Page 90 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

Lily’s smile dropped a little.

‘Don’t you want them to be happy for us?’ he asked her gently.

‘Of course, but I don’t know if I’m ready for all that attention yet,’ she replied, snuggling in tighter to him. ‘I like it being just me and you for the time being.’

‘That won’t change,’ he whispered, dropping his head down to hers and kissing her until he forgot all about his family, the hotel, profits and anything else.

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Lily was delighted that the idea for the Dragonfly Dance had taken hold and many of the local people who had seen the light festival on a Saturday night were equally excited about the event.

‘I remember it from many moons ago,’ said one elderly lady to Lily one evening after the light show. ‘My late husband proposed to me at the dance.’

Not only did the original partygoers book their places but also newcomers to the event as well. And once the momentum had taken hold, the whole event had become the place to be in Cranley on Valentine’s Day.

‘We’re fully booked!’ announced Ben, rushing out of the office a few days before the dance.

Lily looked at him in astonishment and delight. ‘We are?’

He picked her up in his excitement and swung her round. ‘We are!’ he shouted. ‘Every single bedroom is booked! Wheee!’

Once he had settled her back down on the floor, he bent his head towards hers but they were interrupted by Dotty coming into the entrance hall.

‘What’s all the commotion?’ asked Dotty.

‘We’re fully booked, Grandma!’ shouted Ben, picking Dotty and carefully spinning her around once.

‘Hurrah!’ she said, laughing.

Lily was equally excited. Success was finally coming to Maple Tree Lodge and the whole family was buzzing with excitement for the Dragonfly Dance.

Not only was the hotel fully booked, every party ticket was sold too. Which begged the question, what on earth were they going to feed them all?

Once more, Jake came up trumps by creating a fork buffet menu that allowed people to wander around and see the lights without the rigidity of timings for a sit-down meal.

‘And we won’t need too many servers who will want paying either,’ said Ben, looking relieved.

‘But we’ll still need candles on all the tables in here, as well as fairy lights to make it romantic,’ said Lily, looking around the dining room.

‘Hearts,’ added Hannah, with a nod. ‘Lots of hearts.’

‘Definitely,’ replied Lily.

So tiny paper hearts were scattered all over the tables, along with rose petals and the odd string of red heart fairy lights as well. Only a third of the dining room had been laid out though. The remainder of the floor was to be left free for a dance floor.

Meanwhile, Frankie was busy experimenting with new cocktail ideas, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

‘This is delicious,’ Lily told her, after tasting one such new red concoction. ‘What’s it called again?’

‘Love Heart,’ said Frankie, rolling her eyes. ‘What has happened to cynical old me?’

‘It’s definitely my new favourite,’ said Hannah, who was sitting next to her at the bar and licking her lips.

Frankie leaned on the counter. ‘So who are you both bringing as a date to the dance?’ she asked.

‘Are you kidding?’ laughed Hannah. ‘I’m helping Jake in the kitchen and making sure that the food doesn’t run out.’

‘We’ll be working flat out all night,’ said Lily.