The Mills & Boon Sparkling Christmas Collection

Chapter Four

Eva was nursing a cup of tea. She stared at her phone, an air of gloom still hanging over her after seeing her mum and sister yesterday. The day was chilly and damp and she pulled her cardigan tightly around her. Thinking back to the strained atmosphere between her and Sarah, she debated with herself whether to text her or not.

She let out a deep sigh. It was ridiculous to feel so unsure about contacting her own sister. Maybe she should just forget the whole thing, pretend everything was fine until the next time. But deep down it pained her. She wanted at least to be on civil terms with Sarah.

Memories of her father had also been haunting her, as was often the case after being in her old home – almost as if her grief had been renewed in some way. It wasn’t just the physical pain of missing him, the horrible gaping hole he’d left in her life. It was her disappointment and frustration that he’d never see what she had achieved.

Eva gave herself a little shake. All this indecisiveness was no good. Before she could regret it, she tapped out a message to Sarah repeating her offer to stay for a weekend and pressed send. Eva startled as Hamish suddenly let out a bark at the sound of the doorbell ringing.

Seeing Greg Ritchie standing on her doorstep wasn’t the most welcome sight but Eva summoned a smile. ‘Hello, Greg.’

‘Eva, hi. How are you?’ He flashed a dazzling smile.

‘I’m very well, thanks. And you?’

‘Good, good. Could I have a minute of your time?’ Eva widened the door holding on to Hamish’s collar and allowing Greg to pass. She suppressed a little shudder as he stepped in. Something about Greg Ritchie’s practised smooth manner always made her feel uneasy. He had certainly found a look and stuck with it, she thought, acknowledging his customary well-cut suit, polished shoes, and slicked-back hair.

The owner of one of the largest hotels in St Andrews, he had been one of the first people to introduce himself to Eva, offering to ‘show her the ropes’. He had insisted she accompany him to a networking event. ‘It’s important to keep in touch with other businesspeople – share ideas and give support,’ he’d told her.

Leaving Jamie with Moira next door, Eva had dressed in the plain black dress she had worn for Paul’s funeral, the only thing she had remotely suitable for such an event. Waiting for Greg to collect her, she had felt nervous and like a fraud. She wasn’t a proper businesswoman; at least she didn’t feel like one then. She was a widow who had bought a huge house and was feeling totally out of her depth. She’d spent most of the evening standing nervously in the corner and couldn’t help admire the way Greg worked the room, shaking hands and chatting easily to people.

He seemed to know all the jargon and buzzwords, which sounded like a foreign language to Eva. It had been terrifying making conversation with strangers but somehow she’d got through it, leaving with a handful of business cards and knowing a few new faces.

Since then, there’d been a host of things for Eva to get to grips with. Finding the right suppliers, registering with the tourist board, getting to grips with marketing and running a website. Every now and again, Greg descended upon her with these little visits for no particular reason Eva could fathom. She was pretty sure – at least she hoped – Greg’s motives were well intentioned but she had instinctively kept her distance from him.

Clearly he was an astute businessman and a serious networker but his reputation with women wasn’t something Eva wanted to experience first-hand. He was certainly handsome in an obvious way and from what she’d heard there was no shortage of women who appreciated his particular brand of charm.

But he was way too smooth for Eva – there was a fine line between charm and smarm. Like his five-star hotel, everything about him was a little too polished and posed for Eva’s taste – his silky smile always at the ready. A snapshot of the one and only smile she’d seen from Ben Matthews popped into her head – where on earth had that come from?

Giving herself a little shake Eva followed Greg into the hall where he was looking around with an appraising air. Eva had the sudden image of a big over-friendly dog coming to mark his territory in some way.

‘Can I get you something, Greg? A drink?’ she asked.

‘No time thanks,’ he replied. His eyes flicked to his smartphone as though something vitally important could come through any second and Eva thought he might get on well with Sarah.

‘You know there’s a big conference at the university in a couple of weeks?’

‘Sure,’ Eva lied. One of the benefits of not opening in winter was not having to be up to speed with every event in the town.

‘Six hundred delegates arriving for two nights – obviously we’re fully booked. But I’ve experienced a few er, technical issues with our new booking system leaving me with two guests and no rooms to offer them. I’d like to be able to tell them I’ve made arrangements for alternative accommodation.’ He gave her a silky smile. ‘And of course, I thought of you. I know you close in winter but I was hoping I could rely on you to take two guests for a couple of nights?’

