Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Rosie

T he party was a hit.

To my surprise, after only being in Scotland for a week, I had a packed house at the bookshop.

Back home, I wouldn’t have been able to even think of enough acquaintances to invite to a party to make it this busy, and here it just all felt seamless and… easy. It wasn’t effortless, as it had taken a ton of work to get the windows ready for the competition, to rearrange the bookshop to my new designs, and to prepare for the party. But the welcoming of strangers into my shop and new home? Well, oddly enough, it felt just right.

For the party, we’d decided to open the shop up, and instead of the S design I had originally considered for day-to-day shopping needs, we’d pulled the bookshelves to either end of the shop, creating a larger space for mingling. In one corner we’d piled the floor poufs next to a real Christmas tree that filled the shop with the scent of pine. The tree was nestled in a pot, its roots protected, and would return to the tree farm after Christmas. I’d pulled any extra chairs I had to the sides of the room, creating various conversation spots for people to have a seat and chat. The disco unicorn had tinsel wrapped around its neck and a Santa hat on its head.

But it was the windows that really drew the eyes.

True to their word, the Book Bitches had leaned into the Under the Sea theme and had worked tirelessly to bring it together. The main window next to the door was their crowning achievement, with the two smaller windows continuing the theme but on a smaller scale.

Alexander had shown up almost every day to help.

Neither of us had mentioned the kiss.

But I thought about it. Every night, when I finally was alone for the day and curled into bed, nestled under the thick duvet, the exhaustion of a hard day of work creeping over me, I’d imagine his lips on mine.

It had become my favorite thing to fall asleep to.

Something had shifted for me that day. I’d gone from thinking he was just a Scottish hottie that I could make jokes with Jessica about wanting, to craving his nearness. I’d moved out of a general awareness of his nearness to a full-blown crush.

Which, of course, meant that my clumsiness around him had increased. I’d lucked out by not having a bruise on my forehead from running straight into the door, but as I turned and almost knocked over a tray of shortbread cookies, I took a breath and steadied myself.

I hadn’t been prepared for Alexander in a kilt.

It was like when I played a video game and accessed a new level I hadn’t even known existed.

Alexander in his flannel and fitted jeans, climbing up ladders and hanging up lights, had been sexy. Alexander in a nubby gray sweater, with a kilt and thick-soled boots? Jessica would book a ticket on the spot if I sent her a photo of him. He’d gone from the friendly neighborhood bird nerd to the type of man that would turn heads on the street and stop conversations when he walked into a room.

“You’re staring.”

Jolting, I turned to glare down at Esther, who wore green velvet pants and a red sweatshirt that said Merry Christmas Stud Puffin over a puffin with an elf hat on.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I had been staring as Alexander had helped a young girl clamber onto a floor pouf so she could better see the window.

“How’s that whole ‘just friends’ thing working out?”

“Fine. Why wouldn’t it be?”

Esther trilled a note in the back of her throat, and I realized I’d need to divert her before she leaned into a cross-examination. I wasn’t ready to talk about my feelings for Alexander. They were my little secret, something to be treasured in the dark, not brought out to the light of day. We’d both been clear that neither of us were ready or willing to have a relationship, and one accidental kiss didn’t change that. At least from my understanding of things. He’d treated me with an easygoing air all week, friendly but not flirty, and I had to presume he’d also put the kiss behind him.

Compartmentalizing for the win. If only I had that ability.

Come to think about it, it seemed that everyone else in my life had that skill. My mom, my co-workers at the discount store who I hadn’t heard from, John. Everyone else in my life had seemed to find it quite easy to walk away from me. As if I’m inconsequential. Well, that was one way to look at things. But not tonight.

“Look, Esther. There’s Edina.” I subtly pointed out the woman who we’d set our sights on matching this evening. She’d just inched her way into the party, clutching her purse and looking like she was ready to bolt at any moment.

“Och, poor lass looks like a deer in headlights. On it.” Without a word, Esther barreled across the room and unceremoniously hooked an arm through Edina’s, dragging her through the crowd of people so she’d be unable to leave easily.

“I suppose that’s one way to do it,” I breathed.

Alone for a moment, I pulled out my phone and snapped a few photos of the party before slipping out front. I wanted to photograph the windows from the outside, particularly because they were lit so beautifully, and add it to my new Highland Hearts social media pages.

For a moment, I was alone, and icy wind danced along my stockings, threatening to blow my skirt up. But I didn’t care. The blast of cold against my skin invigorated me, and a soft thrill of happiness filled me. This place was mine. Happy voices and music spilled into the night air, with snatches of conversations pulled away on the wind. The exterior of the cottage had been transformed into a winter wonderland, and on cue, the music started from the speaker that Alexander had rigged outside the shop.

