Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Rosie
“ Y ou here to pick up some birds?” a man sitting at a table just inside the door asked Alexander. He then laughed uproariously at his joke, slapping his knee.
“I could be available.” Cherise blew Alexander a kiss and he cleared his throat.
“He’s showing me the pub because I’m new in town,” I interjected hastily. “And the birdseed is for my birds. I want to hang a feeder outside the shop.”
“Och, you’re the new girl then. For Moira’s shop. I’m Gregory. An honorary Book Bitch.” Gregory shook my hand and I smiled at him. He must be something if the book club let him join.
“Gregory helped save the pub last year,” Shannon explained from where she sat at the table next to him with the rest of the women. “We love him.”
“Och, stop it.” Gregory blushed and buried his face in his newspaper.
“What are you two doing coming in for a drink together?” Meredith asked, looking us both up and down, a gleam in her eye.
“Nope. None of that.” I waved my finger at the table. “We’re just friends. I asked him to come in here with me so I could feel comfortable inviting people to my party.”
“Oh, so you are having a party? Smart.” Esther nodded her approval, raising her glass of wine in the air. “When is it?”
“This weekend. Saturday. I’m going to have an open house party. I hope everyone can make it.”
“I’ll bake cookies,” Cherise said.
“I’ll make a signature drink,” Meredith decided.
“I’ll bring snacks,” Shannon promised with a wave.
“Wait, you don’t have to bring anything. I’m sure I can figure it out.”
“It’s not a bother.” Esther waved a hand in the air. “We love doing this stuff.”
“Rosie?” Alexander called from where he’d abandoned me to the Book Bitches and now stood at the bar.
“Be right back.” I crossed the small pub, which was everything I wanted it to be. Charming tartan-backed chairs, a cozy fire, stone walls with black and white photos, and twinkle lights already strung along the wood beams in the ceiling. A gleaming wood bar, backed by a wall with a mirror and glass shelves lined with bottles, was tucked at one end, and there Alexander spoke to a pretty woman tending bar.
“So much for being my friend,” I hissed to Alexander. “You abandoned me.”
“Sorry, I panicked as soon as they brought up dating. I’ll try and be stronger next time.” Alexander grinned and then gestured to the woman behind the bar. “Harper, meet Rosie. Rosie took over the Highland Hearts bookshop.”
“Oh yay! Another American here. And on a new adventure, just like me.” Harper beamed at me, and I smiled back, enjoying her warmth and welcoming demeanor.
“You know what? I was ready for a big adventure. I’d been too settled into a boring life for too long. And what an adventure! A new country, a new store? I’m over the moon.”
Harper beamed at me, but I caught Alexander wincing. He gave me an unreadable look before turning away and clearing his throat, again. That was odd.
“Well if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. But I’ve heard the Book Bitches have already set up shop.”
“They kind of just take over, don’t they?” I laughed.
“Don’t try and fight them.” Harper shook her head, her long braid dancing behind her. “They’re an impossible force of nature. But they did help me get this pub put to rights.”
“How do you like running it?” I asked, settling on a stool .
A soft meow was the only warning I had before a cat butted its head against my arm.
“Oh, well hello, sir.” A tabby cat blinked up at me with soulful eyes before insisting on more attention.
“That’s our wee warrior kitten, Wallace. Though he’s not quite a kitten anymore.”
“What’s a warrior kitten?” I asked, scratching behind his ears. “Does he catch all the mice?”
“He’s absolutely horrible at catching mice. In fact, I think his favorite thing is to sleep all day and then terrorize us by running in laps around the flat at three in the morning.”
“Maybe he’s catching all the ghosts.”
Harper glanced to a picture frame in front of an empty stool and then back to me.
Interesting.
“What can I get you?”
“A glass of red is fine if you have it. Cab or Malbec works.”
“So you’re big on adventure, huh?” Alexander asked as Harper went to fill my drink. His voice was steady, but I got the sense that I was missing something.
“Well, this is a big adventure for me. I needed to shake my life up and I did.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a small life.” Alexander’s voice was low, and the words were pitched into his pint glass.
“I never said there was. But it was time for a change. That’s all.” I was missing some sort of undercurrent here, I was sure of it.
“What happens when you move on? To the next adventure?”
“Based on my track record, I’d say I have a good ten years or so before I consider something of that nature. Assuming I can make this bookselling gig financially profitable for me that is.”
“Here you go. First one’s on the house.” Harper beamed at me over the glass of wine.