For some reason the thought of his slick operation not running smoothly made Eva want to giggle but she knew she would agree. It wasn’t just that she wanted to help – of course she did. Nor was it for the extra income even though it would be welcome. If she was honest, she jumped at the chance of having something to do. Jamie’s longer days at school left her with more time on her hands and, alarmingly, she was discovering the joys of daytime television. The theme music to Bargain Hunt was beginning to sound oddly comforting and Eva didn’t think that was a good thing.

‘Of course, that won’t be a problem. Would you like me to contact them directly?’

He nodded in confirmation. ‘I’ll let them know we’ve got accommodation and I’ll email you with their details. That all right with you?’

‘Sure, that’s fine with me.’ With that sorted Greg looked about with an approving air.

‘So, your place is looking good, Eva,’ he commented.

‘Er, thanks.’

‘You have a good summer season?’

‘Really good, yes.’

‘Still suits you to close in winter?’ He raised a quizzical eyebrow.

‘Um, yes –’ Greg pounced on her split-second hesitation.

‘So you would consider opening all year?’

‘That’s not what I –’

‘There’s plenty of business out there you know,’ he interrupted. ‘Lots of people choosing staycations. Scotland is a top destination – St Andrews is thriving. In the next couple of months alone there’s jazz, poetry, and film festivals … hundreds of visitors all looking for a nice place to stay.’ He was pacing up and down now, getting into his stride, his pungent aftershave wafting about after him.

‘Well, it’s not really –’ Eva began.

‘Have you ever thought about expanding?’

‘Expanding?’ Eva blinked.

‘You could get a drinks licence, serve food, open all year round … There’s a lot of potential here. For example, what special offers do you run?’

‘Depending on how busy it is, I sometimes offer three for two nights.’ He seemed to dismiss that with a wave of his hand.

‘You could do much more. St Andrew’s day is coming up, Burns night – all good for winter trade. Some guest houses tie in with the golf courses – offer three nights with three rounds of golf, that type of thing.’

Eva nodded her head, making interested but non-committal noises.

‘If it’s the financial side of things you’re concerned about, I’d be more than happy to discuss investment opportunities. Perhaps we could discuss it over dinner one night?’

Eva rubbed her temple feeling like she’d stepped on a runaway train and needed to figure out how to stop it. She straightened her shoulders and mustered her firmest voice. ‘It’s really not something I’m thinking about at the moment, Greg. But thanks anyway.’ She took a step towards the front door indicating for him to follow.

‘No need to make any decisions just now. Have a think about it.’ He patted her arm, gracing her with a final smile as he left.

Eva felt odd after she’d shown Greg out. He hadn’t told her anything she didn’t already know but his words rattled about uncomfortably in her head. Recently, some part of her brain – the part that knew it would make financial sense as well as fill her days – had been mulling over the possibility of opening in winter. But another part of her brain simply refused to contemplate the change. Did she really want guests in her house the whole year round? But one thing she was sure of, whatever happened she certainly wouldn’t be discussing anything with Greg Ritchie and becoming one of his pet projects or anything else for that matter.

Returning to the kitchen she reached for her laptop, wincing as she took a mouthful of now cold tea. Once she received the guests’ details from Greg she’d send emails confirming their reservations. She clicked on the university website and found the conference Greg had mentioned: a major event with delegates arriving from all over the world. She scanned through the information, reading out loud as she scrolled down. ‘International Science Conference … bringing together leading scientists … guest speakers … workshops, coffee breaks, evening receptions …’

The itinerary looked full so it was unlikely her guests would be lingering at the guest house. Even so, she would make them feel as comfortable as possible. It wasn’t for another couple of weeks but Eva was happy to have something to focus on and decided to give the bedrooms a quick tour of inspection.

Opening the door to the newly decorated coastal-theme bedroom, Eva was pleased with the final result. She just had the bedding to choose and she took a mental note to add some fresh flowers before the guests arrived. She moved across the hallway to the bedroom at the back of the house, which overlooked the garden. Here, Eva had taken her inspiration from the time she’d lived in the highlands. The walls were painted pale green and a reupholstered tartan armchair – one of her finds in a second-hand shop – sat by the fireplace. A few pots with sprigs of purple heather and a painting of the Cairngorm mountains completed the room that American tourists loved.

