‘What else?’
‘The kitchen and scullery for Birdie’s people, so that's sorted.'
'Yes,' Nina agreed.
Robby looked down at the iPad again. 'And decoration. What about that? Is that organised now?'
'Yep. Same thing, really; it’s all in Nancy’s hands.' She turned back and pointed to the garden. 'Rows of trestle tables there, each with the vintage tablecloths from her mum, and the plates and china, coming from all manner of sources. Wildflower bouquets throughout.'
Robby smiled. 'You seem very chill about this.'
Nina shrugged. 'Do I? I don’t think so. It’s just a party, really, isn’t it? We’re doing the first bit in the registry office just with your parents and my mum and sister, so what’s there to worry about?'
'True,' Robby nodded. ‘I suppose itisjust a party, really. A party with a sit-down bit.’
Nina looked around at the garden and The Summer Hotel. 'With the chowder in the bowls, it’s not really much more than a larger speakeasy at the back of the deli,' Nina noted. 'And we know what a process that is, don’t we? Birdie has everything organised to within an inch of its life, the same with Nancy onthe decor front. Her cottage is absolutely beautiful, and we’ve done a Pinterest inspiration board, and really, it’s just a load of trestle tables, so I don’t think there’s too much of a problem. It’s the setting itself that’s the thing.'
'When you put it like that,' Robby said.
Nina tapped the top of the iPad. 'And then, of course, there's you, Mr Organisation Extraordinaire. And I thought I was the one with the organisation business.'
Robby smiled. 'Well, I do like to have everything in my control. I’ve noticed you need to be quite organised when you are dangling from the side of a building.'
‘Right, yes, that has a way of making someone organised, I assume.’ Nina agreed.
Just as they were standing there discussing the chowder, Robby’s phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and looked at who was calling.
'I’m going to need to take this. I’ve got to talk to this bloke about the Canary Wharf thing,'
Nina nodded. Robby cupped his hand over his phone’s speaker and gestured to the road. ‘I need to go to the van and check out the notes in there. I’ll be back in a sec.'
Nina turned around and looked up at the hotel. She still couldn’t believe it hadn’t been bought by anyone, but as Ella, the estate agent, had said, it came with quite a lot of red tape. She stood for ages, just staring up at the windows wondering how it would go as an Airbnb business. She remembered when she’d first arrived at The Summer Hotel and walked into the kitchen and had never seen as much clutter in her life. How she’d cleared out Jill’s aunt's belongings and got everything spick and span, and now here it sat, still without an owner and without anyone giving it any love. It was quite sad. She wondered what it would’ve been like if she had been able to afford it and instantly dismissed the idea. Even if she’d sold her flat, it was a huge thingto take on on her own. Although now, obviously, she wasn’t on her own, but even so, Robby had his own very successful business and not a lot of time for much else. The Summer Hotel would be quite the undertaking for whoever ended up giving it a go. Gazing up at the building, she felt emotional. She had poured her heart into turning the place around, yet its future remained uncertain. Despite knowing it was unrealistic, part of her wished she could be the one to give The Summer Hotel new life.
Robby came strolling back through the side path with the straps dangling.
'Everything okay?’ Nina asked.
‘Yep. Just finishing off a few last things and making sure I’ve got the right team on that job. It’s a complicated one.’
‘Right.’
Robby followed Nina’s gaze to the top of the hotel. ‘What are you thinking about?'
Nina gestured up to the hotel’s back windows. 'I was just thinking about this and how no one has bought it yet. I thought it would sell quickly. I guess you can never tell with a place like this.' Nina felt a pang, knowing how much work she had poured into restoring the old hotel. Part of her wished she could be the one to continue its legacy, but she knew realistically it was too big an endeavour and too much of a money pit. In a strange way, it felt like an old friend waiting to be brought back to life.
'Yeah, it’s a shame,' Robby said. ‘It would be a good place for someone.'
'It would,' Nina agreed.
Robby chuckled. 'We could sell our properties and buy this place together.'
Nina shook her head.A bit of a pipe dream,she thought. She thought about her flat in London, the one that was still just sitting there, not even earning any money. She knew that at some point she would have to do something about it, but itwas still tied up in her old life and her grief. She knew it was a problem simmering under the surface but wasn’t prepared to get on with it and deal with what it might throw up. There was no way she was going to sell it, that was for sure. She quipped back at Robby, 'You’d just need to sell a couple of assets from your property portfolio, wouldn’t you?'
Robby laughed. 'I don’t know about that. I think the price of this place is what puts people off. It’s very expensive, really, because of the land value itself and the fact that it backs onto the river, and it’s got its own little river beach. I don’t think it will sell until Jill knocks something off the price. It’s just too much of a gamble. It needs loads spending on it and you have to get approval from the council to make a cup of tea. I’d be hesitant to invest in it.'
Nina nodded in agreement. 'It’s a lot to take on. As you say a gamble that may or may not turn a profit.'
Robby joked, 'Look at you, sounding all business-like now you’ve got your own small business.'