“Aww, thank you. I’d like to invite you to my open house party I’m having this weekend. I’ll stay open later than usual, if you want to invite other people in town. I figured telling people at the pub would be the quickest way to get the word out.”
“I’ll pop over before my shift and will spread the word. It doesn’t take much to get news to people here.” Harper grinned, leaning on the bar.
“Was that an adjustment for you or do you come from a small town?”
Wallace batted at my glass, trying to dip his paw in my wine, and I snatched it out of his reach.
“Sir. Rude.” Harper tapped his forehead and he gave her a look as though to say he knew he was being cheeky and did not care in the slightest. “And it was an adjustment, living in a small town. But one that I found I welcomed quickly. I guess I’d been missing community is all.”
“And why is he a warrior kitten?”
Harper’s grin widened. “My boyfriend had me convinced that the Scots carried kittens into battle in their sporrans. ”
At that, Alexander huffed out a laugh.
“Is the sporran the purse thing around the waist?”
“It is not a purse, lass.” Alexander groaned and pinched his nose.
“Hey, Rosie!” I turned as Esther called my name. The pub was almost full, and everyone looked at me expectantly. My eyebrows lifted.
“Yes?”
“If you had to put clothes on a seahorse, in this case, a Santa suit, which end would you put it on?”
My mouth dropped open and Alexander laughed outright this time.
“Oh, here we go,” Harper murmured at my back.
“Seahorses don’t have arms, do they?” I asked.
“Nope. Just little fins to propel them,” Meredith said, squinting at her phone.
“So if you put them in a coat, they wouldn’t be able to swim?” I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation.
“That’s what I said,” Esther said.
“But their tail is kind of curly. You’d just put a one-legged trouser on them instead then?” Shannon looked up at the ceiling as she considered.
“Wouldn’t that be a maxi skirt then?” Cherise asked.
“You can’t put a seahorse in a Santa maxi skirt,” Esther said, her hand at her throat, appalled.
“What if it is a she? Mrs. Claus?” Cherise argued.
“Did you know that the male seahorses carry the babies?” Gregory asked.
“See? The woman is the one leaving the house and going to work while the man cares for the babies. That means she should get a Santa skirt,” Cherise said.
“You want the seahorse in a skirt and no top?” Meredith asked. “What about, you know, her breasts?” Meredith held her hands in the air in front of her chest, as though we needed an explanation of what breasts were.
“I don’t think seahorses have breasts,” I said, wheezing with laughter.
“What about just a cap?” Alexander volunteered. “No outfit, just a cap. That way the seahorse can swim and yet is still in a festive spirit.”
The Book Bitches looked at him, horrified.
“You want the seahorse to be naked? With just a Santa cap? What is this, Magic Mike ?” Esther demanded.
“I have no idea how to answer that,” Alexander hissed at my ear.
“Maybe you could hang some Christmas lights around its neck? Or tinsel?” I suggested.
“Hmm. Tinsel could work. Covering all the naughty bits.” Shannon gave me an approving look.
“I seriously don’t think they show any naughty bits,” I said, my shoulders shaking with the laughter I was trying to keep inside.
“We can’t get docked points for flashing seahorse privates to the judges.” Esther glared at the room. Everyone nodded as though this made perfect sense.
“I’m never going to look at seahorses the same.”
“And this, my new friend, is what makes small-town life never dull.” Harper laughed behind me .
“What about a pufferfish?” I suggested. “They might look cute with a Santa hat.”
“And how am I going to get a Santa jacket on him? His spikes will rip the material.” Shannon spoke as though she was actually going to be wrangling a pufferfish into a Santa costume.
“Right, of course. My mistake.”
“Maybe a crab or lobster should be Santa?” Alexander suggested. “Since they’re already red?”
“Ohhhh.” The entire pub took a collective sigh of relief, many sending Alexander nods of approval.
“I think you might have just saved Christmas,” I whispered from the side of my mouth.
“But what about the seahorses?” Cherise’s face fell.
“Could they be reindeer maybe? With antlers and little saddles?” I asked, and the room exploded with enthusiasm. I even got a few claps for my suggestion. “Why do I feel like I just won an award?”
“Let’s just say that people tend to get very fixated on the small things here,” Harper said.
“I can see that.” A wave of sleepiness hit me, and I realized I’d been awake since before dawn that morning. “I think I need to go. As exciting as this discussion is, I’m still adjusting to this time zone.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Alexander said.