Eva headed back downstairs noticing the post had been delivered. She smiled when she saw the postcard on the doormat, already knowing it was from Moira and Donald. Eva wondered where they were now as she bent down to pick it up. She found something charming and old-fashioned about Moira going to the effort of writing and sending postcards. She liked to imagine her with her usual gin and tonic, sitting down to write while looking out on some glorious ocean view.

They were having the time of their lives by the sound of it. Moira wrote about the places they’d visited, describing the rugged beauty of New Zealand’s mountains and seeing the bubbling hot springs in Japan. Now they were sailing to Hong Kong.

Seeing the familiar handwriting Eva felt a pang of regret that she wasn’t able to pop next door and have a chat. She sighed, wondering if she would ever travel like that. She and Jamie had never had a proper holiday. During summer Eva couldn’t leave the business and at other times Jamie was at school. It wasn’t just the lack of time; it was also the money. After day-to-day living, most of the profit Eva made went back into the guest house to keep it in tip-top shape. Customers’ ability to browse, choose, and review online meant Eva had to compete with the best to keep securing business.

After reading the postcard, she pinned it to the fridge in the kitchen along with the others. Deciding to make fresh tea, she filled the kettle and leaned against the worktop for a moment. The kitchen, a large bright space, was the hub of her home and Eva’s favourite place in the house. One end of the kitchen was taken up by stainless steel appliances and was organized in accordance with various health and safety regulations for food preparation.

At the other end Eva had created a homely, cosy space for her and Jamie, which was dominated by a wooden table. A small French dresser stood in one corner crammed with recipe books, ceramic pots, and dried flowers in bright vases. Drawings from Jamie’s nursery days were pinned to the wall alongside various photographs.

Waiting for the kettle to boil, Eva checked the large cupboard outside the kitchen where she kept all her supplies. The top shelf was packed with toiletries for the guest rooms and the bottom shelves were stacked with clean linen and towels. Feeling suddenly restless, Eva wanted to get on with something. Tea forgotten, she decided to make a start on the en suites and reached for a pile of white fluffy towels.

As she passed Hamish sleeping off their earlier walk, he opened one eye and looked up at her. Mrs Duffy was lovely but Eva wished there was some way of speeding up the training process. She chuckled to herself, thinking there should be some kind of doggy boot camp for disobedient dogs. ‘What am I going to do with you when the guests are here?’ she asked Hamish. But his only response was to thump his tail lazily on the floor before closing his eyes again. Clearly he wasn’t too concerned with such matters.

***

Ben walked home pleased his first few days at the university had gone well and in particular the first lecture he’d given this morning. Standing in the lecture theatre in front of a hundred students had been both terrifying and exhilarating. After introducing himself, his nerves had settled and he’d got into his stride, hopefully giving his students a better understanding of Newton’s Laws of Motion. He took it as a good sign when students’ hands shot up at the end to ask questions. He’d then spent an hour with two first-year students going over an advanced mathematics topic and was rewarded by seeing realization dawn on their faces as they started to understand three-dimensional integrals.

His work at the university might be going well but he couldn’t say the same for his new house. With each day that passed, the sense that he was neglecting it grew. So much about the house was perfect but in the cold day of light he could see the cracks showing, quite literally. Only this morning he’d noticed where rainwater had seeped in through his bedroom window.

As he unlocked the front door he tried to shake the feeling he was an imposter letting himself into someone else’s house. Ben stood still for a moment in the hall, sensing something wasn’t right. Following a faint sound through to the front living room, he looked up to see a small ominous bulge surrounded by an ugly brown stain protruding from a corner of the ceiling. A slow steady drip of water fell onto the carpet.

He swore under his breath. Just what he needed. A leak – but what the hell should he do? He knew enough to find the stopcock under the kitchen sink and turn off the water. He looked around helplessly for something to catch the water. In his London flat he’d make one phone call to his landlord and it would all be sorted. But things were different here.

He managed to find a pan and grabbed it to place it under the drip, wondering what to do next. The thought of starting to phone around random engineers wasn’t appealing. His mind turned to Eva, remembering she had the name of someone – what choice did he have?