As Under the Sea began playing, I clapped my hands together, as giddy as a little girl on Christmas Day. Well, never the Christmas Days I’d had growing up, as my mother had more often than not forgotten about the holiday, but what I imagined the feeling would be like.

The main window showcased an enchanting underwater landscape. Faux kelp strands hung from the ceiling, intermixed with shimmering tinsel strands, to make it seem like a sparkly underwater world. Jellyfish, with sparkling tentacles, floated in the air. Between the kelp, underwater creatures danced, each one more sparkly than the next. I’d taken a stand on my pufferfish, and he’d been allowed in with a small Christmas bow tie. A lobster had been decided upon for Santa, and he was tucked inside a conch shell sleigh while being driven by seahorses with antlers on. One corner, a faux coral reef had been created, and on it sat a voluptuous mermaid, wearing a tinsel bra, with Christmas presents strewn around the pile of pearls she sat on. As the song played, the lighting changed, highlighting different corners of the window or flashing in tune to the beat of the song. Propelled by whatever magic Alexander had programmed into it, the conch sleigh moved slowly across the ocean floor, and as the song wound down, sharks in Santa hats sprung from behind the kelp, silly grins painted on their faces. At the very top of the window, a pirate ship dangled, bobbing slowly across the surface of the water.

For an aging book club, a new store owner, and one determined computer programmer—we’d knocked it out of the park.

“Rosie! This is fantastic.”

I turned to find Harper, along with two handsome men, standing behind me.

“Isn’t it? I’m really in awe of how it all came together.”

“No seahorse breasts to be seen,” Harper observed.

“Nope. They managed to navigate that particular hiccup.” We grinned at each other before she turned to the men at her side. “This cutie is Reed, my boyfriend and owner of The Royal Unicorn. And this is his friend Aiden who is visiting from Boston.”

I registered Aiden’s easy smile and interest in his eyes. He was handsome enough but didn’t quite hold a candle to the kilt-wearing programmer inside.

“Are you enjoying your visit?” I asked.

“I am. It’s a beautiful area, and I feel like there’s so much to explore. How do you like living here?”

A funny little jolt hit me.

He was just on holiday, and I might as well have been, having been here for only a week. But it was a world of difference between living here and just visiting. And in such a short time I realized I’d already put down roots.

Esther poked her head out of the door.

“Judges will be here in twenty minutes.”

“Oh, for the windows. Exciting!” Harper clapped her hands and we went to join the party. Two steps into the door, I was stopped by a nervous Edina.

“Can I speak to you?” Edina looked lovely tonight in wide-leg black pants and a soft emerald sweater with pretty pearl buttons. But her eyes were wary.

“Of course.” I nudged her through the crowd and into my flat, closing the door behind us. “What’s going on? How are you?”

“I think … I think this was stupid. The whole thing was a stupid idea. Och, I’m not sure what I was thinking. Signing up for a matchmaking. Stupid, really.” Edina paced, wringing her hands. “I don’t even remember the first thing about dating. How am I supposed to just go on a blind date? I don’t think I can do this. I’ll just take a refund.”

Damn it, I’d hoped to give her a chance with Samuel. He hadn’t arrived yet, from what Esther had told me, and I had been excited to see if my first match would work.

“Sorry, no refunds,” I said, cheerfully, and her head whipped to me.

“What do you mean, no refunds?”

“It’s part of the policy. In the fine print.” I was making this up as I went, but I didn’t get the sense that I’d be able to placate Edina with words that everything would work out. She’d been told that before in her life and it hadn’t.

“Where’s this policy?” Edina demanded. “That’s not fair. What if I don’t want to be matched anymore?”

I shrugged. “Then you just say no when he asks you on a date.”

“He? You have someone for me?” Despite her nerves, curiosity lit her eyes.

“Of course. It’s my job, isn’t it?”

A knock sounded at the door and Esther poked her head in.

“The local paper wants a photo with you before the judges arrive.”

“Oh, wow. Okay. How do I look?” I automatically brushed my hands down my outfit.

“Bonnie,” Edina said, and Esther agreed.

I’d been torn on what to wear that morning, not having much in the way of Christmas-themed clothes, and had settled on a satin slip skirt with a whisper-soft cashmere sweater in red that hugged my curves. I’d teased my hair into bouncy curls and hung sparkly drops at my ears. I’d slicked on red lipstick that matched my sweater exactly and felt pretty good about myself.

Breezing past the crowd, I caught a brief smile from Alexander before I ducked outside and posed for the photographer in front of the bookshop. My bookshop . The very thought thrilled me.

Even more so that I’d been inspired to pull out my own languishing manuscript and start editing what I’d written. The bones of the story were good, but I had so much more to add now. Ideas swirled in my brain, and I’d started waking up earlier than usual just to spend some time alone with my manuscript in the morning.

