The Cornish Hotel by the Sea
Page 24
Wow! That was quite a speech. “I didn’t make you a kinder, caring person Reece. You already were one, otherwise you would never have put helping me and Mum over profit. You would have gone for the best deal for you.” As she spoke the words she realised they were true. Reece had helped them with no thought of any gain for himself.
“I’ve never met anyone like you, Ellie. You’re funny, warm, caring. I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
His lips found hers and their passion took over once again. When they were both finally sated, Ellie posed the question that had been bothering her since yesterday.
“Where do we go from here? We both live so far apart.”
“We’ll work it out. We can meet up at weekends. Take it in turns to visit each other. Let’s take it slowly, get to know one another.” He feather-traced a finger down her cheek and around her lips. “I’m scared too. I don’t do commitment any more than you do but we can’t run away from our feelings for each other.” His eyes held hers. “We can make it work, Ellie. We don’t have to change anything unless we want to. Right now it’s enough for me to know that you love me, that you’re there for me and I want you to know that I love you and am there for you.” He leant over and kissed her. “How does that sound?”
“That sounds perfect,” she replied when they came up for air. Love and freedom, what could be better than that? “Did I tell you I was going back to Rome next month to run a conference?”
“That’s fantastic. How about I join you at some point that week.” He trailed a row of hot kisses down her neck. “We can go back to the Trevi Fountain. Then our wishes will really have come true.”
“So you don’t want to see me before then?” She teased as Reece’s lips traced over her shoulders.
He raised himself up on his elbows and smiled down at her. “I want to see you as much as I possibly can. I hope at some point we’ll decide we want to live together. I can’t think of anything I’d like better than to go to bed with you every night and wake up with you every morning. But for now, let’s take any moments we can snatch. Deal?”
“Deal,” she agreed, winding her arms around his neck and pulling his lips towards hers.
Epilogue
Five Years later ….
“Nana!”
Ellie and Reece exchanged a smile as Olivia held out her arms and bounded towards Sue. They’d been gently teaching Livvy to say ‘Nana’ all week, knowing how much it would mean to Ellie’s mum.
“Livvy!” Sue scooped up the little girl and gave her a big hug. “You are such a clever girl.” Balancing Olivia on her right hip she walked over to Ellie and Reece. “You made good time. I wasn’t expecting you for another half an hour or so.”
“The roads were pretty clear,” Ellie told her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “You look well, Mum.”
“I feel well. Come inside, both of you, I’ll put the kettle on.” She carried Olivia into the kitchen then sat her down at the table. “Wait there, sweetheart, Nanna will get you a glass of milk and a biscuit.”
Ellie watched as her mother poured some milk into the plastic beaker she kept especially for Olivia, then took a chocolate biscuit out of the tin and handed both to the toddler. Sue looked years younger than her age and there was a real spring to her step. Her health had rapidly improved once the financial strain of looking after the hotel had been lifted from her. Reece had turned it into a thriving business but still managed to keep the family atmosphere that her parents had loved.
“It’s lovely to see you both,” Sue said as she switched on the kettle. “And Livvy is growing up so much, aren’t you darling?” She smiled at the little girl, who was now munching on the chocolate biscuit.
“Yum,” Livvy said, a big, chocolatey grin on her face.
Olivia was so like Reece, Ellie thought not for the first time, with her solemn grey eyes and her ability to charm her way into people’s hearts. Although she could definitely see herself in the wavy chestnut hair framing Olivia’s face and the defiant tilt of her chin. Ellie couldn’t imagine life without her adorable little daughter and Reece. They’d been married three years now and she’d never felt happier.
“Are you sure Livvy won’t be too much for you, Mum?” she asked anxiously, as Sue poured three mugs of coffee and placed them down on the table. She knew her mother worshipped Olivia but toddlers could be very demanding. “Reece could go on his own.”
“She will be absolutely fine with me and I’ll enjoy having her all to myself for a change. Mandy will be here to help too.” She leaned over and patted Ellie’s hand. “Of course you must go with Reece. You set up the whole project.”
Reece placed his arm around Ellie’s shoulder and hugged her to him. “Your mum’s right. There’d be no school without you, no education programme. This is your project.”
His eyes gazed into hers, brimming with love. “And yours,” she reminded him. “You’re the one who first put the money into it, and got more backers.”
When she had told Reece of her dream to build a school in Tanzania so the local children could be educated, and to find a list of sponsors to pay for the children’s education, he had not only sponsored the project but also convinced some of his business colleagues to put money into it too, and now the school educated children from six neighbouring villages. She and Reece had been over a couple of times to see the work in progress, and had now been invited over to meet the teachers and pupils - which meant a week away from Livvy as they both felt she was too young for the journey. Ellie hated to leave her precious daughter for a week, but Livvy adored her nanny and Sue adored her, and she knew they would have a lovely time together. And Ellie had to admit that she was really looking forward to visiting the school and meeting the children whose education they were sponsoring.
“We make a good team,” Reece told her with a soft smile. He took a wet wipe out of the baby bag Ellie had placed on the floor by the table, gently wiped the chocolate off Libby’s mouth and picked her up. “Come on, let’s go and see the fish and let Nanny and Mummy have a little chat.” He carried her through into the reception to see the fish in the large aquarium he’d had installed there, a firm favourite with the guests.
A team, yes that’s what they were, Ellie thought. She placed her hand over her not-yet swollen tummy. And, to her and Reece’s delight, that team was about to get bigger.
“I’ve got some news to tell you, Mum,” she said.
Sue smiled, reached over the table and patted her hand. “I guessed as soon as you walked in, darling. You have that special look about you pregnant women get. Congratulations. I’m so happy for you both.”
They both looked over at the door as they heard Olivia’s squeal of delight and Reece’s deep chuckle.
Life was good, Ellie thought. More than good, it was pretty much perfect.
Who would you choose, a safe bet
or the man who broke your heart?
A hilarious summery read, with the monster-in-law
that beats them all!
‘Oh I do…I do…I do… LOVE this book!!’
The Writing Garnet
Would you follow your dream or
your heart?
Kendall McKenzie made two promises:
never to get married
never to give up her dreams.
For anyone.
But she’s about to learn to never say ‘never’…
You’d never marry for money,
would you?
Desperate to save her family home, Amber needs
someone rich to pay her parents’ debts.
But can Amber ignore her heart and follow her
millionaire plan?
The
Bridesmaid’s
Dilemma
Meet the Hazards:
When Stella’s future mother-in-law ‘accidentally’ feeds her a nut-filled cake, her night disastrously ends in A&E. Stella knows that Joyce doesn’t like her, but murder by allergy is just one step too
far. And don’t even mention ally, Cordelia, ‘the girl next door’.
Charity committee member Joyce worries that Stella doesn’t like her. She tries to put the quiet, bookish girl at ease, but everything she does backfires. When she enlists a family friend’s help, she’s sure things will run more smoothly. But Cordelia has other ideas…
Will Stella ever make it down the aisle or is she destined not to fit in with the Hazards?
Out April 12th, 2018
Published by Accent Press Ltd 2017
www.accentpress.co.uk
Copyright © Karen King 2017
The right of Karen King to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of Accent Press Ltd.
eISBN 9781682996195