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“Don’t be! It’s thanks to you he went off with Aidan today. I’ve been trying for years to get more responsibility around the hotel. You’ve achieved more in just a couple of weeks than I ever could.”

“I can be quite persuasive.”

He grins. “Anyway, I got through everything on Ally’s list—it wasn’t so bad—but then I decided to try something else, my own project, and that’s what’s stressing me out. I’ve opened a can of worms.”

“What are you working on?”

“Well, since Ally made me a list, I’m making him one. I’ve been trying for ages to get him to invest in the hotel, but he never listens, so I’m putting together something more formal—a report of everything I think needs to be done to bring this place up to scratch. I thought if it was all down in black and white, Ally might finally pay attention, but . . .”

He runs a hand through his hair. “There’s just so much! Now I’m seeing it all written down, it’s overwhelming. Maybe Ally’s right to stick his head in the sand and ignore all this stuff. There’s no way he, Jamie, and I could ever accomplish all of this.”

I pull over a chair and set myself down. “Well, let’s take a look.”

Lewis gives me a sideways glance. “You don’t need to. You’re on holiday.”

“I want to.”

He sighs. “With all due respect, you know less about running a hotel than I do. And anyway, I reckon this report is a lost cause.”

“I’ve never worked for a hotel before, but as a wedding planner, I work with hotels all the time—I’ve a pretty good idea how they’re run. Also, do you know why a lot of couples come to me? Because so much needs to be done to make their dream day a reality, and they feel overwhelmed. Sound familiar?”

He cocks his head. “Aye.”

“It’s an overused phrase, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. This?” I wave at the laptop screen. “Taking an overwhelming list of tasks as a starting point, then going through it and coming up with a concrete action plan? That’s my bread and butter, Lewis. It’s what I do every day in my job. At any given time, I’m organising a bunch of different weddings with countless moving parts, but my role is to make order out of chaos and ensure everything runs smoothly. I can help you with this—if you’ll let me.”

A small smile spreads across his lips. “Well, you’re here to relax, but if you want to help, I won’t say no.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

EMILY

Lewis was stressed when first I walked into the office, but now he has the biggest smile. Together we took his list of improvements, added some extra information like rough costs, then prioritised tasks based on the impact they’d have on guests’ stays.

To help us decide what to prioritise, we looked through online reviews of the Bannock Hotel. I was horrified to learn Ally pays these no attention. According to Lewis, his brother finds customers’ comments “too depressing” to read. I suppose this shouldn’t have come as a surprise, given Ally’s general attitude towards maintenance, but isn’t it just common sense that you should keep an eye on the things guests are complaining about?

“Emily, thanks so much for this.” Lewis grins at me then turns back to the laptop with obvious pride. It’s displaying his report, completed and neatly organised. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

It was fun going into planning mode again, and it was good having something to organise other than a wedding—that would have been too soon. And once we got going, and Lewis snapped out of his mood, his enthusiasm became infectious. He made me realise what a lot of potential this place has. It could be somewhere so special again.

“Really, though,” Lewis insists, “the way you were able to take in everything I said, process it, then organise it in a manner that makes sense . . . that’s an amazing skill. Bringing the hotel up to scratch seems possible again. We just have to get Ally on board.”

Lewis’s praise is good for my confidence. My fiancé’s rejection was a major blow to my self-esteem, but at the end of the day, my business? That’s something I created all by myself—and I’ve every right to be proud of it, as well as of the skills I’ve developed through my work.

“We should print this out.” Lewis tries this but without success. Pointing between the laptop and the printer, he exclaims, “You’re right next to each other, guys. C’mon! Speak to one another!” After another minute of failed attempts, he gives up. “Screw it! I’ll fire off a message to Jamie.”

As we wait for the youngest McIntyre brother to show up, Lewis drums his fingers on the desk.

“Ally’s not going to like this, is he?” he says with sudden realisation. “Do you think inviting a builder to come over was a step too far?”

“Relax!” I assure him. “Neither of us had the slightest idea how much it’d cost to finish the function room. All you’re asking for is a quote to help you and Ally decide if you want to finish it, and if so, when. Besides, Ally may be the eldest, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get to voice your opinions about the hotel. It was Angus and Mairi McIntyre who started this business, and they were your parents just as much as they were Ally’s.”

Lewis nods. “Aye, I should get to voice my opinions about the hotel. It’s not right that Ally gets to decide everything. In fact . . . Emily, what’s the first item in the report?”

It’s a rhetorical question. It’s his report—he knows the answer—but I say it anyway.

“New mattresses for rooms six and eight.”