Page 57 of Happier Days (Family Life in Somerley #1)
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
One month later
Jack and Ava walked into the reception of Sapphire Hotel and found it a hive of people. Jack raised a hand and shared smiles with a few of them as they squeezed through, holding on to Ava’s with the other.
‘I didn’t expect so many to turn up,’ she whispered to him. ‘I thought it might be just locals.’
‘It seems word got out. I wonder how that happened?’
During the two weeks Ava had been back, everything had been set in motion to showcase the new project and get the local people involved. Ava had bumped up as much publicity as she could muster.
‘Jack!’ Stella waved from the far end of the bar. ‘Come on through. We’ve been waiting for you.’
‘We’re not late?’ Jack eyed Ava who shrugged.
When he drew level with his family, Jack gave out a yelp. His sister, Cara, flew into his arms. Behind her was his brother, Noah.
‘I didn’t know you guys would be here,’ he said, extricating his sister and swapping her for Noah.
The brothers hugged affectionately, patting each other on the back, and then Jack turned to introduce Ava. But before he could, Noah waved at her.
‘You know each other?’ Jack was flabbergasted.
‘I remember her more as a gangly teenager,’ Noah said.
‘Of course.’ Jack slapped his forehead.
‘Who do you think got us here?’ Cara pointed at Ava.
‘I only emailed them both.’ Ava shrugged. ‘I wasn’t sure they’d take me up on it.’
‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world.’ Cara giggled.
‘Me neither.’ Noah chuckled.
Jack beamed at Ava before kissing her. The last he’d heard was that they had other engagements they couldn’t get out of. Secretly, he’d thought it was selfish of them, but now he knew the true meaning of family.
And fibbing.
Because Jack had a surprise for Ava, too. He beckoned to the young woman who was hiding behind the door.
‘Hi, Mum.’ Georgia tapped Ava on the arm.
‘Georgia! I didn’t think you could make it.’
‘Well, I lied.’ She gave her mum a hug.
Ava mock-scowled at Jack. ‘Was this your doing?’
‘I only emailed her,’ he mocked, repeating what Ava had said to him. ‘I wasn’t sure she’d take me up on it.’
Stella handed him and Ava glasses of champagne. Then she clapped her hands and turned to the gathered crowd. There wasn’t a spare seat or metre of flooring to be had.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention, please,’ Stella shouted. ‘Thank you all for coming, and I’m sure you’ll want to get this part over and done with so you can tuck into the buffet we’ve provided. The smell of it is making my mouth water.’
Lots of laughter.
‘We thought we’d make an announcement with as many of you here as we could.
First of all, let’s unveil the plans.’ Stella nodded at Max who, with the help of Noah, brought in a whiteboard with a drawing attached to it and propped it up on an easel.
‘As you all know, we lost our son, Dan, just over two years ago. Before he died, he’d started a new project.
The rooms behind me were add-ons to the building and were going to be used for events and intimate special occasions.
People could hire them out for meetings during the day, clubs during the evening or whatever.
‘When Dan died, a piece of our family went with him, and we found we couldn’t continue with his project.
It was crazy, really. Surely the best way to honour his memory would be to finish it, having people using the rooms?
But our family didn’t seem whole without Dan.
In fact, there had been talk of us selling up as we couldn’t give the business our all. ’
‘We’re not having that,’ a man shouted from the back of the room.
There were lots of murmurs of agreement.
Stella put up a hand to continue. ‘There’s no need to panic.’ She laughed.
Ava could see the woman was in her element.
She was so pleased her thoughts had helped towards a change of heart for Stella.
But it wasn’t only down to her that everything had turned out well.
It was a combination of things, just like what had happened to Ava to get to this stage.
Who knew, maybe she belonged in the Broadhurst family now. She stifled a laugh as Stella went on.
‘We’re back on track now, the rooms will be finished over the next few months, and the Dan Broadhurst extension will be unveiled.’
A cheer rang out around the room.
‘I’d also like to take the opportunity to introduce our new events manager – Eliza!’
Eliza stepped forward and raised her glass in the air. Everyone shouted words of congratulations and she beamed.
‘For a long time, Eliza has been a huge help running the hotel but for some reason she was afraid to step into Dan’s shoes.
She assumed we wouldn’t want a family member to replace him.
Well, she was wrong, because not only is she family, but she is also an amazing asset to Sapphire Hotel.
I’m sure you’ll be seeing her sparkle over the next few years. ’
‘Stop it, Mum!’ Eliza cried.
Ava could see Eliza’s cheeks going pink, secretly knowing that she was loving every minute of it, even though she was embarrassed.
‘Also,’ Stella went on. ‘May I say a huge thank you to the talented Ava Summers who has designed our new website and promotion material. She’s available for hire, too, hint, hint. I can vouch for her attention to detail and her excellent work.’
It was Ava’s time to blush when everyone glanced her way. She raised her glass in the air and smiled.
‘Finally, and this is where we need your help.’ Stella paused.
‘We’re going to start running some community groups and offering sessions for people to learn things such as art, jewellery making, cupcake decorating.
Photography lessons.’ She looked pointedly at Ava.
‘So if anyone has any suggestions or would like to help with some classes, there’s a clipboard to add your details on and we’ll get in touch.
In the meantime, I hope you’ll join me in a toast.’ She raised her glass.
‘To the villagers of Sapphire Lake and members of the public from yonder. To the unforgettable Dan Broadhurst, and equally important, to family.’
‘To family,’ everyone cried.