The Hotel Room Mix-Up by Kathy Jay

Author:Kathy Jay [Jay, Kathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008122768
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Chapter Nineteen

CORNWALL, FOUR MONTHS LATER

Callum

‘This feels like déjà vu.’ Surprise floored Callum.

After four months of travelling around Europe in a campervan, living in the moment, pushing everything about his previous life out of his mind, Callum stood at the reception desk of the Manor House Hotel staring into the face of Ella Swift. Disconcerted, his shoulders flinched.

She brushed off his discombobulation with humour. ‘It is, but without the smashed plates and general chaos. Although, if you like, I’m sure that can be arranged.’

‘I thought you’d be long gone by now. Why are you here?’

‘I sort of live here.’

Define “sort of”, he thought.

‘Here? At the hotel?’ He kept his cool. Did Saffie know? She hadn’t warned him. He hadn’t expected to set eyes on her ever again. He’d thought about her though. Often. Much too much and far more than was reasonable. Sometimes he’d seen her in his dreams.

‘I have a room at Jessie’s. I stayed on. It was only supposed to be for a week or so, because Jessie needed help when she left the hospital. After the fall she seemed to be doing fine, but she said she was fearful to be on her own. She was thinking about hiring someone, but I’m not sure she could afford to. I didn’t want to leave her in the lurch so I postponed going to see my dad.’

He suspected that also meant she’d put off the conversation about why he had left her mother and her, which was sad because she had a right to hear her dad’s point of view.

‘And finding a place of your own?’

‘That’s on hold. It’s been a beautiful summer. I think I’m in love with Porthkara.’

‘Oh.’ Callum was speechless. He’d driven the campervan direct from the ferry terminal at Portsmouth and stopped at a services to book into the hotel online for a night of comfort, and a shower and a shave to look presentable at tomorrow’s family event.

‘I dropped in to see Gary. He’s got a kitchen emergency – the new sous-chef is late – so I offered to hold the fort for a minute.’ She checked her watch and rolled her eyes. ‘Or thirty. Would you like me to find your booking?’

‘Sure. Why not? Seeing as you’re channelling hotel receptionist.’

She brought up the reservations screen and tapped at the keyboard frowning. ‘I’m sorry. It must be me. I can’t find you.’ She looked up from the computer monitor. ‘The software’s not playing up. Or anything. Gary’s totally got the hang of it, I promise. There won’t be any more room mix-ups.’ She drew breath. ‘We should get Gary.’

‘Good idea.’

Clumsily they both went to ring the reception desk bell and their fingers collided. After several accidental dings, they each pulled their hand away as if they’d had a static shock.

Ella moved to the far end of Reception, putting some space between them, and plucked a rose from a vase made of local artisan pottery. ‘It’s wilting.’

The flower looked okay to him. She threw it into a wastepaper bin.

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