‘You deserve it. Why don’t you book yourself into Kim for a haircut? What about some new underwear and a new top? That always makes you feel better.’
Lottie sighed. ‘It’s just that I’m watching every penny with the new business and everything.’
Juliette tapped Lottie on the hand. ‘I know you are, but it’s not like you’re in a tonne of debt, is it? The first Secret Evenings function was good, as you said. You need to treat yourself, Lottie. You need to go on that date and feel like a million dollars.’
‘Maybe you're right,’ Lottie agreed, taking a bite of her sandwich.
‘I am right. I see it all day long in my job too - women not taking care of themselves enough, putting everyone else first - the children, the partner, the ageing parents, and then wondering why they are absolutely exhausted themselves.’
‘Yep. We all do it, I suppose.’
‘I used to. Cripes, look at me with Jeremy - I used to even eat what he said. Nowadays I’m more about me and it makes me a better person for Luke. When Luke walks into the room I feel beside myself with happiness and I want him to think the same about me, and if I look after me it makes me a better person. It took me long enough to work it out.’
Lottie sat there finishing off the sandwich and mulling over what Juliette was saying. She knew what Juliette was talking about with her and Luke and before she’d set eyes on Connor she thought it would never happen to her.
But now there was someone in her life who also made her feel beside herself when he walked into the room, and she wanted to be her best self around him too.
Chapter 49
A few days later Lottie answered the door to Juliette.
‘Ready?’ Juliette asked with a smile on her face.
‘I guess so.’
‘We’re going to get you sorted and feeling better. A bit of self-love goes a long way.’
‘You are right. I need to get ready properly for this date. Spend some time on Lottie as it were. I don’t even know the last time I did. I hardly even go out these days, so it’s not like I’ve got a lot to keep myself looking good for.’
‘Okay. First stop my friend Dr. Leza’s,’ Juliette said as Lottie grabbed her coat from the hallway.
Lottie spun round and looked at Juliette, alarmed. Juliette put her hand up. ‘Before you say anything, I’m paying. In fact, I’m not paying. Leza owes me and I spoke to her yesterday and she said she had a slot free after the school run.’
‘I’ve heard all sorts about her, though! I mean look at Holly. Her face doesn’t move. Blimey, Juliette, I thought we were going to the supermarket on the bypass to get me some new underwear, not having a procedure!’
‘We are, and on the way we are stopping at Leza’s. It’s not a procedure, trust me. She doesn’t just do the scary stuff. She does little pick-me ups, refines things, tweaks as it were, too.’
‘Really? Have you had any, then?’
‘Umm. Nope. Not the full-on things, but yes I’ve had the peels and the microdermabrasion and the non-invasive stuff like that. And then, of course, the laser. I’ve been zapped up to my eyeballs.’ Juliette laughed.
‘Microdermabrasion? That sounds like something I do to my flower beds when the weather warms up. You’re freaking me out a bit. Actually, Sparkles, you’re freaking me out a lot.’
‘You’ll be fine. When Sallie had it she had a SWAT team descend on the Boat House via Holly.’
‘Wow! I wondered how she looked so good! She’s the same age as me... but she doesn’t look as, umm, grumpy.’
‘Take it from me. Sallie and I have discussed it all on our walking routes and talked about everything she has done. Let's put it this way. Sallie’s had a little under the table helping hand at looking the way she does.’
‘Well I never. You could have fooled me. It doesn’t look like it at all.’
‘I know! That’s why people come far and wide to see Leza. She’s an expert in her field. Come on then. Let’s get this Get Lottie Date-Ready party started,’ Juliette said laughing.
***
Lottie stepped into the treatment room and looked around. It was beautiful. A dusty pink, velvet scalloped chair sat in the corner. An enormous display of pale pink flowers graced a floating shelf on the left-hand side and the sterility of the surroundings had been carefully camouflaged with soft lighting and pale colours.
Leza, immaculately dressed in a tight cream-coloured top and brown leather skirt came back into the room as Lottie looked down at her faded, ripped boyfriend jeans and t-shirt.
