Winter at Pretty Beach by Polly Babbington (inspirational books txt) 📕

Next Lucian would broadcast a whole episode of his podcast focusing on Pretty Beach Weddings, the Orangery and the competition announcing that they were looking for a very special bride who would be able to handle the surprise, wanted a magical Winter wedding and deserved a treat.

It would take a lot of interviewing and vetting - they would need to make sure everything was right including the expectations of the party, what the bride wanted, how far along the couple were in their relationship and a multitude of other things.

As they sat there and talked about it, little doubts had started to creep in - was she crazy to do this? Had she taken too much on? There were so many things that could go wrong, the flip side being the massive social media interest. Lucian had already started to put the feelers out with influencer agencies and PRs he knew and the interest had already started flooding in. He’d worked before with the tourism department of Pretty Beach council and they were interested in talking about a grant. A national paper who had done a feature on his podcast had already asked for first rights on the story.

Sallie kept having to tell herself that her input in this was no different to what she had been doing with Pretty Beach Weddings already. It was simply a case of using all of her usual contacts and contractors - the caterers offered to do their part at a reduced rate and Loretta at All the Beautiful Brides had said she would be able to get the place in Hong Kong who had made Sallie’s cathedral dress to make something up for a good price.

All she needed to do was ask Felicity about flowers, and even that would not be a huge cost as it would mostly be a Christmas tree, fairy lights and Christmas decorations as the main decor. All the other stuff was already done - the Orangery was decor in itself. She’d filled it with lovely vintage tables and mismatched chairs, had collected vintage tablecloths from charity shops for pennies, and she’d sourced old English china by hunting around online, at boot sales and at the Pretty Beach Annual Jumble Sale. The result was a wonderfully eclectic mix that tied in beautifully with the vintage feel of the Orangery.

Sallie would also need to start sourcing a Christmas tree. She knew one thing; it needed to be enormous. It would be the star of the show, just behind the bride and it would make, or break, the whole thing.

Lucian had proved interesting - while giving off the impression that he was a bit flighty, and not too serious, in business it was proving to be the opposite. He had worked out costs, a marketing strategy, a media kit and had prepared a website just for the event.

‘You’ve really gone gangbusters on this,’ Sallie said as she sat there with him looking over his plans.

‘This is great for my business - the interest will be phenomenal if I’m correct,’ Lucian replied, leaning forward on his hands. ‘I’ve been right so far in all of this.’

‘I’m sure you will be, you know your listeners,’ she smiled at his frowning face.

‘Oh, they will be so into it, darling. I just need to nail a sponsorship on this. Everything will then be worth it.’

‘I can’t help you there I’m afraid - sponsorship hasn’t been on my list yet.’

‘Sallie, you’ve provided more than enough, there is no way I could’ve sourced a venue like the Orangery on my own. Your business and my reach will hopefully be a very successful combination.’ Lucian said, patting Sallie on the knee.

Chapter 22

Sallie stood up from her seat as the fast train chugged over the last few sleepers and pulled into the old Victorian station. With her bag over her shoulder and gloves on she queued up behind a woman in a long camel coat and matching hat and admired the immaculate outfit as they waited for the doors to open.

She strolled down the platform as all the commuters hurried past her, then she stopped at a bench outside a sandwich shop and watched Ben on the phone as he walked across the concourse in his navy-blue coat, carrying his brown leather case in his left hand and one of his pilot’s hats under his arm. She raised her eyebrows as she watched him and his confident walk and thought to herself how very lucky she was to have found him.

He finished the call, walked up to her, kissed her on the cheek and pulled her up from the bench and into a huge hug under his coat.

‘My oh my, my mother has finally lost the plot - you made the right call not coming to that dinner!’ He exclaimed, putting his phone back in his bag and taking Sallie’s hand.

Susan had called them a few days before and asked Ben to come to a family dinner before he went to Alaska, but at the last minute Sallie had made up an excuse about needing to do an interview at the Orangery and so Ben had gone up to London for the evening, stayed the night in town and Sallie had come up the next day on the train for an early dinner.

‘Come on Sals, let’s go, follow me I’m ravenous. You didn't eat, did you? Like I said.’

‘No I didn’t - I’ve only had a coffee and a biscuit on the train. Where are we going? You’re up to something I can tell.’

‘Ha, not at all Ms Chalmers... just taking you somewhere, umm, a bit special.’

‘Oh goodness,’ she said, looking down at her black jeans tucked into her velvet ankle boots and silky dark grey shirt with a ruffle down the middle. ‘Is there a dress code Ben?’

‘What? I’ve no idea, beautiful - you don’t need to worry about that.’

Ben, having been brought up in luxury and with that nonchalant confidence of his class didn’t think twice