Lovely Little Things in Pretty Beach : A magical feel-good romance book to escape with in summer 2021.

by Polly Babbington

  Lulu nodded. ‘It will be. It might take me a while though. I haven’t even started on the actual painting yet. Though it’s big enough to sit in here even with that going on. At last, I’ll be able to get off those camping chairs! I’ll be able to sit back and relax. Bliss.’

  ‘So, you’ve done everything on your own?’ Jason asked, shaking his head.

  ‘Mostly. I had a bit of a working bee day when my friend Lottie and her partner came to help me fill a very large skip, and of course, Ollie has been helping. It’s a long, slow process, Jason. I had the best bit of advice right at the beginning from the DIY shop. The guy in there said to just take it bit by bit and that’s exactly what I’ve done. As you can see by the state of the rest of the house.’

  ‘You should be proud of yourself. I can see the amount of work it must have been and what you have got to come,’ Jason said, sucking air in through his teeth.

  Ollie smiled and put his hand on Lulu’s arm. ‘I’m very proud of her. She’s amazing. Taking on all this on her own and getting stuck in while starting a new job and moving down from London.’

  Jason did a low whistle. ‘Yep, you my lovely need a medal or a gold star at least.’

  38

  Lulu in grey linen trousers, a lightweight sweater tied over her shoulders, black gold-buttoned blazer over her arm, and black tie-ankle Russell and Bromley sandals, stood on the platform waiting for the fast train to arrive in Pretty Beach.

  As the train pulled into the station and the doors opened with a beep, she stepped on, dragging her small cabin case behind her, stowing it between the seats and sitting down. As the train then eased its way out of Pretty Beach station, there were only a few seats left for passengers on its limited stops to the city. Warm, stuffy air engulfed the carriage as people got themselves comfy and mostly bent their heads down to their phones.

  Soft, drizzly rain pitter-pattered against the train window and as it gathered speed and Pretty Beach was left in its wake, Lulu leant back in her seat, took a deep breath in, and looked forward to her weekend with Ava in the city.

  Ava’s schedule had been packed with back-to-back book signings, speaking events, publicity tours and one-on-one mentoring, but the whole of Saturday was clear for her and Lulu. The day was full of plans to shop, lunch, get pampered at the hotel spa, finish with room service and a bottle of wine in the room, and go to sleep tired and happy. It was a formula they followed twice a year on Ava’s bi-annual tours and never really swayed far from.

  Lulu had been looking forward to the weekend for ages, and it had worked out perfectly with Ollie’s plans. Ollie was going to his family country house in Berkshire to spend some time with his middle brother who was over from his house in Spain. There had been talk of them meeting up but with the conference being on the east side of London and with Ava’s packed schedule, Lulu had decided she’d rather just dedicate her time to being with Ava rather than having to go back and forth all over the city.

  Just over an hour later, the train started to slow down as it approached the outskirts of London. After checking her orders for Lovely Little Things and putting her hotel shifts into her Google calendar, Lulu was waiting for the other passengers to alight the train when her phone rang from inside her bag.

  ‘Hello,’ Lulu said quietly into her phone.

  ‘Hey. Only me. Where are you?’ Ava asked.

  ‘Just pulled into the station. I’m getting off the train as we speak. What’s up? Is everything okay?’

  ‘Err, yes and no. There’s a problem at the hotel. I thought I’d just call rather than send sixteen texts,’ Ava replied in a rush.

  ‘What sort of a problem?’

  ‘Ahh, it’s all a bit of a nightmare actually. There’s been a problem with the electrics on a couple of the top floors. Long story short it triggered the fire alarms and the sprinklers.’

  ‘You’re joking! What about the ballroom?’

  ‘Nope, all good in there because the ballroom is actually in a different building even though you don’t realise it from the outside. Thank goodness, or we would really be up the creek without a paddle.’

  ‘So it’s not affecting the talk this evening?’

  ‘Not the talk in itself no. Thank goodness it didn't happen for the conference either. But the room situation is a mess. Look, I’m going to have to go in a minute. I’ve got an interview with that awful squawking Scottish woman from daytime TV. Sheilagh is going to call you but just a heads up, we’re all moving hotels and we have ended up in Knightsbridge. The whole flipping city is booked out because of that cricket match. It cost a mint to move over there but at least we know where we are.’