‘Okay. Now, let’s have a proper look at you,’ Leza said with a smile. ‘Pop yourself on the bed there. How are the boys going at school?’
‘They’re fine, thanks. I can’t wait for the holidays. It seems so long for them to be away. But it was what Charlie wanted and it was all paid for so... Who knows if I am doing the right thing or not?’
Leza nodded as she pulled a small, round light-up mirror over from the side and focused it onto Lottie’s face.
‘Yep. We don’t know what we are doing half the time, but Lottie, you’ve done a great job with them and the boarding was only for sixth form, wasn’t it? Don’t you forget how you’ve done the best doing it all on your own.’
‘Thanks. I can’t forget it. It’s showing on my face. Ha!’
‘And that’s why you’re here with me.’ Leza laughed in reply.
Leza went quiet as she slowly moved the light and the accompanying magnifying glass around Lottie’s face and examined Lottie’s facial contours and skin.
‘You’re not saying much. Am I past help?’ Lottie asked.
‘You’re joking. Far from it. Your skin is really very good. You spend a lot of time outdoors though, don’t you? I’m surprised. I thought there would be more sun damage.’
‘I do. But I always wear a thick layer of sun lotion and always a hat. Even in the greenhouse and in the cold months.’
‘Excellent. It’s done you well. Overall your skin is good. That always helps. So, you don’t want anything invasive?’
‘I don’t even know what I want. I didn’t even know I was coming! This is all because of Juliette.’
‘Okay. Here we go. Layman’s terms. We can do a peel. Bottom line is it will remove the top layer of skin, taking away some of the stuff we don’t like. You’ll be left with a better texture, less lines and a nice clear look. Or if you want less down time, we can do a microdermabrasion. Which is really only a polish and nowhere near as effective.’
Lottie nodded, looking into the magnifying mirror as Leza pointed things out on Lottie’s face.
‘Smile for me. Scrunch up the sides of your face,’ Leza instructed.
Lottie smiled widely and watched as the laughter lines around her eyes multiplied tenfold.
‘These lines here. They will only go with an injectable. Basically we stop the muscle moving. Around here in the cheeks you’d need a filler for the loss of volume here,’ Leza said squeezing the skin under Lottie’s cheekbone with her gloved hand.
‘No, no, no! None of that, thanks.’
‘Rightio. Not a problem.’
‘What do you suggest, then?’
‘It’s for the date next Saturday, isn’t it?’
‘Umm, yes, I guess that is the main reason I’m here.’
‘I’d suggest I mix you up a little microneedling skin cocktail and inject it all over. It’s still invasive, but just stamped all over. No downtime, great results, and no one except you, me, and Juliette will ever know.’
Lottie looked into the mirror and wondered how she had come to be sitting in a treatment room talking about someone injecting something into her skin. She swallowed the shudder that this whole thing was just far too vain, and even more foolish and nodded.
‘I’m in. Life’s too short and if you think this will perk me up a bit it works for me.’
Leza smiled and pushed the mirror back over to the side.
‘Lottie. Trust me. This is going to make you look in the mirror
and smile at the woman looking back at you. Then we’ll get you in with Lizzie for a few eyelashes and nails. Nothing too dramatic. All just to enhance all those beautiful assets you’ve already got.’
Lottie leant back on the treatment bed and smiled. She wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing. The most she ever did to her face was put on tinted moisturiser, slap on a bit of Vaseline at night and hope for the best. But she’d give it a go just this once.
As Lottie looked up at the ceiling and her spine decompressed and Leza started opening drawers and putting little vials on the side, it felt good to have someone taking care of her for once, even if this was rather... extreme.
***
A couple of hours, a cocktail of she didn’t know what injected into her skin, her hands exfoliated, dipped in softening concoctions, a beautiful shell pink manicure, and a smattering of very natural eyelashes stuck to the corners of her eyelids, and Lottie had stood in front of the mirror amazed. Leza and Juliette smiled. There was no doubt about it, spending a bit of time on herself had made her feel better, let alone look better.