“You don’t have to.” I nodded to his half-finished pint. “It’s fine if you want to finish it.”
Alexander drained the rest of the pint in one gulp and my eyes widened.
“Don’t leave me here with them.”
“Message received.” I waited as Alexander settled up and we stopped by the Book Bitches on the way out.
“Oh, both of you are leaving at the same time?” Esther blinked coyly at me.
“Yes, that’s what people do when they finish their drinks,” I pointed out.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Goodnight. Everyone, please stop by for my open house party this Saturday. The shop will be open all day, but I’ll stay open after hours for drinks and snacks to get to know everyone better,” I said to the pub and everyone waved us off, seemingly happy with their window design planning.
When Alexander turned toward the shop, I looked up at him. His eyes gleamed in the light spilling from the windows at the pub.
“You don’t have to walk me from here. It’s right around the corner.”
“It’s my job.”
“You take this friend thing seriously.” I fell into step next to him as we walked along the silent street. It was so quiet here. At home there would have been cars whizzing past, horns sounding, and likely a siren or two in the background. But here, I could just faintly hear the ocean in the distance, and the wind rustling the branches of a cluster of trees as we walked.
“I don’t have many of them anymore.”
“Lose some in the divorce?” I guessed and then clapped a hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business. ”
“Och, it’s fine, lass. And yes, I did lose some in the divorce. I guess they weren’t much my friends anyway.”
“Well, quality over quantity is what is important.” I bumped his shoulder with mine as we stopped in front of the door to the shop. “Buddy.”
“Mate.”
I looked up at him, my heart tripping over his word.
“Mate?”
“We call them mates here. My mates. Not my buddy.”
“Ah, oh, right. Okay, well, goodnight, mate.” I stretched up on my toes to give his cheek a kiss just as a small bang sounded from inside the shop. Alexander turned toward it, and our lips met.
Holy …
Desire raced through me. One moment, I was chilled from the icy wind, and the next I was burning hot. I’d never had someone light me up inside before, not from a single kiss, and I moaned softly at his lips.
When I realized what I was doing, I made to step back, embarrassment already creeping up, threatening to replace desire, when he wrapped a hand around the back of my neck and angled my head, deepening the kiss.
And with that simple act, Alexander forever eradicated the notion that awkward computer programmers with strained social skills wouldn’t be sexy as hell. Because this man kissed like he knew every one of my hidden secrets, as though he’d dipped into my darkest desires and flipped a light on, causing every nerve ending on my body to stand up and shout in excitement. When his other arm came around my waist, pulling me against his body, I took the opportunity to thread my hands through his thick hair.
He didn’t just kiss. He devoured. He tasted.
He played.
It wasn’t just a kiss. It was a dance. Our tongues met, tasting, licking, teasing each other, and I moaned against his lips. I wanted more. So much more.
When we broke apart, panting, I waved my hands in front of my face.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just meant to kiss you on the cheek. I didn’t mean…”
“I know. I heard a noise. It was an accident.”
I didn’t know anyone who accidentally fell into a full make-out session like that, but I decided to let him off easily. We’d agreed to be friends, hadn’t we?
“Yup, an accident. It happens. Right. I’d better see what that bang was from inside.” Turning, I put my hand on the knob and ran straight into the door, hitting my forehead against the wood, because—duh—I hadn’t unlocked the door yet.
“Oh shite. Are you all right then? Here, let me look.”
“Fine. I’m totally fine. Really. Thanks for walking me home, mate.” I wasn’t sure what burned harder, the knot already forming on my head or the embarrassment in my cheeks, and I quickly unlocked the door, hoping to slip inside so I could die of shame in peace and quiet.
“Rosie. Wait.”
Was he calling me back? Hope lifted inside me, but when I turned, he was just holding up the bag of birdseed.
“Oh right. For my wanker-free birds.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Alexander squinted at my forehead. “Should I get some ice?”
“It’s fine. Really. I’m just tired and clumsy and, right, just yeah. I’m done for the day.”
“Goodnight. Sleep well, Rosie.”
“Safe walk home and all that.” I waved him away, closing the door and locking it quickly behind me. Leaning my back against it, I closed my eyes, embarrassment flooding me.
The speaker switched on and the song Clumsy by Fergie burst out.
“Oh, you too? Lovely. Just lovely .” Grumbling, I went to find some ice to nurse my head.
I wasn’t sure what to put on my injured pride though.