Page 13 of Second Chance Summer
Lily stepped out of the fog’s chilly embrace and into the silence of the retreat. Well, it was definitelynew, she’d give it that … fitted out with an oak bar and countertop, and a couple of small tables and chairs, one of which was still covered in plastic wrap. However, Lily was more concerned about communicating with the outside world than the fixtures and fittings.
‘You said you could contact the other islands by radio … I don’t suppose there’s WiFi here?’
He stared at her as if she’d asked him to take her to the moon. ‘I use a VHF radio for operational purposes but there’s no Internet connection of any description and no TV. We’d rather keep Stark Retreat as a tech-free zone.’
‘Tech-free?’
‘Stark was conceived as a place where guests can get completely away from screens.’ He produced a small wicker basket from behind the bar and lifted the lid. ‘In fact, you might like to switch off your phone and leave it here during your stay?’
Lily bit back a gasp. Hand over her phone? Leave it in a basket?
‘Of course, it’s not compulsory, but we’d rather you bought into the spirit and ethos of the retreat. All you really need to bring to Stark is an open mind …’
So many responses crowded Lily’s head that she didn’tdare pick one. In the end, she pulled her phone from her jeans pocket, switched it off and dropped it into the basket.
‘As there’s no connection, it won’t be much use to me,’ she said coolly, and had the satisfaction of seeing a flicker of surprise in Sam’s eyes. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting her to comply.
He put the lid on the basket. ‘I’ll keep this locked in the office and return it when we leave the island.’
‘That’s very big of you,’ Lily said, already feeling twitchy and wondering what she was going to do with herself until then.
‘Now for the good news,’ he declared, clutching the basket. ‘Your cottage has lots of books and we’ve provided artist’s materials.’ He smiled. ‘Richie happened to mention that you’re creative.’
‘Creative?’ she echoed. A profound sense of loss, for so many things, enveloped her. ‘I used to be.’
CHAPTER FOUR
‘What’s she like then? She looked a total whinger from what I saw. Moaning about phone signal and WiFi when she’d only just got here.’
‘Cardinal rule of hospitality: don’t call the guests “total whingers”.’
‘I don’t want to work in hospitality. I’m only doing it to help you and because Auntie Elspeth keeps going on and on at me that I ought to be more grateful to you and pull my weight. Whatever the feck that means.’
Sam sighed. ‘Goodnight, Morven. Please be kind to Auntie Elspeth and I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘If you last that long with Lily. She was evil to Tyrone on theGreat British Craft Show.’
‘From what I read, “evil” is a bit harsh for what she said to that bloke.’ Sam checked himself before he ended up in a very heated debate with Morven whose opinions tended to be not simply polarised but sited at opposite ends of the universe to his. ‘I think Lily’s more worried about being stuck here with me than I am with her. Now, I have dinner to prepare so I suggest …’ He stopped, hearing footsteps outside the reception hub.
‘Is that her?’ Morven shrieked down the radio.
‘No,’ Sam exhaled in relief. ‘Now, I’ll see you tomorrow on Bryher.’
He didn’t tell Morven that Lily had demanded to be flown out of the place as soon as possible. After he’d shown her the cottage, he’d promised to take her over to Bryher in the morning, weather and tides permitting, so she could use the WiFi at his house and make some arrangements.
Before heading into the catering kitchen, he flicked the off switch and made sure the radio was set to send only. He couldn’t risk Morven coming on the radio insulting his new – and only – guest again, even if he’d been sorely tempted to shout at her himself since he’d picked her up from the heliport. He’d lost count of the times he’d regretted opening up before the retreat was ready, especially to a demanding business mogul used to five-star cosseting.
Since Morven had given him a lurid account of Lily Harper’s life to date, he’d wished he’d risked life and limb to ship her back to the mainland himself. When he’d agreed to the booking, her name hadn’t rung any bells with him – hardly surprising when he rarely watched TV.
Richie hadn’t mentioned anything beyond the fact Ms Harper was looking for an away from it all break at short notice, so Sam had expected a stressed-out exec – but not a ‘Z- list celebrity’ as Morven had put it.
He had to admit he’d checked out Lily’s Wiki entry. It turned out she wasn’t just any businessperson; she was a notorious businessperson who’d caused some kind of five-minute rumpus on a TV crafting competition.
But Sam didn’t really care about that. What he did careabout was that his guest hated the retreat and thought he was an incompetent charlatan.
After the disastrous start, she would probably trash their reputation when she got home. He’d have to offer her a discount. In fact, he might offer her all her money back and hope she’d forget about him and move on to her next victim.
At least she’d seemed happy enough with Cowrie Cottage, which was just as well because the others weren’t ready for receiving guests. Or perhaps she’d been too exhausted to complain after her long journey. Sam had pointed out the facilities and the coffee- and tea-making tray with its mini hamper of local goodies, which he’d brought over earlier.