‘Thanks, Leza,’ Juliette said, kissing Leza on the cheek.
‘Yes. Thank you so much. I’ll drop off a lasagne the next time I pass,’ Lottie said and laughed.
‘You’re welcome, darling. Now get yourself off to get that new underwear and a new top. You’re going to look a million dollars, Lottie.’
‘Will do. Thanks again. I really do appreciate it,’ Lottie said as Juliette opened the door and they left.
‘Next stop. Underwear. I’ve done some digging online. M & S is the place to go with your budget.’
‘I don’t even know the last time I bought a pair of knickers if truth be told. Oh, I do, I threw a multi-pack in with my shopping about two years ago.’
‘Come on. We’re changing that. You deserve to feel pretty for your very special date.’
Fifteen minutes later Juliette had pulled up outside the sprawling out of town shopping centre near Newport Reef with the huge signage and bright lighting. They stopped at the front of the shop for a coffee and strolled past the clothing section to the lingerie.
Lottie looked down the rows and rows of underwear in amazement and whispered, ‘There’s tonnes of it. I don’t even know where to start.’ She held up a black bra with bright red satin patches and stuck her tongue out. ‘I want simple and pretty. Nothing more, nothing less.’
An hour or so later, Lottie had a gorgeous new bra with white lace and tiny black polka dots, the matching knickers and a beautiful new top. She clutched the carrier bag as they walked back to the car. As she got into the passenger seat she pulled down the visor to look in the mirror.
‘Feeling better?’ Juliette asked.
‘I really do. It’s amazing what a bit of shopping and girl therapy can do, isn’t it?’
‘Oh yes. Never underestimate the value of a new bra.’
‘I mean it’s not as if I’m expecting to show off my underwear or anything. You know, it’s just dinner. I won’t be getting undressed. But it’s just nice to know that it's there if you see what I mean.’
‘No, no, of course not. I’m sure you’re not thinking about getting down to your underwear,’ Juliette replied as she smiled to herself, looked in the mirror and reversed her car out of the spot.
Chapter 50
Lottie did a quick double-check in the hallway mirror as she grabbed her trench coat from the coat rack. The woman looking back at her was definitely perkier than the woman who had borderline frightened herself in the shop window in Newport Reef. That woman had looked browbeaten, with a grey tinge, and very tired. This one looked like a different kettle of fish altogether.
The ‘cocktail of goodness’ as Leza had called it that had been stamped over her face had lifted and softened everything just a tiny bit. The few eyelashes at the corner of her eyelids brightened her eyes, the trim with Kim the hairdresser and the accompanying overnight nourishing serum Kim had instructed her to slather over her hair had all worked together to pop Lottie’s self-esteem up a notch, or seventy-five.
Lottie bit her bottom lip in excitement as she pulled on her coat. She’d had a text the night before from Connor saying he knew that she was busy and that they were already meeting for dinner on Saturday, but did she have time to meet at the Pretty Beach Sandy Lane hotel for a coffee or a bite to eat? Lottie’s had to fight the urge to respond to the text immediately, run to the diving school, jump into Connor’s arms, wrap her legs tightly around him, and say stuff the coffee, take me now.
She’d waited an hour, twenty-six minutes, and thirty-four seconds until she had texted him back saying that she'd love to meet him at the hotel and resisted adding especially if he’d got a room.
Lottie stepped out onto the tessellated terrace, pulled the huge, old, double door closed behind her, and walked down the path. She bent down to examine the beautiful papery lisianthus in the flower bed and as she walked down towards the gate, strode over the patch of grass to the huge old magnolia tree. Leaning on its trunk she looked up at the glossy leaves and beautiful, waxy, goblet-shaped creamy flowers and smiled. Magnolia flowers signified to Lottie all the good coming in the garden and perhaps, with a bit of luck this year, all the good that was coming in her life.
Lottie walked down Strawberry Hill Lane, had a good nose at what was going on in Sallie and Ben’s renovation works at Strawberry Hill House, and made her way over to Pretty Beach Sandy Hotel which stood majestically looking out to sea at the entrance to the Old Town.