So many changes in such a short time. At some point, I knew I needed to process all of this on a cellular and emotional level, but for now, I was just riding the high of discovering a whole new life waiting for me that felt like me turning a key to unlock a door.

“Famous already,” Alexander said at my back, as the photographer waved goodbye. Turning, I grinned up at him. We hadn’t had much chance to speak once the party had kicked off even though I found my eyes straying to him more than once.

“You can say you knew me when.” I flipped my hair over my shoulder.

“Aren’t I the lucky one? Will you still talk to us plebs when you’re known around the world?” His smile reached his eyes now, much less forced than it had been the first time I’d met him. It seemed he was becoming better at socializing, at least from what I could tell, as his somewhat tense demeanor had eased some under the Book Bitches’ constant yammering this week. Once you got over how terrifying they were, it was surprisingly easy to be around the women. You could talk or not talk. It didn’t matter much to them as they would just chatter right over you. I found myself tuning out of their conversations as much as I joined them.

“I’ll consider it.” Looking him up and down, I gave him an approving nod. “You, sir, look smashing tonight. ”

“Och, thanks.” Alexander glanced down at his kilt and shrugged. “Figured it was festive enough.”

“It works.”

A look passed between us, and I couldn’t help but think about the last time we’d stood in this spot, and how his lips had inspired many a naughty dream that week.

Car doors slammed and I turned to see a group of men and women, all with clipboards, approach.

“Oh, this must be the judges. Can you get the ladies?” I squeezed Alexander’s arm before turning to greet the group of judges. The door swung open behind me and the women clambered out, silent for once, as I explained the concept.

“Hello, welcome to Highland Hearts. This week’s window concept was Under the Sea.” I raised a hand and Alexander started the song.

A sound of approval came from the judges as the lights danced and twinkled, the conch shell moved, and the sharks darted among the kelp. At the end of it, they made notes on their clipboards before stepping closer to look at the figurines.

“Also, we’re having an open house party, and you’re all welcome to stop in for a drink and some food.”

The judges looked among each other and then bent to converse among themselves. One popped his head up.

“We’d love to pop in. But just for a moment.” With that, they put their clipboards back in their car and wandered into the shop for a chat. Esther punched my arm.

“Ow!” I glared at her.

“Good thinking. Bribe them with treats. I’ve got Shannon ready to serve them the best banoffee pudding they’ve ever tasted.”

“I’m not bribing them. I’m just being friendly.”

“Uh-huh. I know a bribe when I see one. Speaking of friendly, Samuel just arrived, and we need to figure out, you know.” Esther opened her eyes wide and made exaggerated gestures toward the man who looked at us in confusion from the sidewalk.

“Should I be aware of something?” Samuel asked, and I pasted my customer service smile on, pushing Esther aside with a little more force than necessary. She was older, but she was strong. She could take it.

“Just an interpretive dance move she’s been working on. Come in, come in.” I ushered Samuel past a glaring Esther and inside. “How was your day today?”

“Och, well enough I suppose. No major dramas among my employees and everything ran fairly smoothly with the customers, so I call that a win.” He wore a cheerful smile and was dressed nicely in straight leg jeans and a fitted black sweater.

“I think that’s all we can hope for in retail, right? I’m assuming that’s what you’re in?”

“Och, apologies. Of course you wouldn’t know. I’m Samuel and I manage the local Tesco. Just up the road.”

“Welcome to Highland Hearts. I appreciate you stopping by. Here, have a seat and I’ll grab you a drink.”

“Don’t mind if I do. Been on my feet since six this morning.” Samuel sat down in one of the turquoise velvet chairs tucked in a corner and I went to get him a beer and search for Edina. By the time I’d grabbed the beer, because people stopped me every two seconds for a chat, I hadn’t been able to find Edina. Damn it. I hoped she hadn’t snuck out.

Returning to Samuel, I gasped as I walked through the crowd just in time to see Esther hip-check Edina so hard the woman went flying onto Samuel’s lap. He grabbed Edina, pulling her close so she wouldn’t fall, and the two locked eyes.

“Esther,” I hissed, my eyebrows at my hairline. “What are you doing?”

“Just helping love along,” Esther whispered.

“You can’t do that,” I gritted out between a forced smile.

“Just did.” Esther cooed and waved at Edina. “So sorry, dear. I just don’t see as well these days. Samuel, you’re so sweet to catch her. Have you two met?”

About as transparent as a shower door.

“Go get Edina a drink.” I elbowed her.

“You get her a drink,” Esther said.

“If she has a drink, she’ll stay longer,” I mumbled, still smiling.

Esther finally left and I let out a shaky sigh of relief. This was my first match, and I wasn’t letting Esther take it away from me.