  ‘Sounds like a bit of a mess.’

  ‘Yep, it is! Anyway, we’ve changed everything for tomorrow and we’re booked into another spa etc. I’m just checking that all of that is okay with you?’

  ‘Of course it’s okay. You’re footing the bill here, Ava. Just tell me where I need to be and I’ll be there.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah. So Sheilagh will text you with the new address and she will be leaving from there later on this afternoon too. Whereas I’m staying here to get my hair done and all my stuff is here anyway. If you go there and dump your bag and get ready from there I’ll see you for pre-event drinks as planned at six. Yes?’

  ‘Yep, sweet, no dramas. Don’t worry about me. Just get all your interviews sorted.’

  ‘You’re a doll. I can’t wait to see you, get this event over and spend the day with you tomorrow.’

  ‘Same here,’ Lulu replied.

  ‘Okay, I’ve got to scoot. Bye.’

  Lulu put her phone back in her bag and smiled. There was no wonder Ava was as successful as she was. She worked like crazy to get her events off the ground and they were always brilliant, but there was always some little thing that went wrong and when you had three hundred people turning up to hear you talk it could be quite stressful.

  As Lulu strolled down the platform behind the last few stragglers ahead, she looked up at the old Victorian station and smiled. Back in town but now with a new and quite strange feeling; she was a visitor and home was a beautiful old house in Pretty Beach.

  39

  Lulu pulled the fitted black satin dress with the delicate straps down over her shapewear. The dress, the occasion, and the outfit required things to be pulled in. Perfect was needed in a dress such as this. This was not an occasion for lines, ruffles or blips.

  The decision had been an easy one; pretty come hither underwear or garments ready for battle. Lulu had embraced the latter and as she ran her hands over the tight-fitting dress, she smiled and thanked anyone who would listen for the woman in America who had designed the pull-everything-in underwear.

  With the prospect of delivering the opening address to three hundred people at Ava’s event, everything about Lulu’s appearance had been planned, from her earrings to her nail varnish. Now, standing observing herself in the mirror, she sprayed a random stray hair back into place, fastened her gold drop earrings, and added a matching bangle to her arm and felt good about what was reflected back.

  Her feet seemed to happily exhale as she slipped them into her deliciously high silver sandals with the silver tassels. Goddess shoes made to be coveted and raised Lulu’s self-esteem by a huge amount of notches just by putting them on.

  Checking her clutch bag to make sure it had perfume, makeup, headache tablets, her phone and fold-up ballet flats in place, Lulu layered herself with perfume, tidied everything up, grabbed her black cashmere wrap and strolled confidently out of the hotel room door.

  ‘Right,’ she said quietly to herself as she got in the lift. ‘Mabel is all sorted with Lottie, Seafolly House is locked and the lights are on timers, Willow is on a plane going over the Atlantic, and Ollie is at his mum’s house. Time to relax for a moment.’

  Forty minutes later, after getting stuck in traffic going across London, Lulu sped into the glittering lobby of the five-star hotel. Approaching the function room on the right she could
hear the low hum of the VIP guests chatting at Ava’s event. Hurrying in after the delay with the traffic she grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, said hello to someone she’d presented an award to the year before and looked around for Ava or Sheilagh.

  As she took a lug of her champagne, Sheilagh, clutching a clipboard, came rushing up to her. ‘Lulu, thank goodness you’re here! We have a problem.’

  ‘Yes, I’ve heard. What a nightmare with the rooms,’ Lulu replied.

  ‘No, not that problem. As if that wasn’t enough. This is much bigger than that. Gareth, the interviewer, has pulled out at the last minute. When I say last minute I mean half an hour ago. His wife has been admitted to hospital. I need you to do it.’

  ‘What? I have no idea. I’m not briefed or anything!’ Lulu exclaimed.

  ‘I can’t do it with my speech problems. Is there anyone else here who knows Ava better than you?’ Sheilagh asked hurriedly looking down at her clipboard.