Moments later he knocked on Eva’s shiny blue front door and as he waited for her to answer he looked properly at her house for the first time. In comparison to his more formal front garden, hers was rambling and full of colour. Fragrant purple lavender and flowering shrubs lined the path and pots filled with small creamy flowers stood either side of the front door.

Eva opened the door holding a pile of white towels, with her hair piled high and a few loose tendrils framing her face. Ben swallowed hard. Did this woman ever look anything less than adorable? And what the hell was happening to him? Standing there, he’d almost forgotten why he was here.

‘Hi.’

Her smile was tentative and her voice held a cautious note. Hamish appeared at Eva’s legs, took one look at Ben, and let out a low growl before shooting out to the front garden. Clearly Ben hadn’t made a very good first impression on him either. Ben saw Eva’s startled expression before she thrust the towels into his chest.

‘Hold these,’ she ordered and ran off in pursuit of her wayward dog. Hamish circled the front garden several times, enjoying the impromptu game of chase before finally sensing perhaps his mistress wasn’t pleased with him. Ben watched helplessly from the doorway wondering if he should be helping in some way. Thankfully Hamish appeared to calm down and was now being led back to the house by his collar.

‘Sorry about that,’ Eva said with a weak smile, looking slightly harassed.

‘No, no – I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any difficulties …’

‘It’s not your fault,’ she sighed, casting a disappointed look at Hamish. ‘And I’m sorry about him jumping up on you the other day. We’ve only had him a few weeks and we’re still training him.’ She reached to take the towels back from Ben.

‘It’s fine; please don’t worry.’ He bent down patting Hamish on his head, hoping the gesture would reassure him – and Eva – that he wasn’t really such a terrible person.

‘Anyway, is there anything I can do for you?’

He straightened up to find Eva’s direct gaze on him. ‘Well, I was wondering if you had the name of a plumber? There seems to be a problem –’

‘Is your heating not working again?’

‘I’m not sure what the problem is to be honest. I think there must to be a leak somewhere. Water’s coming from the ceiling in the front room.’

‘Let me settle Hamish and get my tools. I’ll be round in a minute.’ She appeared immediately more relaxed now she was able to help. Ben hadn’t expected her to actually come round but now realized he wasn’t that surprised. Within a few minutes she was taking control of the situation and issuing instructions.

‘I’ll need to turn on all your cold taps just to let the water run to reduce the pressure. The water’s fresh-looking so it’s likely to be a pipe from the upstairs en suite.’ Ben could only look on in silent admiration as Eva went to work, seeming to know exactly what to do.

A while later when Eva had finished and with disaster averted, Ben made tea and brought it through to the front room where Eva stood surveying the room.

‘Thanks,’ she murmured as he handed her a mug. He wondered what she was thinking. His only contribution to the room was the marble-topped sideboard, coffee table, and two leather sofas he’d brought from London. He’d told the removal men to dump them anywhere and that’s exactly what they had done. He remembered the day Samantha had dragged him to an Italian designer shop to buy them. They had been hideously expensive. In his London apartment he imagined them to look smart and sophisticated. Here, set against the floral wallpaper and patterned blue carpet, they looked so ridiculous he had a sudden urge to laugh.

‘It’s such a lovely room,’ Eva said wistfully as if she was imagining how it could look. Her eyes swept the room and Ben followed her gaze up to the newly damaged ceiling.

‘The brown stain really lends a certain something, don’t you think?’ he said.

Eva’s head spun round, looking at him with a quizzical frown. Their eyes met and held before they both laughed, the atmosphere between them suddenly relaxing.

‘Well, obviously it needs some attention.’ Eva smiled.

‘I won’t argue with you there,’ Ben replied ruefully.

‘They are big houses. It’s going to take you a while to get it the way you want it.’

Ben muttered vaguely in agreement.

‘Have you thought about what you’d like to do with this room?’ Eva asked. Ben lifted his mug to his mouth, thinking how he didn’t even know if he’d be staying in the house, let alone decorating it.

‘Not really. Decorating, interiors … they’re not really my thing,’ he replied feeling slightly awkward.

‘What about your last house where you lived – London you said?’

‘I think the term functional would cover it,’ Ben said dryly. ‘It was rented and I didn’t really spend that much time in it.’ His London flat had been a place to eat and sleep but he’d wanted so much more for this house. He saw Eva shoot him a curious look. He could see the questions in her eyes that she was too polite to ask. What was he doing in this big house on his own?

