Lynsey James - The Sunflower Cottage Breakfast Club

His mouth opened and closed a few times, as though he had so much he wanted to say that his brain didn’t know where to begin. Eventually, he settled for a grunt of frustration and stormed off upstairs.

‘Sorry about him.’ Rose craned her neck to make sure he was out of earshot before she spoke. ‘He’s a lovely lad really, just forgets himself sometimes. He loves this place, bless him. It’s been the closest thing to home for him since…’

She trailed off and shook her head, as though trying to dislodge some unwanted thoughts. ‘Anyway, you’ll be in room seven. Let me show you up! It’s just up these stairs. Don’t worry about your suitcase; I’ll get Noah to bring it up before he goes to get your car.’

I followed her up the wooden staircase to a door with a large gold number seven attached to it.

‘This will be your room. The sheets will be changed every day and breakfast is served from seven until nine-thirty.’ Her voice carried the same warmth that permeated the entire B&B. ‘When you’re ready, I’ll be down in the kitchen. There’s some fresh bread and cookies if you’d like some.’

‘Thanks, Rose, I won’t be long,’ I replied.

So, I thought, this is what country living’s like. So far, I’d had a car break down on me, fallen down in the mud, been splashed with beer, and argued with the town arsehole.

One thing was for sure: I was in for one hell of a ride in Luna Bay.

Chapter 6

It’s pretty safe to say I wasn’t prepared for what my room would look like. When I opened the door, I let out a little gasp. I’d imagined a tired and dated room full of frills and floral patterns. What I had was a beautiful New England beach house-themed room, with white wooden floors and pale blue walls. The duvet and curtains had blue and white stripes on them and the bed looked sumptuous and comfortable. The furniture followed the theme too: a white chest of drawers stood on the far wall and a wicker chair sat next to a window seat lined with sky-blue cushions. This definitely wasn’t the fixer-upper I’d imagined.

I could see why Walter Marshall Hotels wanted to snap this place up. It was in an ideal location, had beautiful interiors, and there were only minor repairs to be made, by the look of things. Sunflower Cottage would definitely be an asset to our already bulging portfolio, if we could get our hands on it. There was a certain magic to the place too, something I hadn’t seen anywhere else.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. I opened it and found Noah standing on the other side, my suitcase in one hand and a newly clean Dixie nestled in the crook of his other arm. Her little face lit up as soon as she saw me and I stroked her soaking wet fur as best I could.

‘Hello you!’ I cooed. I risked a glance at her owner, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. ‘You know, I’m not usually—’

‘Here’s your suitcase,’ he grunted, abruptly cutting me off. ‘Where did you say your car was?’

‘It’s on the little country lane that leads into the village. I’ve tried to park it so it doesn’t block any other cars.’

He nodded. ‘OK, well, I’ll get it towed to the garage and take a look at it as soon as I can. We’re booked solid, but I’ll try and fit you in.’

I bristled at him acting like he was doing me a huge favour when he clearly didn’t want to. ‘Don’t inconvenience yourself for me! I’ll call another garage if that makes things easier for you.’

He flashed me something that I guessed was supposed to be a smile. ‘It’s no skin off my nose. The sooner your car’s fixed, the sooner you can leave.’

He retreated down to the lobby before I could answer, taking his ridiculously cute dog with him and leaving me fuming. I’d never met anyone so infuriating in my whole life. All I could hope was that he wasn’t a regular fixture at Sunflower Cottage; I might end up on a murder charge otherwise.

*

My second day in Luna Bay started much the same as my first: I had a run-in with Noah. No beer was spilled over anyone, though I was sorely tempted.

I went downstairs after an uneasy sleep to find him in the kitchen, helping Rose prepare breakfast for the other guests. He was even more dishevelled than usual, with stubble lining his chin and his hair sticking up in every possible direction. His checked shirt was buttoned at a random angle and I could see a stain on his dark-brown T-shirt. It was such a contrast to my own appearance; I was wearing my favourite grey trouser suit and my hair was scraped up into a sleek, high bun. Just because I was at the seaside didn’t mean I couldn’t look professional, after all.

‘Morning,’ I said, running a hand over my hair and sitting down at the table. The smell of cooking made me feel funny, but I tried not to show it. ‘Lovely day, isn’t it?’

‘Hello, dear. Did you sleep well last night?’ Rose put some sausages and bacon onto a plate then turned to look at me.

‘Yeah, it was great!’ I knew I was lying, but it was necessary in this situation. I didn’t want to explain that, while the bed had been lovely, I’d been awake most of the night worrying about being in the same village as my long-lost biological father. To avoid anything accidentally slipping out, I turned to my phone and the stack of unread emails that had to be dealt with. Business was the solution to every life problem, after all. If I was working towards my goals, everything would be OK.

Or it would be if there were any Wi-Fi.

‘Is there a Wi-Fi hotspot anywhere round here?’ I asked, trying not to let my frustration seep into my tone. ‘I need to get work done while I’m here.’

Rose shook her head. ‘I’m afraid not, dear. The signal’s always been a bit patchy round these parts, so we just don’t bother with it in the B&B. You’ve got broadband at your place, haven’t you, Noah?’

Some colour drained away from his face. ‘Yeah, but she needs to be here, doesn’t she? She won’t want to schlep up to my cottage to use the internet.’

‘Actually, that sounds ideal,’ I replied. ‘If you don’t mind, that is? She can work anywhere, after all.’

He didn’t say anything and went back to tending the sizzling pans in front of him.

‘It’s too early to be working anyway,’ Rose said. ‘You haven’t even had breakfast yet; what do you fancy? Noah does a lovely full English.’

‘Do you have any kale or avocado? A green smoothie would be amazing.’

They both turned to look at me, blank expressions on their faces like I’d spoken in fluent Swahili.

‘Huh,’ said Noah, ‘I didn’t think anybody actually drank those! Looks like chemical waste, if you ask me.’

‘I didn’t.’ I kept my voice low, but judging by the look he shot me, not low enough.

‘Oh, I’m afraid I don’t have either of those things.’ Rose wrung her hands with worry. ‘I… is there anything else I can get you?’

I shook my head and got up from the table. ‘Nah, I don’t really do breakfast. Thanks, anyway. I’d better get going. I’ve got loads of work to do today.’

Rose looked utterly crestfallen and I felt a stab of remorse in my chest. ‘OK, if you’re sure. I’ll get some in for you for breakfast tomorrow. Noah, watch this pan while I go and see if we’ve got any maple syrup for that Canadian couple in room two.’

I smiled. ‘That’d be great, thanks!’

As I left, Noah’s voice piped up. ‘Next she’ll be asking for bloody quinoa salad on a bed of pearl barley or something.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with liking healthy food, you know. You are what you eat and all that jazz,’ I replied.

He left the pan of bacon he was tending to and came over to me. ‘So, you’re some unidentifiable substance we’ve never heard of and don’t want in our kitchen?’