  Lulu looked around at the throng of well-dressed people standing around drinking champagne. ‘Err, I guess there’s not, no.’

  ‘And she’s panicking and we cannot have that at this stage. She never panics. If you do it she’ll be fine.’

  ‘But I’ve never interviewed anyone before. I don’t even know where to start.’

  ‘It’s all set out for you on a document which you’ll have open on a mini iPad on your lap. You just have to make sure you sit up straight and keep your feet together and keep the conversation going.’

  ‘Right. So, it sounds like you’ve already made the decision for me.’ Lulu laughed.

  Sheilagh smiled. ‘Yes Lulu. You’ll be fine. Here, take this into the lobby and have a read through,’ she said as she passed Lulu an iPad open at a run list and bullet points of questions. ‘Just don’t veer off this list. Don’t ask any personal questions and under no circumstances ask anything about her life before she hit the big time. That gets way too murky. We both know what that looks like.’

  Lulu scanned down the list, looked around at the packed room of VIPs, shook her head at Sheilagh, grabbed another glass of bubbles from a passing waiter, and headed towards the lobby to prepare to interview one of her best friends on stage in front of three hundred people.

  ‘Ava Richardson is the internationally bestselling author of ‘Who are We?’ the number one book that has sold over fifteen-million copies worldwide. She is also the proud host of her own exclusive chart-topping podcast, is a highly-regarded worldwide keynote speaker and dedicated entrepreneur.’

  Lulu looked around at the faces of the, mostly women, in the audience with their champagne in hand looking up at her expectantly. All looking for the answer they thought was hidden in Ava Richardson’s books and wisdom. They had paid extortionate amounts of money to be standing at the exclusive event and were hanging on Lulu’s every word.

  ‘These days, Ava divides her time between her homes in various cities, recording her highly-anticipated weekly podcasts, and attending her sold-out conferences around the world. Tonight, we welcome you to this very special private event where we’ll get to hear a little more on all things Ava Richardson. We’ll explore further what it takes to actually live the Who are We? lifestyle and how it really feels to be confident, capable, independent women. Welcome everyone, to An Evening with Ava Richardson!’

  Lulu looked over to Sheilagh who gave her a little thumbs-up and the audience clapped enthusiastically. Lulu looked down at the iPad at her completed introduction and then the long list of questions.

  This was meant to be the part in the evening where Lulu sat in the wings next to Sheilagh, their parts of the Ava Richardson show very nearly over. Tonight it had only just begun.

  Two hours later, after sitting with her feet tightly together and slanted to the side, with a microphone attached to her dress and under bright spotlights, Lulu had interviewed her friend of many years and was exceedingly glad when it was over.

  As the guests had slowly drifted away, and Ava had signed many copies of her books, Lulu was sitting on a chair pulling off her heels. She took her fold-up ballet flats out of her bag, slipped her feet into them, and took a huge gulp of her wine.

  ‘Brilliant! You were way out of Gareth’s league!’ Sheilagh exclaimed as she plonked her huge tote bag on the floor and sat down in the chair next to Lulu. ‘It’s like you were born for it. Have you ever done anything like that before?’

  Lulu shook her head. ‘Never! And hopefully never again. I was a nervous wreck and I've never sat that still for so long either. I was frightened to move my legs.’

  ‘Well, you certainly seemed to know exactly what you were doing. Another crisis averted.’ Sheilagh sighed.

  ‘You must be shattered,’ Lulu said.

  ‘Yep. We’re on the homeward stretch though now. It’s been a very busy week. We’re booked in for a curry before we head back over to Knightsbridge and I can’t wait.’

  ‘Excellent. The same one as usual?’

  ‘Yes. Bring on the curry and the wine.’ Sheilagh laughed as she slipped off her shoes and they watched Ava walking towards them.

  It was getting late when Lulu, Ava, and Sheilagh got out of a cab at the hotel in Knightsbridge, walked through the lobby, and sat up at the bar for a nightcap.

  Ava sighed happily. ‘Thank you so much for saving the day. By the way, you now have a new job as my touring interviewer.’

  Lulu grinned. ‘Pah! No way. Sorry, you’re on your own. I never want to do that again, best friend or not.’