As she walked along the pavement she smiled at the sight of the old hotel bathed in sunlight, its huge, double glossy black and glass doors shining at the front. A massive wreath stuffed with beautiful foliage and blooms from White Cottage Flowers hung on the door and the brass knobs gleamed. Just to the left of the doors, Connor stood by the windows looking out over the road, across the park and down towards the sea. As he saw Lottie approaching he stepped off the pavement and crossed the road to greet her.
‘Hello. You look lovely. Have you done something different?’ Connor said as he kissed Lottie on the cheek and she felt the hard muscle of his arm on hers and the sprinkle of gold landed on her skin.
Done something different? I've done everything going, my friend. There’s not a part of me that hasn’t been zooshed. I am now worthy of being doused in your glimmering shimmer of gold.
‘Hello, Connor. Thank you. Not at all. Just the same old, regular me,’ Lottie said, silently telling herself that her little fib wasn’t all that bad in the grand scheme of things.
‘Well, you look gorgeous.’
‘Thanks. I try my best,’ Lottie said chuckling.
And I’ve probably had, oh, about seven hundred pounds worth of some of the best beauty treatments money can buy, but I won’t mention that at this stage.
‘What do you want to do, then?’ Connor asked. ‘I know I said to meet for a coffee in the hotel but looking at this beautiful day, I thought it might be nice to get a takeaway. What do you think? Or would you rather have a sit-down inside?’
Lottie looked out towards the sea and up at the lighthouse and cliffs. ‘You’re right, it’s a gorgeous day. Yeah, why not? Let’s walk up to the lighthouse, shall we?’
‘Yep. Coffee from the hotel?’
‘Perfect.’
Lottie walked into the hotel as Connor held open the door for her and they stepped into the beautiful old art-deco lobby. Lottie told Connor she would go through to the cafe to get the coffee while Connor sat on one of the huge old chairs in the lobby and Lottie made her way through to the cafe. She walked up to the counter and smiled at the woman behind.
‘Oh hi, Willow, I didn’t know you worked here,’ Lottie said.
‘I’m just filling in, really. I’ve chucked in the day job and I nearly went out of my mind at home all day long and the Cavendish family needed staff. And so I ended up here. Yes, an investment banker in the city to waitress in Pretty Beach,’ Willow said laughing. ‘Plus my sister’s
coming back to Pretty Beach soon and she will really need a job, so maybe she’ll be able to take over this one.’
‘Oh right. Wow, Lulu’s coming back to Pretty Beach?’
‘Yup. She certainly is. She’s inherited my grandma's house. Well, if you can call it that. It’s not in a good way. It’s more a shell, really.’
‘Any house in Pretty Beach is a good one though these days.’
‘True. Anyway. We’ve got Locals Only strawberry cookies if you’re interested?’ Willow said.
‘Definitely. Thank you. Two of those please and two coffees. A strawberry cookie will brighten my day!’
Five minutes later and Lottie was walking back through the hotel with two coffees and two white paper bags with the cookies. She handed a coffee and a bag to Connor who looked inside his bag.
‘Wow. Gold. How lucky were we to get these?’
‘I know. Strange. There was a whole jar of them. Someone I know from the dinner rounds, Willow, is working here for a bit and showed me the jar.’
‘They won’t last long I’m sure.’ Connor lowered his voice. ‘And from what I’ve heard about Atlanta Cavendish, I’m not sure if your friend will last long either.’
‘Ha! They reckon she’s a bit strict, yes. Though Willow is not easy to push around. You know the Cavendish family then, do you?’ Lottie asked.
‘I do. I actually know one of the brothers from years ago in London.’
‘Right.’
‘Okay,’ Connor said as he pushed open the door of the hotel. ‘A lovely stroll up to the lighthouse with a lovely new friend.’
Lovely new friend? I blooming hope it’s going to be more than that.
***
A clear sky, bright sunshine, and soft breeze swirled around Lottie and Connor as they walked across the park and made their way up the side of the cliff to the lighthouse.
Secret Evenings in Pretty Beach Page 19