For one mad moment he almost blurted it out. He could tell her that at the grand age of thirty-four he was on his own. No family, no partner, no special person. And it suddenly hit him just how alone he was. He might have a bank account with more money than he knew how to spend and an impressive list of qualifications but he was still on his own. He’d envisaged him and Samantha turning this into a proper family home but that was before he realized it was a one-sided dream.

The way Eva was looking at him made him feel it would be so easy to speak to her, to confide in her. But he stopped in time, reminding himself that he didn’t want to get involved. Polite but distant, that was his strategy. Why he needed a strategy he didn’t know but something about this woman was getting under his skin and one thing he did know was that he didn’t need the distraction. It would be crazy for him to get close to his new neighbour, he told himself. Yet here he was finding himself drawn towards her, noticing her in a way that probably wasn’t wise.

Eva had moved over to the wall. ‘Our houses have the same basic layout but next door’s had a few adjustments made for the business. I love these front rooms overlooking the beach. There’s so much light and space and it’s east-facing so it’s lovely in the morning,’ she said, patting the wall in a knowledgeable manner. ‘It’s structurally sound, but Donald’s – Mr MacKenzie’s – arthritis meant they hadn’t done much to the house in the last few years. But it could look amazing.’

Ben, leaning against the doorframe, gave himself a mental shake realizing he’d become slightly transfixed watching Eva Harris who was looking at him expecting some sort of response. He straightened up and cleared his throat.

‘Had they lived here long?’

‘Oh yes, for years,’ she told him, her face brightening as she talked about her old neighbours. ‘Their children were born and brought up in this house and they still lived here after they retired but it just got too much for them. They’re moving into a bungalow near their son once they come back from their cruise.’

‘Sounds as if they were happy here.’

‘They were. It’s a house full of lovely memories.’ She smiled. ‘Every year they had a big Christmas party, invited practically the whole street.’ Seeing her expression Ben thought she might well be wishing they hadn’t left.

‘And you? Have you lived here long?’ he asked her.

‘Seven years. I moved here after my husband died. Jamie was four at the time.’ She spoke matter-of-factly, clearly not looking for sympathy yet Ben felt a surge of something. He wasn’t sure what the feeling was. There was no doubt she was a strong, independent woman but knowing she had lost her husband and obviously at a young age gave her a vulnerability.

‘I’m sorry. That must have been tough.’

She nodded thoughtfully. ‘It was – especially at the beginning. But then Jamie started school, I got the business up and running, and the MacKenzies … well, they helped me so much. Very soon it felt like home. I came to realize home isn’t necessarily where you were born or grew up. It’s about knowing you simply don’t want to be anywhere else.’

Ben listened to her words, and knew he had never felt that way about a place. Eva drained the last of her tea and Ben watched as she started to gather up her tools, once again finding himself slightly in awe of her practical abilities.

‘Anyway, it’s the start of winter so there are probably a few checks you should be doing. I’ve tightened the valve in the pipework so that’ll do for now but you should really get a plumber in to have a look at it.’ She checked her watch. ‘I’d better get going. Jamie will be home from school soon.’

‘Of course.’

Eva headed out to the hall and remembering something, turned to Ben.

‘I told you I don’t normally open the guest house in winter but I have two guests arriving at the beginning of December – only for a couple of nights though.’

Ben smiled in response. ‘Thanks for letting me know.’

‘One of the hotels messed up their bookings and asked me to help out – they’re here for a conference at the university,’ she told him as she zipped up her toolbag.

‘That’ll probably be the International Science Conference?’ Ben raised a questioning eyebrow.

‘Yeah, I think that’s the one; at least it’s the only one I could see when I checked the university website. Is that something you’ll be involved in?’

Ben nodded. ‘There’s a few talks and workshops I want to attend plus the Professor in my department is a keynote speaker so I’ll definitely go to that.’

At the front door Ben ran a hand through his hair, thanking her again. ‘I seem to be making a habit of this.’

‘Sorry?’

‘Relying on you for help.’

She shrugged. ‘I’m happy to help. That’s what neighbours are for.’

Ben closed the front door and shook his head, wondering why the house suddenly felt so empty again.