Page 55 of Plot Twist

‘The last one has a special surprise,’ Bridget promised, her eyes shining. ‘Wait ’til you see it.’

My eyes flew open as we walked towards the last space. I was instantly transported back to the time Drew took me to the honeymoon suite. I shook my head to clear the memory.

Ellie opened the door to a bold navy wall taking prominence in the open-plan kitchen-diner, which then led to a beautiful crisp white room with ornate navy bedspread and an en-suite with small navy face cloths and a large fluffy white bath towel.

‘Wow! I just want to move in,’ I said.

‘Well, it’s not Bellinder Cottage but it is gorgeous,’ Riley said, throwing me a grin.

‘Keep going,’ they urged, pointing to the French doors at the back of the main room.

Riley pushed the patio door, which opened out onto a small outdoor decking area.

‘This is what they call small but perfectly formed,’ Ellie said.

I gasped as I spotted the surprise they mentioned: a hot tub sat outside with beautiful, uninterrupted views of the mountains. I closed my eyes and felt the sun beaming down on my face. Now this was bliss.

‘This is amazing,’ Riley said. ‘I could hop in there for hours and let the whole day wash away. Beer in one hand, book in the other.’

‘Oh yeah, and then laze around inside writing for hours afterwards,’ I agreed, looking longingly at the desk in the bedroom.

Bridget and Ellie smiled at each other.

‘Well, I’m very glad you said that, you two. You see, we need a couple of volunteers to try out the facilities and we couldn’t think of two people who deserved it more,’ Bridget said.

‘Wait, what do you mean?’ Riley asked, confused.

‘We need you to have the full guest experience, so we’ve booked you in for the night. It’s Thursday, so we have Ivy anyway,’ Ellie grinned.

‘No, wait, we can’t ask you to do that,’ I said. ‘This would cost a fortune and—’

‘It’s free of charge, obviously,’ Bridget said. ‘You need to be able to chat to our guests about the full customer experience, Becca, if you’re going to be our receptionist.’

‘Yes, you just need to relax and enjoy. Ellie packed a swimming costume for you, Becca, and shorts for Riley,’ Bridget said.

They were looking very pleased with themselves indeed.

‘Plus, you already have your laptops and notebooks so you might as well set to work. Riley, you’re always going on about needing uninterrupted time and space to work on your book and how much Becca helps you. Prove it. You must nearly have finished your book by now and we’re so excited to read it! The hot tub is at the perfect temperature, now jump in,’ Bridget continued.

‘Are you serious?’ Riley exclaimed, laughing. ‘I can’t just. . . I mean, we can’t just. . .’

‘Stop pretending like you’ve got anything better to do, you big lazy fecker. Just get in and enjoy,’ Bridget said, pushing her brother towards the hot tub. ‘The bag’s over there with your swim stuff.’

And with that, the two fairy godmothers waved their magic wands and left us alone.

My mouth was still wide open as I walked around the hot tub.

‘I was not expecting this,’ I said, looking up at Riley. ‘I can’t believe it. I’ve not even got clean pants.’

‘Me neither,’ Riley said, picking up the bag they had left for us. ‘D’you know what’s funny though? You said you talked to me about smear tests and all that jazz when you thought I was a woman, but you still talk about stuff like that with me now.’

‘Pants. I said pants. It’s not like I went into great detail,’ I said.

He peered inside the bag and pulled out a black swimming costume.

‘Madame,’ he said. ‘Your bikini.’

‘Wait, what? A bikini?’ I wrinkled my nose. I was not about to wrestle into a bikini around Riley. ‘No, that’s not a bikini, Riley. That’s a swimming costume. Thankfully.’