by Karen King
“Good morning,” he wrapped his arms around Ellie’s waist and kissed her. She’d tied her hair up in bunches and looked incredibly sexy. “Did you manage to sneak in without being discovered?”
She grinned impishly. “Yes, thank goodness. You’re not doing my reputation any good, you know.”
“Ah, but I am brightening up your life.” He kissed her soundly. “You look sexy in those dungarees. I take it they’re your painting outfit?
“Harry’s going to help me take up the carpet, ready for the new one, and I’m painting the skirting boards”
“Want any help?”
She leaned back and scrutinised him. “Are you serious? I thought you didn’t do painting and decorating?”
“I don’t – usually. But I’ll make an exception for you.”
She playfully tapped his nose with her finger. “Thank you but I think I’d better do it. I have painted skirting boards before whereas you haven’t – have you?”
“Nope. But I’m sure I could manage it.”
“Seriously, I can manage it. I’m sure you’ve got stuff of your own to do.”
“A bit of paperwork but then I’ll help Harry. We’ll get the rest of the jobs sorted.”
“Thank you.” Ellie kissed him then wriggled free. “Help yourself to breakfast. See you later.” She picked up her coffee and toast and walked out of the kitchen.
Reece filled up the kettle, switched it on and opened the dishwasher to take out a clean mug. He made himself a black coffee and sat down at the table to drink it, his mind flitting back to the night before. Ellie had really got under his skin. Don’t get too involved, he reminded himself. Finishing his drink he went to find Harry and offer his help.
* * *
Ellie had finished painting the skirting board and window sill by mid-morning. “What do you think?” she asked as her mum poked her head around the door to see how she was getting on.
“It looks lovely. Thank you, dear.” Sue stepped into the middle of the room and looked around. “You know, this wallpaper isn’t too bad. I don’t think the carpet will show it up, after all.”
“Neither do I.” Ellie wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “I’ll paint the ceiling once the plaster is dry. We’re going to get this room looking even better than before, Mum.”
Sue gave her a hug. “Thank you so much for all your help. I really don’t know what I’d have done without you. But now I insist you take a break.”
“There’s still so much to be done.”
“I know but it can wait. You’ve worked hard enough. I want you to take the rest of the day off and that’s an order.” She wagged her finger teasingly but Ellie could see that she was serious. “Go and find that Reece of yours and tell him the same. He’s a guest and you are on holiday. Go and enjoy the day together.”
It was a tempting idea. “Are you sure?” Elle asked. “I don’t want to leave you to do everything.”
“I’m not going to be doing anything apart from sitting in the garden,” Sue told her. “I’ve got some thinking to be done and I’m best left alone while I do it.”
“Then in that case I will.” She kissed her Mum on the cheek. “But only if you promise you won’t do anything strenuous.”
“I promise.”
Ellie went to have a shower and change her clothes, then looked around for Reece. She found him fixing a loose door hinge in the lounge.
“The ceiling’s done,” she told him.
“I know, I’ve just been up there looking for you. You made a great job of it.”
“Thank you. Mum is insisting I take the rest of the day off. And she said I wasn’t to let you do any more jobs either.”
Reece gave the screw a final twist with the screwdriver. “There, done.” He put the screwdriver back in the tool set then walked lazily towards Ellie. “What do you suggest we do?”
She smiled at him. “Do you have other plans?”
“None at all. I’m open to suggestions.” He nuzzled into her neck. “Your wish is my command.”
“Well, I want to take some photos of the beach and the town too, to put on the social media pages so do you fancy a bit more sightseeing?”
“Sounds good to me,” Reece said. “I’d would like to see more of Port Medden.”
“I was thinking of going in an hour or so. Is that too early for you?”
“That’d be great, gives me time to reply to a few emails and shower.”
Why, every time he mentioned the word shower, did a mental image of Reece stepping out of the shower stark naked flash through Ellie’s mind? It was as if that encounter was stamped on her brain forever.
He did have a fantastic body though. Memories of their lovemaking last night slide showed across her mind.
“Penny for them?” he asked
No way was she going to let him know that she was thinking about him. She shrugged. “Sorry, my mind was wandering, planning the Pinterest page.” She switched to the photo gallery on her camera and selected some shots of the vase of flowers from the Smythe’s room that she’d taken earlier. “Which do you think is best?” she asked, sliding through them.
“That one,” he pointed to the one she’d thought was the best too. “See you later.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulled her to him and kissed her gently on the lips. She resisted the urge to melt into his arms, managing to control herself enough to kiss him lightly, then ease away. “Stop distracting me, Mr Mitchell,” she teased, tapping him on the nose. “I’ve got work to do.”
He grinned. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
Ellie watched him walk away, her heart skipping a beat. What was it about him that attracted her so much?
She shook her head. Lust, that’s what it was.
Chapter Twenty One
“Let’s walk uphill a bit,” Ellie suggested as they set off. She grinned. “If you’re up to it, that is. It’s quite a steep incline.”