“I’m Edina,” Edina said and made a move to get off his lap. He held her still.

“Samuel.”

The moment drew out and I wasn’t sure if I should slowly melt back into the crowd when Samuel jolted and seemed to realize he was holding a strange woman on his lap at a party.

“Och, apologies. I should let you get down. It isn’t often a bonnie lass such as yourself lands in my lap.”

“Oh, well, aren’t you sweet?” A flush of pleasure crossed Edina’s face as she eased herself off his lap and into the chair next to him. She glanced up at me and I widened my eyes, giving her a subtle nod in Samuel’s direction. Recognition flooded her face, and she gave me a quick nod of understanding back.

“Your drink.” I handed Samuel his drink just as Esther returned with a glass of wine for Edina. Blessedly, seeing the two ready for a chat, Esther didn’t interrupt other than to hand off the wine, and we both faded silently back into the crowd.

“I did it,” Esther crowed, turning to me in delight.

“ We did it,” I pointed out, annoyed.

“Yeah, yeah. If I had waited on you, those two would be walking with a cane before they met.”

“He’s been in the shop for all of ten seconds, Esther.”

“Excuse me, are you Rosie?”

I turned to find the woman who had the two children that Alexander had been playing with earlier. A pretty woman with tired eyes, she glanced around nervously.

“I am. How may I help you?”

The woman wet her lips and then took a deep breath, and then another, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a twenty-pound note.

Esther shouldered me aside and honestly, the woman’s strength was astounding. I took a step back in order not to fall.

“Is it the Highland Hearts Special you’re wanting? Best to talk to me.” Esther tapped her chest. “I’m the expert.”

“You are not the expert,” I said, trying to step in front of Esther. “Ignore her.”

“I set them up, didn’t I? Look how well that’s going.” Esther jerked a thumb toward the new couple who were laughing over their drinks.

“Oh, well, yes, that does look nice. It’s just?—”

“What’s your name?” Esther asked.

“Oh, right. I’m Sarah.”

“Hi, Sarah. Don’t let this one steamroll you. She’s an aggressive ambassador of love.”

“Hey, I like that. I’m going to put that on a jumper.” Esther smacked my arm.

“I don’t know if I can find love. Not again.” Sarah fingered a slim chain at her throat. “I, uh, lost my husband when I was pregnant with my youngest. Motorcycle accident. That was four years ago. I’m not sure?—”

“You can be unsure but still try,” Esther said, patting the woman’s arm. “Maybe it will stick, maybe it won’t. But you won’t know unless you give it a go.”

“It feels wrong.” A shimmer of tears hit her eyes.

“Nobody expects you to live a life without love, Sarah. That’s just foolish talk.”

“Oh.” Sarah blinked at Esther as though she’d just given her a secret code. “Really?”

“Really. Now, let’s get the goods. What’s your favorite book? What are you looking for?”

I gaped as Esther just drew Sarah away to a corner and grilled her. What the heck? Wasn’t I supposed to be the matchmaker here?

“Great place you have here.” I turned from glaring after Esther to see Harper’s friend, Aiden.

“Thank you. It’s new to me, but I’m loving it so far.” He had friendly eyes and a nice smile.

“Would you like to get a drink later? Or tomorrow?”

“Oh.” Surprised, I did a double take. I hadn’t really been expecting to be asked out, particularly by a man here for just a vacation, but then paused to consider. Could he be a no-strings-attached fling that moved me past my last relationship? Maybe. Maybe he could. I knew Jessica would be pushing me out the door with him as we spoke. Thinking of her made me smile. Esther and Jessica had a lot in common.

“Sure, I’d like that.” I didn’t know if I was feeling impulsive, or just willing myself to go on new adventures, but a drink with a handsome man wouldn’t hurt. Plus, it would put the town off the rumors of Alexander and me being a couple.

“Great, I’ll give you my number?”

We exchanged numbers and Harper pulled him away to show him something. Looking up, I caught Alexander staring at me across the room, his face a mask. When he turned away, my heart twisted.

Had I done something wrong? I thought we were just meant to be friends. Uncertain now, I blinked as the speaker switched from Christmas music to Dangerous Game by Kylie Minogue.

“I’m not playing games,” I hissed at the speaker and then realized I was still in a room crowded with people. I honestly wasn’t a game player, but it was nice to be asked out. I’d never felt particularly amazing while dating John, so to be kissed by a hot Scotsman and then asked out on a date by a cute American…well, it was flattering. And I was allowed to have fun. Right. This is okay, Rosie. Gathering myself, I scooped up a glass of wine and pasted a customer service smile on my face.

“Cherise. Tell me what your secret is for these shortbread cookies? They’re delicious.”