Chapter 3 #2
“Ugh, they’re talking about books.” Angus wrinkled his nose as he opened the picnic basket.
“You used to love books.”
“They’re for geeks.” He shrugged, grabbing a sandwich. “What’s on this?”
“Your favorite. Cheese and pickle. And books aren’t for geeks.”
“Kyle says they are. He says cool people don’t read books.” He took a massive bite of the sandwich.
Who the fuck was Kyle? I thought Angus’s best mates were Aaron and Aidan. Angus was on the Oban’s under 13s field hockey team with them. I called them the Triple As, which made them giggle every time. “You know what truly cool people do?”
Angus shrugged and shook his head.
“Cool people don’t care what other people think about the things they like and do. A truly cool person is someone who is confident enough to be themselves.”
“Like you?”
“Pfft, Dad’s not cool.”
At Heather’s snarky tone, I turned and then froze.
Taran stood awkwardly at my daughter’s side, hovering beside the picnic blanket I’d just laid out. “If there’s one thing your dad has always been, it’s truly himself.”
Taran’s words surprised me.
Heather looked between us. “You knew each other, right?” She knew we did. I’d taken my kids to Isla’s funeral because they’d spent lots of time with her over the years. They’d grieved her too. Heather had asked me about Taran over the years, and I’d mentioned we’d been friends years ago.
“Right.” Taran shifted on her feet. “Anyway, I should go.”
“No, I invited you to picnic with us.” Heather turned to me, expression wary. “That’s okay, right?”
“Of course.” I nodded, even though my heart banged in my chest at the thought of spending time with Taran.
I’d tried over the past year to make some inroads with her.
After deciding to back off, I’d then found out she was no longer engaged, and Ramsay had encouraged me to try with her again.
While she’d softened ever so slightly since New Year’s, she hadn’t made any overtures toward me.
She’d been civil but not overly friendly when we did meet.
After the new year, I started going back into her shop for my coffee, and she hadn’t told me to stop. But any conversation I attempted fell flat. Or she’d hide in the back room until I left the store.
I realized I was staring at her and cleared my throat. “Eh, we’ve got plenty of food. From the bakery.”
“Please,” Heather pleaded.
“Okay.” Taran gave her a wobbly smile. “I can’t resist the bakery.”
Leth Sholas Bakery & Tearoom was owned by an Australian couple—Harry and Bryan Weaver. They moved to Glenvulin around eight years ago and their business took off quite quickly because their food was fucking amazing.
Taran sat on the opposite side of the blanket from where I stood, but Heather took the spot I was planning to take, forcing me to sit next to my ex.
The tension radiated off Taran.
It was hard not to look at her. Anytime she was in my vicinity, I found myself studying her, checking for physical indicators of her mental well-being.
I knew Isla’s death had hit her like a wrecking ball.
Yet, with the sun shining on her face, Taran’s skin had some color, and she looked better rested.
Her high cheekbones weren’t as sharp as they had been a few months ago.
“What’s romantasy?” I asked after I’d doled out the rest of the sandwiches in an attempt to break the palpable tension between me and Taran.
“They’re kissing books,” Angus piped up, shooting his sister a disgusted look. “But worse.”
Taran choked on a snort of amusement.
I quirked an eyebrow. “What does worse mean?”
Heather mirrored my expression but toward her brother. “Aye, Angus. What does worse mean?”
“I dunno.” He shrugged, mumbling around a bite of food. He swallowed. “I just heard Gary say they were kissing books but worse.” Angus referred to their stepfather.
Scowling at what that probably meant, I opened my mouth to question my daughter, but Taran cut me off. “Romantasy is fantasy and romance put together. It just means they’re fantasy books that are heavy on the romance.”
For a moment, I just stared at her.
Taran Macbeth was talking to me. Actually having a conversation with me. It took me a minute to respond. “And by romance, you mean …”
Her full lips twitched, pressing together lushly in a way that was very, very distracting. My gaze dropped to her mouth for perhaps a moment too long because Taran suddenly swallowed nervously and looked away to take a bite out of her sandwich.
I dragged my attention back to Heather.
She studied me and Taran. Then she grinned cockily. “It means the characters fall in love and have hot sex, Dad. The books have hot sex in them.”
“Aw, yuck!” Angus wrinkled his nose. “Don’t ruin this sandwich for me.”
No one was surprised Angus knew what sex referred to. When you grew up on an island where farm animals could be spotted copulating outside your window, you learned these things quickly.
At Taran’s chuckle, my son grinned.
Taran sucked in a breath suddenly and gave Angus a pained smile in return.
I wondered at that response. Wanted desperately to know what was going on in her head.
“So, Taran, do you miss Glasgow?” Heather asked, changing the subject before I could grill her more about her reading material. It was hard for me to reconcile my wee girl was technically not a wee girl anymore. “I mean, I think I’d find it really hard to come back here after living in the city.”
Those words hurt because I would have given anything for my kids to want to live and work in Leth Sholas. I wanted its simple attractions to appeal to them as much as it did to me.
I wanted my kids to want to be near me.
Just like I’d wanted Taran to want the same thing all those years ago.
Frankly, I wasn’t sure I could bear to hear her answer my daughter’s question.