Her head was still reeling from the revelations, so she couldn’t imagine how Abby must be feeling. Her grandfather turning up out of nowhere was enough of a shock without the discovery that he’d caused the accident that had injured her grandmother. And then there was the stress of her mother turning up unannounced when Abby was already exhausted after her dramatic rescue of little Holly.
It was enough to make anyone want to lie down in a dark room.
“Nothing, thanks. We’re going for a walk. Fresh air would be good, I think. It has been a bit of a difficult morning.” Abby glanced towards the car where her mother was waiting, her head turned away.
Evie touched her arm, wanting to offer support. “How are you doing?”
“Me? Oh, I’m fine.” She smiled at Evie. “An eventful week. Thanks, Evie. We’ll talk properly soon.” As always Abby was poised and in control.
Evie knew that if she’d been in the same position she would have been an emotional wreck.
There was so much she wanted to say, but didn’t know where to start and anyway this wasn’t the time because Abby was already walking towards the car.
Did Abby know that they’d once shared a nanny? That Abby had once shared her toy giraffe with Evie? Was it fanciful to think that they’d had a bond even back then?
As the car pulled away Evie turned to where her father had been standing but there was no sign of him.
She suppressed the feeling of disappointment. That was another conversation that was going to have to wait until later.
And in the meantime, she still had a hotel to run.
She walked back through the front door and past reception where she heard Donna enthusiastically selling the benefits of the special wellness package that the spa was offering.
Smiling, she headed back to her office and closed the door. She checked her email and saw that the hotel in London had invited her for a face-to-face interview. The last stage in the process.
She felt a surge of elation that she’d got through to the finalstage. They’d told her the position was competitive (had she known just how competitive at the beginning she probably wouldn’t have had the nerve to apply) so the fact that she’d made it to the final hurdle was dizzying. It was a brilliant job, and would give her exactly the type of experience she needed.
She sat down in her chair and stared at the screen.
London.
At least there wouldn’t be seagulls trying to steal her ice cream.
20
Abby
“Are you sure a walk is a good idea? We could find a room, or even go back to the pub.” She’d never seen her mother vulnerable before, and it was an unsettling experience. Her mother was always in control, and she had answers to every problem. Abby had never seen her shaken out of her usual state of cool, until now. “The Lookout where I’m staying is cosy and we wouldn’t be disturbed.”
The taxi had dropped them at the top of the hill and they’d walked down the steep cobbled street to the harbour. It was buzzing with people. Abby didn’t think it was the best place for a conversation, but her mother seemed to have other ideas. “I’m fine, Abby. Don’t read too much into my dizzy moment in the hotel. I’d come off a long flight where I foolishly worked instead of sleeping. I drank too much coffee and skipped breakfast. A series of bad decisions on my part. The croissant your chef made was exactly what I needed. And you’re right.
He’s good.” She frowned, considering. “We need to talk about how we can allow him greater freedom to create an exceptional culinary experience for our guests.”
Seriously? Her mother had been through what had to be a traumatic experience and she was focusing on how to maximise Luca’s potential?
“Mom—”
“Stop looking at me as if I might collapse. I’d like to walk. I walked all the time when I lived here. It was when I did my best thinking.” She eyed the path that led up onto the coast path. “That was the walk I did almost every day.”
“I love it, too.” It felt odd to think she and her mother might have walked the same route and stared out across the same views. “Do you want to stop and change your shoes or anything?”
“No. We won’t be walking far.” She shaded her eyes. “Just to the top of the path. Is there still a seat there?”
“Yes. It’s positioned to make the most of the view.”
“If I recall correctly, it’s a little set back from the path. That’s where we’ll go.”
“Are you sure? Because—”
