gave her a wry smile and followed her back into Sea Shanty. Darcy had taken advantage of their absence to stretch out full length along one of the sofas, her paws twitching as she tried to be more courageous in her dreams than she was in real life.

  ‘You don’t have to show him round Tabitha’s if you don’t want to.’ Robin risked looking at him.

  His smile was gentle but amused. ‘He’s a property developer. He’s spent a lot of time in rundown houses, and said he could give me a few pointers, show me what I need to concentrate my time on. Are you OK? You seem on edge.’ He stepped closer to her. He smelt of mint shampoo and buttercream, and the image of him standing in the hall, his torso bare, popped into her head.

  ‘I’m fine.’ She bent to stroke Darcy’s tummy. The more time she was spending with the dog, the more she could feel herself falling for her; her gentleness and her cowardice. ‘Tim and I have a history. It – things are … complicated, after such a long time apart.’

  ‘Oh. Oh, right.’

  ‘Sorry, that came out wrong. I don’t mean that there’s anything between us, now. I – it’s been a long day.’

  The doorbell chimed, and Darcy flipped on to her stomach, her ears alert.

  ‘And it’s not over yet,’ Robin said with a sigh. For a horrifying moment she thought Tim had returned for a second assault, but their second visitor was much more welcome. ‘Molly, what can possibly have brought you round here?’

  Molly stepped past her and walked purposefully up the hall towards Sea Shanty. ‘I’ve brought back the nail varnish I borrowed from you,’ she said distractedly, and then smiled and disappeared inside the room. ‘Hi, you must be Will. I’m Molly, I’m your neighbour – on the other side. Robin and I are mates.’

  Robin rolled her eyes and, grinning, followed her friend. She was surprised that Molly had left it almost a full day before coming to meet Tabitha’s nephew for herself.

  ‘Molly, nice to meet you,’ Will said.

  Molly smiled unashamedly up at him. She was holding a bottle of nail varnish in a neon yellow that Robin recognised as one of her professional manicure gels. It was possibly the lamest excuse she could have given to come round, especially as Robin wouldn’t be seen dead wearing that shade.

  ‘Ashley brought Will some cupcakes,’ Robin said. ‘Wasn’t that kind of him?’

  Molly’s lips formed a perfect ‘o’ of surprise. ‘Wow, very kind. Are there any left?’

  Robin shook her head. ‘Tim popped round a while ago to offer Will some professional advice about the house, and we ended up eating them all.’

  ‘Tim?’ Molly said sharply. ‘The sneaky bugger.’

  ‘It seems I’m destined to meet the whole of Campion Bay while I’m here. Possibly tonight.’ Will grinned. ‘Do you want me to leave you to it?’

  ‘You’re more than welcome to stay,’ Robin said. ‘I’m sorry that it’s a bit of a parade here sometimes. I’m beginning to realise that running a guesthouse means my front door is always open.’

  ‘Or it could be that you’re just very popular,’ Will said softly, meeting her gaze. ‘Which is perfectly understandable.’

  ‘Please don’t go on my account. I only popped by to drop this off.’ Molly waved the nail varnish and then, in one of the worst acting performances Robin had ever seen, gave a horrified gasp. ‘This isn’t yours. I’ve picked up the wrong one! So sorry, Robin.’

  Robin closed her eyes in despair.

  ‘Bye, Will.’ Molly stood on her tiptoes to peck him on the cheek, and ruffled his short hair. ‘If you need a trim while you’re here, a pedicure, a facial – I have a great range of for him treatments that are to die for. I can see you look after yourself, so why not take it to the next level? I’ll do you a deal, as you’re Robin’s guest.’

  ‘That’s very kind of you,’ Will said. ‘I’ll bear it in mind.’

  Robin followed Molly into the hall. ‘What was that?’ she asked, her voice an angry whisper. ‘Will’s going to think we’re a pair of lunatics!’

  ‘Oh, I guarantee he doesn’t think you’re a lunatic. I can see why you want him to stay, but trust Tim to turn up so soon. Did he get his claws in?’

  Robin glanced behind her to check that Will hadn’t followed them. ‘He tried to, but I don’t think Will was buying it. Not a hundred per cent, anyway.’

  ‘Good. Keep it up. Between us, we’ll make Will Nightingale a permanent fixture in Campion Bay. I’d better get Lethal Limoncello back to its friends.’ She held up the nail varnish. ‘Can’t say it played the role of accomplice to perfection, but who cares. Have fun!’ She kissed Robin on the cheek and closed the door behind her.

  ‘I’d lock the door now, if I were you.’ Will stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He was carrying a sleep
ing Darcy in his arms.

