Read Online Wishful Thinking by Lynette Sofras - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lynette Sofras
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under her breath. She looked up the ‘Good Rest Ye’ hotel to check the directions and ensure she would find the right exit for it off the motorway – not a route she felt willing to traverse again in any hurry, but one she felt she should.
She saw to her surprise and then amusement that the proprietors’ names were not registered as ‘Goodchild’ but as ‘Goodison’. The naïve attempt at disguise only made them more endearing. She presumed they had altered their name in order to avoid the wrong kind of clientele. Goodchild, Goodison or whatever, they had shown her great kindness and refused to accept any payment. The need to show her gratitude had been weighing heavily on her mind and as tomorrow was Saturday, she planned to retrace her journey of the previous week and take them a few small gifts by way of thanks.
*
She managed to go astray three times on her way to the hotel, despite carefully following her satellite navigation system’s confident directions. Either she took the wrong turning or the little hotel was even more off the beaten track than she had remembered. When she pulled into the forecourt, she was surprised to see it filled with vehicles. The front entrance was ablaze, the hotel clearly fully open for business.
When she and Ben entered, a very efficient-looking receptionist greeted them.
“Good afternoon. Welcome to ‘Good Rest Ye’. Do you have a reservation?”
“Oh…um…no. I was just hoping to see Mr and Mrs Goodchild for a moment.”
The woman eyed her suspiciously. “I’m afraid they’re busy with a function at the moment. You’re not a guest, are you?”
Her look and doubting tone made Jess cringe with embarrassment. She wanted to grab Ben’s hand and run, but instead took a deep breath and lifted her and Ben’s gifts onto the reception desk.
“No. We just wanted to leave these to say thank you for their kindness last week. If you could please see that they get them?” Jess slipped the little cards from her and Ben underneath the wrapped gifts and then led Ben quickly back out of the hotel.
“Aren’t we going to see Chris?” Ben asked once they were outside the door.
Jess had to fight back her tears. What a waste of all that nervous energy. “No, darling. I told you he probably wouldn’t be there. Let’s just go home before it gets dark.”
Ben nodded. “The snow’s all gone anyway. It doesn’t look as nice.”
****
Fake snow lay all around the Surrey mansion and three snow machines were being set up for later. The party planners had been decorating the place since early morning and the predominantly white decorations lent a bridal look to everything. Amber decided she could get up to greet the guests after all – most of whom she had invited anyway. In fact she seemed to have made a complete recovery. Christian just wanted to escape the bustle of the planners and the caterers who were unloading crate after crate of champagne. The snow made him think about the beautiful woman with shining eyes, rosy cheeks and the sweetest pink-tipped nose he had ever seen. The magic of that night a week ago seemed like a dream now. But it was one of those haunting dreams, those impossible-to-shake-off dreams that refused to be forgotten.
He was not in the mood for this party. Everything that had happened in the past week had turned all his thoughts and feelings upside down. Just when he thought he had managed to set things back to normal some great cloud of dissatisfaction washed over him. The dissatisfaction was something he recognised intimately. Another missed opportunity. One of those times he would one day look back on and ask himself: I wonder what would have happened if…? How many of those had he known in his life? When would he ever recognise the signs?
He checked his watch. He wanted to call his parents before the party started, knowing it would be impossible to do so later. But he knew
She saw to her surprise and then amusement that the proprietors’ names were not registered as ‘Goodchild’ but as ‘Goodison’. The naïve attempt at disguise only made them more endearing. She presumed they had altered their name in order to avoid the wrong kind of clientele. Goodchild, Goodison or whatever, they had shown her great kindness and refused to accept any payment. The need to show her gratitude had been weighing heavily on her mind and as tomorrow was Saturday, she planned to retrace her journey of the previous week and take them a few small gifts by way of thanks.
*
She managed to go astray three times on her way to the hotel, despite carefully following her satellite navigation system’s confident directions. Either she took the wrong turning or the little hotel was even more off the beaten track than she had remembered. When she pulled into the forecourt, she was surprised to see it filled with vehicles. The front entrance was ablaze, the hotel clearly fully open for business.
When she and Ben entered, a very efficient-looking receptionist greeted them.
“Good afternoon. Welcome to ‘Good Rest Ye’. Do you have a reservation?”
“Oh…um…no. I was just hoping to see Mr and Mrs Goodchild for a moment.”
The woman eyed her suspiciously. “I’m afraid they’re busy with a function at the moment. You’re not a guest, are you?”
Her look and doubting tone made Jess cringe with embarrassment. She wanted to grab Ben’s hand and run, but instead took a deep breath and lifted her and Ben’s gifts onto the reception desk.
“No. We just wanted to leave these to say thank you for their kindness last week. If you could please see that they get them?” Jess slipped the little cards from her and Ben underneath the wrapped gifts and then led Ben quickly back out of the hotel.
“Aren’t we going to see Chris?” Ben asked once they were outside the door.
Jess had to fight back her tears. What a waste of all that nervous energy. “No, darling. I told you he probably wouldn’t be there. Let’s just go home before it gets dark.”
Ben nodded. “The snow’s all gone anyway. It doesn’t look as nice.”
****
Fake snow lay all around the Surrey mansion and three snow machines were being set up for later. The party planners had been decorating the place since early morning and the predominantly white decorations lent a bridal look to everything. Amber decided she could get up to greet the guests after all – most of whom she had invited anyway. In fact she seemed to have made a complete recovery. Christian just wanted to escape the bustle of the planners and the caterers who were unloading crate after crate of champagne. The snow made him think about the beautiful woman with shining eyes, rosy cheeks and the sweetest pink-tipped nose he had ever seen. The magic of that night a week ago seemed like a dream now. But it was one of those haunting dreams, those impossible-to-shake-off dreams that refused to be forgotten.
He was not in the mood for this party. Everything that had happened in the past week had turned all his thoughts and feelings upside down. Just when he thought he had managed to set things back to normal some great cloud of dissatisfaction washed over him. The dissatisfaction was something he recognised intimately. Another missed opportunity. One of those times he would one day look back on and ask himself: I wonder what would have happened if…? How many of those had he known in his life? When would he ever recognise the signs?
He checked his watch. He wanted to call his parents before the party started, knowing it would be impossible to do so later. But he knew