Morgan nodded in surprise. She didn’t even know Ned knew what her usual drink was. She watched him walk confidently through the bustling crowd of hikers gathered in front of the bar. A moment later, Pippa appeared from around the bar and made a beeline for her.
‘Aunt Morgan. Where have you been? I’ve been calling you.’
Morgan’s brow drew together as she pulled her phone from her pocket. ‘Really? I haven’t had any missed calls. She looked at her screen only to see it was without charge. She held it up for Pippa to see. ‘Ah, flat battery. I’ve been in the hotel cleaning the rooms with Ned. Lizzie had an emergency and had to leave, but I knew you were all busy, and so were my friends. Thankfully, Ned had given me his number when he offered his help with the party a couple of days ago. So I called him and thankfully he was free to help. Now I’m treating him to some lunch as a thank you.’
Pippa sighed with relief. ‘Thank goodness. I was just about to gather a search party. I’d checked the living quarters upstairs. Checked the lobby in the hotel where you usually stand and even popped out to Tammy’s Tearoom to see if you were there.’
Morgan lifted her chin towards the group of hikers. ‘Yes, sorry I wasn’t here to help, but the rooms are booked for later on, so they needed to be done.’
Pippa placed a hand on her aunt’s shoulder and squeezed. ‘You are like superwoman, aunt.’
‘She is.’ Ned placed glass of wine down in front of Morgan. ‘I could barely keep up with her doing those rooms in the hotel.’
Morgan burst out laughing. ‘I wished that was true. It was the other way around more like.’
Pippa turned to look at Ned. ‘Thanks Ned. We really appreciate your help. I’ll make sure you’re looked after tonight when you come in for your evening Guiness.’
Ned grinned. ‘Sounds good to me.’ Pippa and Morgan chuckled.
‘I’d better get back behind the bar.’ Pippa looked directly at Morgan. ‘By the way aunt, I told Oliver about that little thing.’
Morgan nodded and smiled. ‘I guessed so when I heard you shush him. We’ll talk about it later, eh?’
Pippa smiled and nodded. ‘See you both later.’ She walked away quickly.
Ned settled the seat beside Morgan and studied her profile. ‘Does that mean your also joining me this evening for a drink?’
Morgan opened her mouth to tell him no, but then quickly thought better of it when she remembered last night's dream. Instead, she smiled and nodded. ‘Yes. Why not.’
MORGAN FUSSED ABOUTin her wardrobe. What would she wear? It wasn’t as if this was a date, yet it was the closest thing to a date she’d had in years. She tried on slacks and a blouse and stood in front of the mirror to appraise herself. ‘No. Too formal.’ Next, she tried on a dress and low heels. ‘Ugh. It looks like I’mgoing up town for a romantic meal.’ She stripped out of her dress and looked through the rail of clothes in her wardrobe groaning.
Finally, she walked over to her chest of drawers and pulled out her favourite pair of jeans and a smart cashmere sweater. She pulled on pixie boots and once again stood in front of her full-length mirror. Her lips curled into a smile. Casual, yet smart. Perfect.
As she made her may down the stairs into the lounge, her heart began to beat faster, and her palms became clammy. ‘Crikey, what’s wrong with me? I’m acting as if this is a date. It’s Ned for goodness sake Morgan!’
She drew in a jittery breath and pushed open the door that took her from the living quarter's hallway into the lounge. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Ned leaning against the bar. He wasn’t the Ned she was used to seeing. He’d shaved off his beard and moustache, and was wearing slacks and a flannel shirt with brown shoes.
Oliver saw Morgan first and gestured towards Ned. ‘Look here Morgan. I barely recognised him when he walked in.’
Morgan noticed how Ned’s eyes swept over her, a look of appreciation registering in them. ‘Good evening, Morgan. You look nice.’
‘You don’t look too bad yourself Ned. What’s happened to the beard?’
‘I actually singed it when I got back after eating lunch here. I decided to do some work that needed my blowtorch. But Laurel and Hardy distracted me, and half of my beard ended up shrivelling to a crisp.’ Ned chuckled. ‘I was very lucky the lot didn’t set on fire.’
Morgan gasped aloud and nodded in agreement. ‘You certainly were.’
Ned slid a glass of wine her way and patted the stool next to him. ‘Come, let’s discuss what’s left to do for your party. I’ll do as much as I can to help you.’
Morgan’s tummy fluttered.
The hikers from earlier in the day burst through the door, their elevated chatter drawing the attention from everyone in the lounge.
‘Struth the wind is picking up again,’ said one of the hikers to another.
‘Are the other group close by?’
‘Yes, they are only ten minutes behind us apparently.’