  Robin laughed. ‘Molly’s lovely, but she’s not exactly a shrinking violet. I don’t know what I would have done without her when I first moved back to Campion Bay.’

  ‘Oh? Why’s that?’

  Robin focused her attention on Darcy, the way her paws twitched slightly while she dozed. ‘It was hard, returning, after so long in London. I was – I wasn’t running away, exactly. But I needed a friend, and Molly was there for me. You’ll see how warm she is as you get to know her, but I’m sorry about her whirlwind visit. And Tim. I bet you’re wishing you were bunking down at Tabitha’s, despite the wildlife.’

  ‘Trade in the luxury of Starcross and those delicious breakfasts, not to mention your company, for a saggy mattress surrounded by dust and creepy-crawlies? I don’t think so.’

  ‘You’re not beginning to feel like a circus attraction?’

  ‘I’m incidental. They came to see you, not me. I just happened to be taking advantage of your hospitality at the time.’

  Robin nodded, but couldn’t bring herself to reply.

  ‘You look tired,’ he said. ‘And I should get some sleep so that I’m bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for another dust-filled trip down memory lane tomorrow.’

  ‘I’ll make sure you get one of those delicious, fortifying breakfasts,’ she said.

  ‘Oh, I’m counting on it. Goodnight, Robin.’

  ‘Night, Will.’

  She watched him climb the stairs, Darcy sleeping in his arms like a fur baby. When she took the mugs into the kitchen, Eclipse was staring at her from beside his food bowl. Robin knew that it wasn’t the lack of a treat that her kitten was annoyed about, but she was sure the two animals could learn to love each other – it would just take time. And the more she was getting to know Will, the more she hoped that time was on their side.

  The first week of May in Campion Bay was one of bright, hazy mornings and late-afternoon downpours, as if summer was trying to squeeze out too early and the April weather was reining it back in. Robin quickly found that running a guesthouse was both fun and exhausting, a constant flurry of breakfasts and cups of tea, of being welcoming and cheerful and not visibly irritated when someone told her they’d spilt coffee all over the cream cushions in their room. She was worried about the dishwasher and the washing machine, about how hard she was working them, even though her mother had assured her they were more than up to the task.

  Sometimes, when she thought she’d have a quiet half-hour to herself, to update the accounts or plan a new promotion for June, a guest or two would pop their head around the door and ask for information, some more biscuits or directions to a particular restaurant. Robin had known all this would happen, and yet she found that her feet were barely touching the ground.

  After her first guests – Mr and Mrs Barker, Neil and Catriona, Ray and Andrea, and Dorothy – had checked out, Robin felt like she’d passed the second test. The first night had gone without a hitch – unless she counted Will as hitch, and she wasn’t sure he deserved that less-than-appealing label – and now she could say that her debut as a seaside landlady had been a success. Her guests had all left happy; she had given them an enjoyable, memorable stay in the Campion Bay Guesthouse.

  Her current guests included a couple in their thirties from Edinburgh, visiting friends who’d recently moved to the area but didn’t have room in their tiny cottage to put them up. Felix and Olivia had soft Scottish accents and the kind of expensive, subtle dress-sense that reminded Robin of some of her Once in a Blue Moon Days clients.

  ‘Portland Bay Marina,’ Felix said, waggling his phone screen at Olivia. ‘Finally, they tell us! But have they given us any directions? Have they heck!’

  Olivia gave Robin an apologetic smile. ‘Our friends have bought a boat, and we’re supposed to be going out on it today, but they’re not the most organised people.’

  ‘I don’t know how they expect us to spend the day on it with them, if they won’t tell us where it is!’ Felix threw his hands up in exasperation.

  ‘I’ll get a map, hang on.’ Robin turned away, hiding her smile, and took the map out of the drawer. ‘Which marina? Portland Bay? It’s not too far from here, look.’ They leaned over the map, Robin taking an envious peek at Olivia’s long straight russet hair as she pointed out their destination and told them which roads to take.

  ‘Thanks, Robin,’ Felix said, rolling his eyes. ‘I’m glad someone round here’s got some common sense!’

  ‘Don’t listen to him,’ Olivia said. ‘He’s just het up because he’s desperate to see the boat.’

  ‘What kind is it?’ Robin asked.

  ‘Luxury cruiser, apparently.’

  ‘About three times as big as their cottage,’ Felix added. ‘I don’t know why they don’t just live on that, instead of trying to cram all their fishing gear into a house with five-foot-high ceilings.’

  ‘Come on, Felix, stop gassing at Robin.’ Olivia pulled him by the sleeve of his Ralph Lauren jumper.

  ‘It’s no problem,’ Robin said, laughing and waving them goodbye.

  She was trying to fold the map back up without being suffocated by it when Will appeared in the hall.

