Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
LEWIS
The piercing cries of a baby sound over the cheerful Scottish folk music that plays at reception to welcome guests to the Bannock Hotel.
“I’m so sorry about this.” Emily’s rather frazzled voice reaches me back in the office. “There, there, Ru, you’re okay. Now, ladies, I’ll just grab your keys and then—”
I put on my best managerial smile and step out to the front desk. “Welcome to Bannock,” I say to the two fifty-something women standing on the other side. To Emily, my sister-in-law and colleague, I suggest, “Why don’t I take over from here?”
As she bounces and soothes my nephew, Ru, she shoots me a disapproving look. She doesn’t like it when I “interfere”. Luckily, our guests don’t notice her irritation because their focus is on me.
“Well, look at you!”
“A sight for sore eyes—and that accent! It’s to die for.”
Both women are American—from Texas, possibly, or somewhere in the South anyway.
“Say, did you pose for a calendar of topless men in kilts?”
“Er . . . no.”
“Oh. I picked one up in a gift shop yesterday and I swear you’re the spitting image of Mr July.”
The second woman nods excitedly. “He is! Show him, Barbara. Go on!”
Before I can stop her, Barbara unzips her suitcase and rummages through it. “Wait till you see this. He’s just like you!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Emily smirking as she continues to comfort Ru. His sobs have reduced to sad little sniffles.
Barbara slaps a calendar down on the reception desk and flips through it until she reaches July. She then proudly displays it for me and Emily to see.
Under the sun, an axe-wielding Highlander wipes sweat from his brow, a pile of chopped wood on the ground beside him.
“Isn’t he your doppelg?nger?”
“Er... I’m not sure I see the resemblance myself.”
I can only assume Barbara’s gaze is distracted by the drops of sweat trickling down the man’s bare chest. His face is nothing like mine.
Barbara’s friend thinks otherwise. “You see it, don’t you?” she says, turning to Emily. “The likeness to your husband is uncanny.”
“Oh, Lewis isn’t my husband. I’m actually married to his older brother, Ally.”
Barbara rests her arms on the desk and leans closer to me. “Does that mean you’re still on the market? Because I’m recently divorced and wouldn’t mind a Scottish boy toy to spice up my vacation.”
Her companion bursts into laughter and claps her hands together.
I chuckle, perhaps a little nervously. “That’s quite the offer. Unfortunately, unlike my brother, who started dating Emily here while she was visiting, I adhere to a strict code that forbids relationships with guests, no matter how attractive they are.”
“Then you’ll just have to quit your job,” Barbara shoots back with a wink. “Trust me, I’m worth it.”
This sets her friend off again.
I grin. “I can’t do that, but what I can do is carry your cases upstairs for you. I’ll lead the way.”
The two women follow behind me and compliment me regularly on my strength and muscles—plus I overhear an approving whisper about my “ass”. I ignore their flattery, although I can’t help but wish Iona had shown a bit of appreciation earlier when I was helping her out. Instead, she’d remained indifferent the whole time, even while dumping a second box of books on top of the one I was already carrying.
I decline a last-ditch suggestion from Barbara that I join her in her room (I think she’s just having a laugh but I’m honestly not sure) then head back down to reception. “Those two are going to be trouble,” I mutter to Emily. “We should come up with a safe word in case I need you to rescue me from them.”
“If you’d stayed in the office rather than sticking your nose in, you wouldn’t need rescuing. I was getting on fine.”
“Sorry, you’re right.”
Emily used to be a wedding planner in London and thrived on creating the perfect day for her wealthy clients. She understands better than anyone the importance of getting every detail just right and so is well aware that a crying baby isn’t the first impression we want to give guests of the Bannock Hotel. She knows it, I know it—but I also know I’d get my head bitten off were I to say it out loud.
Ru whimpers again so I reach out and tickle his belly in an attempt to cheer him up. The way I see it, Emily wants to apply the same perfectionism to the hotel that she did to her wedding-planning business, but she also wants the very best for her son, and at times those demands come into conflict. That’s why I’m always happy to step in and help where I can, and yet... it irritates Emily when I do. I’m not sure what the solution is.
Ru’s cries get worse, so—with a sigh—Emily announces she’s going to put him down for a nap. I smile and nod, judging that to be the safest response.
The pair of them have barely left when my younger brother, Jamie, strolls in from the snug—that’s what we call the hotel’s bar area. He leans against the reception desk, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“One minute you’re tripping over your own feet in your rush to welcome Iona, the next you’re chatting up older women. You’re coming across a bit desperate, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t ask you, and anyway, if you overheard that conversation, you must also have heard Ru crying. Didn’t it occur to you to maybe step in and help? I was in the middle of something in the office, and I bet the snug isn’t busy right now.”
“There’s not a single customer,” Jamie agrees. “I was thinking of coming to help, but I was actually at this really important bit in a game I was playing, so...”
I shake my head. Jamie and his bloody video games.
“Anyway, you’ve missed the boat with Iona,” he adds. “She and Richard have moved in together and have new jobs lined up—they’re settling down. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pops the question soon.”
This hits me like a blow to the gut. Are things that serious between them? I suppose they have been seeing each other for a while, but surely they’re not thinking of marriage?
“They’ve not really moved in together,” I protest. “They’re just staying with Elspeth for now.” But even I can hear what a shallow objection this is.
Shit. Even if marriage isn’t on the cards yet, it probably will be at some point, and that terrifies me.
I check the clock. The restaurant doesn’t open for dinner for another few hours.
“I’m going to the gym,” I say. “Seeing as the snug is quiet, you can keep an eye on it and reception.”
I head up to my room to get my things. While throwing a T-shirt and shorts into a bag, I can’t resist glancing out my window and there she is, in the house opposite. She and Richard are unpacking.
Growing up, Iona and I would wave at each other through our windows or fix messages to them. Every year on my birthday, I’d leap out of bed and yank open my curtains to see what poster she’d designed for me—she always worked so hard on it.
As I reminisce, Iona turns and catches me looking. I raise a hand in greeting but she frowns.
Shit. Gone are the days of innocently communicating with each other from our bedrooms. Now she probably just thinks I’m a creep.
I throw my bag over my shoulder, go down to the car, then set off for the Glen Garve Resort, a much larger hotel situated in extensive grounds a short distance from Bannock. Technically a competitor of our own family-run business, it has fantastic leisure facilities, and although they’re mainly intended for the resort’s guests, there are membership options for locals. I’m a frequent visitor to the gym—it’s my sanctuary, a place I can lose myself.
After my warm-up, I head for the squat rack, select a barbell, and load it with plates. I position the bar across my shoulders, take a few deep breaths, then begin my first set of squats.
I never put in earphones while lifting. Instead, I focus on my breathing, which gets heavier as I work up a sweat. Normally, I find peace in the exertion and enter an almost meditative state. Today, though, I can’t chase thoughts of Iona from my mind.
When we were younger, we’d spend all day together, never tiring of each other. We’d share everything—there was nothing I didn’t know about her, nor she about me. We haven’t been like that for so long. Not since—
No, it’s too painful to think about that, even after all these years. I was such a fool back then.
After my squats, I move on to lunges, thoughts of Iona still lingering. Now she’s returned to Bannock, I’ll constantly be reminded of what I did, and that’s going to be torture. To make life bearable, I have to patch things up with her.
There’s no chance of anything romantic between us—I’ve come to terms with that, even though Iona is the only woman I’ve ever truly wanted. But maybe, just maybe, I can win her back as a friend.
The least I can do is try.