Reece flexed his right arm. “See those muscles. I’m as fit as a fiddle. Uphill it is.”
“Just a sec though.” Ellie took out her phone, slid the screen across to camera and took a couple of shots of the hotel.
“I thought you wanted some of the beach too? Shouldn’t we be going downhill?”
“I’ll do that when we come back.” She slipped the phone back in her pocket. “Have you had a walk around much?”
He shook his head. “Nope, the tour the other night was my first.” He took her hand. It felt soft and warm. Like the rest of her, he remembered. A picture of her naked body flashed across his mind, soft curves in just the right places. He savoured the image for a moment then pushed it away before he started getting thoughts that involved the bedroom instead of a walk around town. Not that he thought love making had to be confined to the bedroom.
Stop thinking about it, Reece!
“It’s mainly houses at the top of the town, there’s a couple of shops but most of them tend to be near the sea front,” Ellie told him. “The view is amazing though.”
She led the way up the steep hill, past cobbled streets and onto what looked like fairly new houses. “So the older houses are near the bottom of the town too,” he observed.
“Yes, people tended to live near the harbour, that’s where they worked.”
God, she really was something, Reece thought as he watched Ellie snapping away. She’d taken photos of the beach, the cobbled streets, and a couple of quaint pubs. He loved the way she stuck her tongue between her teeth and squinted as she took the photos, the way she wrinkled her cute nose as she flicked through the shots to make sure they were okay, deleting the ones she didn’t like. How she laughed when a seagull flew across her path, ruining the shot, and when she accidentally took a photo of her thumb too. She was a delight to be with. He’d never met anyone so open, so totally unaffected.
If only he could be so open with her.
It wasn’t for much longer, he reminded himself. The deal was almost sorted. Once he had Steve’s approval
it would be all signed and sealed.
Then all he had to do was tell Ellie and Sue, and persuade Sue to sell.
After about ten minutes walking Ellie stopped at a wall and turned around. She loved this view, you could see the whole expanse of the beach from here, the harbour to the left, the ships far out at sea, the surfers and bathers were like tiny dots.
.She snapped a couple of shots of the beach then stepped closer to Reece. “Let’s have a selfie!” He grinned and hugged her close as she switched the phone to selfie mode and held it up high. “Smile!”
She took a couple of shots, then selected the photos and showed them to Reece.They were good. Their heads were close together, almost touching, eyes sparkling, wide smiles.
They looked like a couple in love.
Ellie licked her lips, not knowing what to say.
“They’re great. I take it you’re not putting these on the hotel Facebook page?” Reece asked.
Definitely not. They were way too personal. “I guess we could pretend we were a couple on holiday, show what a great place Port Medden is for lo ...” she stopped herself. “Couples.” She almost said lovers then. How embarrassing. She gazed down at the sea, feeling really awkward. Had he noticed?
“I’d prefer them to be kept private,” Reece replied. “Can you send them to me?”
He wanted the photos. Why? For a memento of her? “Sure.”
A few seconds later the photos pinged onto Reece’s phone.
This was getting more and more awkward. Why had she taken those photos? She couldn’t have made it more obvious that she wanted to remember him and their time together.
Well he’d asked for the photos so he must want to as well.
“Want to take a closer look at the harbour now?” Ellie finally found the words to fill the silence. “We can go down via the back streets. Some of the houses are really quaint. They’d be great to put on the Pinterest page, show people what Port Medden is really like.”
“Good idea.” Reece reached for her fingers, and hand in hand they made their way back down the hill. Going up was certainly easier than going down. They passed an old couple walking up with a basket of shopping, they seemed quite sprightly.
“You’d think this hill would be too much for them, wouldn’t you?” Ellie said when the couple were out of earshot. “It’s amazing how fit the old folk are here. I think it’s the sea air.”
“That and lots of exercise. If you go up and down this hill a couple of times a week you’ll soon be fit.”
She paused as they passed a small cottage painted in pastel blue, big pots of red geraniums stood outside the door and hanging baskets of lilac, mauve and white lobelia and pink fushia draped each side of the door “This cottage dates back to the fourteenth century,” she said. “All these in this row do. They’re old fishermen’s cottages. I must get some photos of them.”
“You really love this place don’t you?” asked Reece as she took several shots of the cottages and close ups of the pots.
“I do, it’s such a quaint little town, brimming with history. I think if I could tell people about it, show them what it’s like, what they can see here if they get off the beach and walk around, then we could really bring in some guests.” She slipped the phone back in her pocket. “There’s some fantastic art galleries where you can watch the artists at work and buy signed prints or originals. And the Nautical Museum too on the sea front. That’s full of things found on the beach, or in shipwrecks, as well as stuff that was used centuries ago. Port Medden was a thriving fishing town back then.” She broke off as she saw that Reece was staring at her, a strange look on his face. “Sorry, I’m going on a bit, aren’t I? It’s just, I love this place.”
“I can see that,” Reece replied. He looked thoughtful as he reached for her hand again. “Show me some more.”