  He’d been in Campion Bay just over a week, and Robin couldn’t deny that she liked having him around. She could recognise the tread of his boot-clad feet on the stairs, and his turn of the key in the lock in the evenings.

  ‘What joys have you got on today?’ Robin called, smoothing down the creases of the map.

  ‘Today Darcy and I are working on the cupboards at the back of Tabitha’s living room. At a glance, they look like a paper-recycling facility, so I think it’s going to take a while.’ He gave her a look of mock-delight, and Robin laughed.

  ‘I need to pop round and see Molly,’ she said. ‘Let me come out with you.’ The walk would take less than thirty seconds, and yet Robin found she was craving his company, however limited. She’d managed a couple of hours at Tabitha’s house three times the previous week, for which Will had been grateful, even though Robin felt she wasn’t being much practical help.

  ‘How are the new guests?’ Will asked. ‘They seem nice from the brief conversations we’ve had at breakfast. Felix invited me to go and see this spectacular boat his friends have bought. A day skipping across the waves sounds pretty appealing.’

  ‘A luxury cruiser. Oh, how the other half live.’

  Will laughed. ‘They’re staying in your guesthouse. You’re facilitating their lifestyle; you’re a part of that.’

  Robin thought of the levels of extravagance involved in Once in a Blue Moon Days. ‘It’s not quite the same thing, though, is it?’

  ‘Isn’t it? I’ve never stayed in a hotel room as beautiful or upmarket as Starcross.’ Will watched as Darcy bounded to the top step of Tabitha’s house and stared up at the front door.

  ‘Someone’s keen,’ Robin said.

  ‘Keener than I am. If only she could help me decide what to do with it all.’

  ‘I can try and pop round a bit later today.’

  ‘Robin, you don’t—’

  ‘So this is the famous Will Nightingale,’ said a familiar, accented voice. Robin turned to see Nicolas, one half of the father-and-son team that ran Taverna on the Bay, approaching them. His walk was more of a saunter, and his dark eyes were as sparkling as his smile.

  Will frowned as he shook Nicolas’s hand. ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘Famous?’

  ‘The new, mysterious neighbour,’ Nicolas clarified. ‘Any intrigue on Goldcrest Road, news spreads like wildfire. You are Tabitha’s nephew, yes? My father and I, we loved Tabitha – she came for lunch with us every Thursday. I am sorry for your loss.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Will said. ‘I remember her mentioning it, but I never got round to going with her.’ He ran a hand through his hair.

  ‘Ah!’ Nicolas threw his arms up into the air. They were very well-defined arms, the biceps trying to escape a T-shirt that was a size too small. ‘Then we will make up for it. You two will co
me to dinner, Wednesday night. We will reserve you the best table, serve only the best food, do you an exclusive deal.’

  ‘Oh no, Nicolas,’ Robin started, ‘we don’t—’

  ‘Sure,’ Will said at the same time, glancing at Robin. ‘I mean, why not? It’s a very kind offer.’

  Robin swallowed. Dinner, for the two of them? The thought was thrilling and terrifying; a lot more serious than cheese on toast in Sea Shanty. ‘I – uhm, OK. It sounds lovely. Thank you, Nicolas.’

  ‘My pleasure.’ He gave her a double-handed handshake, and slapped Will firmly on the shoulder. ‘Wednesday,’ he called, as he strode in the direction of town.

  Will grinned at Robin. ‘That was random. But then, I’m beginning to understand that random is perfectly normal in Campion Bay.’

  ‘Nicolas is – they’re both – very kind. And the food at the taverna is amazing.’

  ‘I hope I didn’t overstep the mark, accepting their offer?’ He touched her arm. ‘If you’d rather not go with me …’

  ‘No, no, I’d love to,’ she said hurriedly. ‘I was caught off guard as much as you, that’s all. It’ll be good to get out of the guesthouse for an evening. I’ll try to come by later, see if we can get through the mountains of paper together.’

  ‘Thanks, Robin. Say hi to Molly for me.’ She didn’t watch him go inside, but raced next door to Groom with a View, where her friend was waiting. She had the distinct impression that Nicolas’s invitation hadn’t come purely out of the goodness of his heart.

  ‘You know why you’re so tired, don’t you?’ Molly said, patting Robin’s knee.

  Robin thought she knew what was coming, but she feigned ignorance. ‘No, why?’

  They were sitting on a bench on the promenade, the guesthouse, beauty parlour and other Goldcrest Road houses behind them, the charcoal sea in front. After Robin had turned up at Groom with a View, Molly had forced her straight back outside again, and now they both had ice creams in their hands, and were grabbing hold of the thirty minutes in between guest breakfasts and the first facials of the day.