  The barman put their drinks down in front of them, Sheilagh took a sip of her drink and turned to Lulu. ‘So, I hear your life has taken a bit of an unexpected turn since you’ve moved.’

  ‘I should say so!’

  ‘How’s it all going with the new man then?’ Sheilagh asked, giggling.

  Lulu touched the bar. ‘Touch wood, it’s going amazingly well. I can’t believe it to be quite honest.’

  ‘Good for you. You deserve it,’ Sheilagh replied. ‘I still can’t get my head around the lies that idiot you were married to told.’

  ‘I know,’ Lulu said. ‘It’s weird though. I feel like that part of my life is so long ago when in reality it wasn't. I’m loving it down in Pretty Beach when I avoided it for so long. I couldn’t wait to get away from there when I was younger.’

  ‘Yeah. It’s a funny old world. It works in mysterious ways constantly surprising you,’ Sheilagh responded as she put her glass down on the bar. ‘Right, I’m going to love you and leave you. I’ve been on the go since five and I need some shut-eye.’

  ‘Yep,’ Ava replied, picking up her bag. ‘I’m making a move too. We’ve lots of shopping and eating to do tomorrow. Come on, Lulu.’

  ‘Actually, I’ve forgotten toothpaste. I’m just going to pop over the road to that Sainsbury’s Local on the corner.’

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ Ava said.

  ‘Don’t be silly! I’ll be two minutes. You go up. I’ll see you in the morning.’

  Lulu, Ava, and Sheilagh left the bar, said goodbye in the hotel lobby and arranged to meet at breakfast in the morning. Lulu walked towards the main doors, said thank you to a doorman and stepped out into the cool night air.

  Inside the shop, she perused the chocolate bars, picked up a travel size tube of toothpaste and a large bottle of spring water, lined up at the counter and paid for her goods. As she went to walk out she stood at the magazines, flicking through the latest copy of a home magazine. Deciding that she wasn’t going to bother with it, she went to pop it back in its slot and as she did so, she looked up and something caught her eye out of the window.

  Her hand froze around the magazine and she squinted into the night. Dropping the magazine back in its slot, she pulled her bag around to the front and fumbled for her glasses. Quickly popping them on, everything crisped up. Everything including an extremely handsome man standing exceedingly close to a willowy blonde.

  Gasping, Lulu held onto the side of the magazine rack. Even though
it was on the other side of the road there was no mistaking the honey skin, the jumper over the button-down shirt, the broad chest, and self-assured manner.

  Standing directly opposite her under the orange glow of the brightly lit London street waiting to cross the road, was Ollie. And as the pedestrian crossing flashed, Lulu could make out more of the woman standing beside him. The woman he had his arm around. Right there with him, just as Lulu had seen in the pictures online, was the tea heiress in all her glory.

  As quick as a flash Lulu took out her phone, zoomed in as far as she could and snapped Ollie and the woman at the lights. Then she took a deep breath in and knocked against a man as she took a step back away from the window.

  ‘Love! Oi! Are you alright? You nearly fell over there. Good job you didn’t take us both with you.’

  ‘Ahh. Sorry! Sorry about that!’ Lulu replied.

  ‘Not a problem. Are you sure you’re okay, love?’

  ‘Yep. Thanks. I just, err, saw someone I know.’

  ‘Saw someone you know? Looks like you’ve just seen a ghost, more like!’

  The man opened the door and as cool air rushed into the shop, Lulu stepped out onto the road to see the back of Ollie disappearing down the road. Quickening her step and keeping close to the buildings, Lulu again held up her phone. Breathing heavily as she got close enough to them, she opened the camera, zoomed in as far as she could and snapped a few more photos.

  Then she turned away, walked back past the Sainsbury’s, pushed the button for the crossing, and waited. And as the green man flashed and Lulu crossed over in front of two black cabs, she looked back towards the direction that Ollie had taken and promptly started to cry.

  Taking a tissue out of her bag and dabbing at her eyes, Lulu couldn’t stop the tears. Things flashed through her head. Images of Ollie at the hotel, looking up at him from the laneway after she’d fallen from her bike, the night under the gazebo, her in the pink gloves, him very much naked in her huge bed.