The One That Got Away (Love Hotel #1)

Chapter 3

3

STELLA

‘Are these ready to package up?’ I asked Mum, pointing to the two lacy thongs.

‘Yep! All good to go.’

I put on a fresh pair of plastic gloves and plucked them from Mum’s workbench.

We ran a small business called Pretty Little Kitty, which provided personalised handmade underwear. Some of it was standard frilly knickers, but our biggest earners were the custom lace thongs which could be personalised with a name or short phrase in crystal letters.

I glanced down at the items to see what the customer had chosen.

Along the back of the black thong was the word Daddy . And on the red thong it simply read Mine .

Okay then…

I’d worked with Mum for eighteen months so I was used to the different requests that came through. Some just had the name of the recipient or their partner, but others like this order were a little naughtier .

‘I’ll get started on these now so they’re ready to take to the post office later. By the way, your laptop’s been pinging. Want me to check your emails?’

I knew it couldn’t be more orders because they always came straight through to my computer.

As the business started to grow, Mum struggled to manage it all. So when I got laid off from my graphic design job, I’d offered to come and help. With the market being more competitive than ever, finding a new role was hard. So moving back home with Mum and working alongside her seemed like the logical solution.

So far, I’d given her website and marketing materials a complete overhaul which I’d enjoyed and I’d set up some new systems for managing orders so that everything ran more smoothly.

‘Don’t worry. I’ll go. I need a break.’

‘Tea?’ I asked.

‘Love one!’

Mum left the workshop, which used to be her dining room, and headed to the living room where her laptop was resting on the sofa.

Just as I was about to fill the kettle with water in the kitchen, I heard Mum scream.

I dropped the kettle on the counter and raced to find out what was wrong.

‘What happened?’ I rushed over to her. ‘Are you okay?’

Mum started jumping up and down on the spot.

‘Yes! I’m more than okay! I’m amazing !’

‘What’s amazing? Did Ann Summers get back to you about stocking some of our thongs?’

‘Nope!’ She continued jumping.

‘Have you heard back from Lovehoney? Are they interested? ’

‘It’s much better news than that!’

Now she was doing the dance Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air used to do. Very badly .

‘Are you going to keep jumping up and down like a lunatic or are you actually going to tell me what this amazing news is sometime this century?’

‘Don’t get upset with me,’ she paused, ‘but I did something that you might not be happy with right now, but I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end. You just have to trust me.’

‘What are you going on about?’

‘Do you promise not to shout or get angry if I tell you?’

‘I’d need to know what you’ve done first before I do that!’

‘Okay…’ She sat down and patted the space beside her. ‘Sit.’ I did as she asked, my heart racing. ‘So you remember I was telling you about The Love Hotel…’

‘Mum!’ I blew out an exasperated breath. ‘I’ve told you a million times, I’m not interested!’

‘Well, I kind of, maybe, might have applied already on your behalf a few weeks ago. Just on a whim. To see what would happen…’

‘But the deposit’s a thousand pounds! We need a new sewing machine and computer. You can’t throw away that kind of money!’

‘My one and only child’s happiness is priceless! And I’m a grown woman. I can do what I want with my savings. So anyway, I applied and look !’ She turned the laptop to face me. ‘They’ve accepted you! They’ve found your perfect match! Isn’t that brilliant !’ She danced around in her seat.

‘What?’ I blinked rapidly, trying to register what was on the screen.

‘You’ve got a place at The Love Hotel! They’ve found you a hot sexy man who’s your Mr Right. Isn’t it amazing? ’

I froze and swallowed the concrete lump in my throat.

As the reality of what Mum said started to dawn on me, my heart thundered in my chest and my pulse raced so fast that if I wasn’t already sitting down I would’ve passed out.

Despite me telling her repeatedly that I wasn’t interested, Mum had gone behind my back and applied. Wasting valuable money she didn’t have on the deposit.

And now apparently they’d found my perfect match.

Yeah, right.

‘It’s not amazing! It’s a disaster!’

‘Don’t be so dramatic!’ She turned the laptop back to face her. ‘It’s an opportunity . You haven’t had a holiday in ages and you need a good man in your life. This is perfect!’

‘It really isn’t! Anyway, I can’t go. The trip’s for two weeks, right?’

‘Correct.’

‘So who’ll help you whilst I’m gone?’

‘Despite what you think, you’re not indispensable, sweetheart. I’ll get someone in to take care of the orders.’

‘Like who?’

‘I’ll ask Marjorie.’

‘The vicar’s wife?’

‘That’s the one.’

‘Somehow I don’t think she’d be happy wrapping thongs with “Kiss My Arse” on them!’

Only our closest friends and family knew the full nature of our business and it was better that way.

‘She might like it! You know what they say about the quiet ones!’ Mum chuckled.

‘I’m not going! And I’m really angry with you. I know your heart was in the right place, but you’ve put me in an awkward position because I’ll have to pay you back for the deposit. ’

I really needed to get my own place and reimbursing Mum’s one-thousand-pound payment would throw me off target for my mortgage savings and take me months to recover.

Mum didn’t reply. Her gaze was fixed to the screen whilst she moved her fingers around on the laptop track pad.

‘Are you even listening to me?’ I blew out a frustrated breath.

‘Mmm, hmm,’ she nodded, keeping her eyes firmly on her laptop. ‘There!’ she looked up, grinning from ear to ear. ‘All done.’

‘Sorry, what? What’s all done? Have you cancelled it?’

‘Of course not! I’ve just confirmed the booking and paid the balance! Forget about posting those orders. You’d better go shopping for some clothes and a new suitcase. You’re off to sunny Spain!’