They spent a couple of hours walking around. Ellie got lots of shots and answered Reece’s questions about various things they saw, but she couldn’t help noticing that he seemed quiet. As if he had something on his mind.
When they arrived back at the hotel they found Mandy on reception.
“Is Mum out the back?” Ellie asked.
“She’s gone for a lie down, lovely. I’m afraid she’s overdone things.”
“What?” Ellie fought down the wave of panic. “What’s she been doing? She said she was just going to sit out in the garden and rest.”
“I know but she decided to change the lampshades in the dining room, almost fell off the step ladders. I arrived just in time to break her fall.” Mandy looked worried. “You know what your mum’s like. Rest isn’t in her vocabulary.”
“I should have been helping her, not sightseeing,” Ellie said. “I’ll go and check on her, make sure she’s all right.”
Let me know how she is,” Reece told her. “I’ll be in my room if you need anything.”
Ellie heard her mother coughing as soon as she opened the flat door. She was sitting on the sofa in the lounge, looking very pale.
“Don’t panic, I’m fine,” she said before Ellie could open her mouth. “I know I shouldn’t have been changing the lightshade but that one went better with the blue curtains.”
“You’ve got to take it easy for a bit, Mum, you’ve just come out of hospital.”
“I’m fine, dear, don’t fuss. Did you enjoy your walk?” Her mother asked, letting her know that the subject of her resting was closed.
“I did. It was fabulous. I’ve taken some lovely photos to upload to our Facebook and Pinterest pages. I’ll show you in a minute.”
“Come and sit down for a minute, Ellie. I’d like to talk to you.”
Sue sounded serious. Ellie shot her a worried look. “Is everything okay? Are you feeling worse?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Sue sat down on the sofa and waited for Ellie to sit beside her before continuing. “This Reece…”
Ellie grimaced. “Look mum, I already know about the birds and bees,” she said in an attempt to both lighten the situation and change the subject. She didn’t want to talk to mum about Reece. Her feelings for him were getting way too complicated without having to explain them to anyone else.
“I’m concerned, Ellie. It’s lovely how he’s helping us out but I can’t help wondering why. And if he’s such an important businessman that he can get such huge cut price deals why he did he book into our hotel.”
“He had a meeting in Truro at the last minute and the big hotels were full. Well that’s what he told me.” Ellie paused. “What are you getting at, Mum?”
“I can see that you’re both smitten with each other but I can’t help wondering what he’s doing down here and how he can afford to take an extra week off work to help us out.” She looked thoughtfully at Ellie. “He’s a guest, yet he’s doing all this for nothing and we’ve only known him five minutes. People in business aren’t usually so …accommodating.”
And her Mum wasn’t usually so mistrusting. She always saw the best in people. “Don’t you like him?” she asked, wondering why her mother’s answer was so important to her.
“Yes I do. Very much. But that doesn’t stop me from wondering. Especially as I can see that you are very taken with him.”
Was it that obvious? “Reece said his business down here was taking a bit longer than he thought,” she said. She sat down beside her mum. “What’s troubling you about him?”
“He’s saved me well over one thousand pounds, Ellie, with the discount on the carpet and bed. And I’m wondering why.”
And that was a very good question. Was it because he was starting to fall for her? Like she was for him?
Reece read through the draft contract again. They were offering a fair price, the hotel was struggling and needed a complete overhaul. Sue wouldn’t get a better deal in the current market. And if she hung on, refused to sell, Gwel Teg would keep losing profit and she’d eventually have to sell for an even lower price. He was doing her a favour. So why was his conscience bothering him?
Because Ellie trusted him. And cared what she thought about him.
How would she feel when she found out that he was intending to buy the hotel and transform it? That he was planning to bring visitors into Port Medden too and had far more power behind him to do this than she could achieve with her photos on social media.
How would she feel when she found out that he didn’t work for the company, he joint-owned it.
For the first time he started to feel really uncomfortable about what he was doing.
After several minutes of soul searching he walked back over to the desk, sat down and brought his laptop back to life. He read through the contract on the screen again then started typing an amendment.
Chapter Twenty Two
Reece set off for Plymouth early the next morning for a meeting with Steve, so they could both discuss the contract. When he arrived he was surprised to see his business partner hobbling about on crutches. “Sprained my bloody ankle playing football,” he grumbled. Steve was a football fanatic and played for his county team. “Can’t drive so I’m not going to be able to have a look around the hotel any time soon. I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“Trust me it’s worth investing in. Gwel Teg has a lot of potential,” Reece assured him. “I’d like us to agree on the terms before I go back to London on Saturday. I’ll come back down early next week and get the owner to sign it.”
He handed the contract to Steve. “I’ve made a slight amendment.”
Steve hobbled into his study and eased himself into his large leather chair.
Reece followed, stopping to help himself to a coffee from the machine. “Want one?” he asked.
“I’ve just finished one. “Steve started to read the contract, flicking over the pages as he scanned through. “Where’s this amendment of yours?” Then a frown creased across his forehead.
