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

‘Not as far as we can tell - Sam’s hinted at a few things and she’s said nothing to indicate she’s guessed, so it all seems legit. I mean why would you think you were going to be surprised with a wedding?’

‘True. This is going to be really good if it really is such a surprise,’ Sallie replied and lifted Tillie up as Lucian held out his arms to Tillie who leant over to him and settled easily into his arms.

‘Cinnamon buns in my bag - shall I make us a coffee?’

‘Goodness darling, you were lucky to get those. Perfect, yes please.’

Sallie went into Lucian’s high-tech kitchen, grappled with the Italian coffee machine and came back a few minutes later to find Lucian on the floor, with Tillie, the pair of them gurgling and laughing away.

They walked into the tiny room with the laptop, and got settled, Tillie perched on the end of Lucian’s lap, fiddling with a bunch of play keys and he video called the number from his laptop.

Sam answered and sat in front of them, his cheerful face and Yorkshire twang making them both smile.

‘Who is the little cutie you have with you?’ Sam asked.

‘This is Tillie. A friend of Sallie’s baby, she’s our assistant for the day - she’s been here for all the meetings, the decoration of the Orangery and just missed out on the photoshoot when she went off with her uncle for the day.’

‘Ahhh that’s nice - she looks like a little doll.’

‘Everyone says the same! Right, back to the wedding - Katie still has no idea then, you think?’ Lucian asked, looking through the camera of the laptop.

‘Nope, nothing as far as I can tell...’ Sam replied. ‘She thinks we’re coming down for a weekend away. Everyone else is in on it and is ready to go. I’ve got everything organised down to the last letter.’

‘And what about you? How are you finding it all? It’s a lot of organisation, especially after what you two have been through,’ Sallie asked.

‘Not too bad really - if I’m honest you two have done it all, all we have to do is turn up!’

‘Fair point darling,’ Lucian responded.

‘The only thing now to worry about is the dress and all the things with getting Katie ready - the plan went well to persuade her to get her hair done last week so hopefully, she’ll be happy with it when she arrives with your hairdresser. I have to warn you, she’s umm, how can I put it, particular about how she looks,’ Sam said.

‘I just hope the dress fits - those girls in Hong Kong were spot on last time, so hopefully, it will all be okay, but if it’s not we have a plan in place to get it altered,’ Sallie replied, raising her eyebrows and giving Sam a big, encouraging smile.

‘She did find me the other day fiddling around in the wardrobe looking at the size of one of her dresses just to double-check. When I suddenly started panicking and she asked me what I was doing in her wardrobe looking at a summer dress in the middle of Winter, and then she followed it up with why I was in her side of the wardrobe looking at her clothes at all.’

‘Yes, that would have seemed a bit odd, you in your partner’s wardrobe looking at her clothes!’ Lucian replied, chuckling as Tillie banged on the table with the keys.

‘I fluffed over it okay I think - though goodness knows what she really thinks of me now.’ Sam said laughing.

They concluded the call finalising the rest of the plans for the transport and once Sam had gone and the laptop was closed they sat there finishing the remains of the cinnamon buns and playing with Tillie.

‘We’re all ready then. All we need now is the dress, the video man and the party to start.’ Lucian said, clapping his hands together.

‘Ha! You make it all sound so easy Lucian, I just hope it all goes to plan,’ Sallie replied, fiddling nervously with the cuff of her jumper.

‘It will be wonderful darling - we’ve thought of everything, everything is on the run sheet and barring a dirty great snowstorm that closes the road into Pretty Beach, nothing can go wrong.’

‘Ahhh don’t say that, you’ll jinx it.’

Chapter 53

Sallie sat with her laptop open and a large piece of paper with the details of Strawberry Hill House and beside her on her phone she had the pictures she’d taken herself.

She’d worked out that the old summer house at the bottom of the garden could potentially be a holiday let - it had its own small area of garden and all it needed was a gate out from the fence into the lane.

‘I can see your mind ticking over and over,’ Ben commented as she sat at the kitchen table looking at it all and he made a tea.

‘I know. I’m obsessed. I just keep scrolling and scrolling through the photos Ben, and imagining myself in that kitchen, walking down those stairs. I’ve even imagined myself in an apron standing at the Aga making jam. It’s absolutely ridiculous.’

‘I know you do, whenever I look at you you’ve got them open.’ He smiled and looked at her lovingly.

‘Ha - I mean look, look at this,’ she used her thumb and finger to expand a photo on her phone, ‘We didn’t even look properly at this - the original ceiling roses! And the Aga - you couldn’t make this up Ben! It’s all there, the bones of it are all there.’

‘You’re so strange with the things that make you go ooh. Many women like designer handbags, perfume, you know, stuff like that, Tana liked shoes, but not my wife, she likes ceiling roses and old cookers.’

‘Those bricks and all those chimney pots, all the different heights and levels and all the old vintage slate tiles. And the colours - blacks and greys and... oh, I really, really, really want