Chapter 12
Twelve
SKYE
New Year’s Eve started with towels and ended with a kidnapping.
Christmas had passed, quiet and gentle, with an empty inn and a relaxed dinner by the seaside at Rosie and Alexander’s place. They had two pet puffins, Neeps and Tattie, that more than cheered up the gloom that had clung to my shoulders since Noah left.
It was almost impossible not to smile when the two small birds made a noise that sounded like a drunk man laughing softly to himself.
We’d had an easy Christmas with just Harper and Reed joining us, before they went to open the pub for anyone who needed a break from family or a place to celebrate with others.
I wondered what Noah was doing for Christmas.
Bloody hell, but I missed him.
More than I wanted to admit.
Even though this time was different.
Because Noah was texting me, nonstop. At first, I tried to ignore it, but he just kept texting. For a man who had an aversion to his phone, he’d suddenly seemed to discover it as his favorite way to communicate. He’d send pictures, silly jokes, or lyrics half-finished, asking for my opinion.
Sometimes I responded. Sometimes I left him on read. My heart didn’t know what to think about it, so I kept my walls up, though he was slowly building a door.
By mid-morning on New Year’s Eve, I had the laundry turned over, the scones made for tea, and a quiet house that felt a size too big.
I had two rooms booked with short stays, and though I’d normally be full over the holidays, I was grateful for any bookings I could get.
I moved through rooms checking small things because that’s what I did when my brain didn’t want to sit still.
Extra tea bags in the blue room. Matches on the mantel.
Fresh shortbread on the tray by the kettle.
Every task took the edge off for five minutes and then the edge returned.
By late afternoon, I was ready to settle in with a good book, when the front bell rang like someone meant it.
I opened the door to find Esther, Meredith, and Shannon on the step, lined up like a firing squad in winter coats and smug smiles.
Cherise stood behind them holding a garment bag and a plastic tub of makeup.
“Happy Hogmanay,” Esther announced. “We’ve brought your sparkle. You’re coming out.”
“No, I most certainly am not,” I said. “I have guests.”
“You have one German couple who are up at Kingsbarns for a fancy meal and a woman named Eileen who has already told me she intends to be asleep by half past nine,” Esther said. “We checked on our way over.”
“You checked my guest list?”
“We checked with Eileen,” Meredith said. “She’s my second cousin. She snores like a tractor and won’t hear a cannon.”
“Skye,” Shannon added gently, “you need a night where you wear something silly and eat food you didn’t make.”
“I’m not in the mood,” I said. Understatement. My mood had sat down on the floor and refused to put on shoes.
“That’s why we’re here,” Esther said, already stepping across the threshold. “Fetch your lipstick and your spine.”
They didn’t ask permission to come in. They took off their coats and moved like a team.
Cherise unzipped the garment bag and revealed a dress.
It was a deep emerald green with sparkles splashed across it and fringe at the hem.
I hated how much I liked it. Where had they even found a dress like that in Kingsbarns?
“What’s the theme?” I asked, because the Book Bitches never did anything without a theme.
“No theme,” Meredith said at the same time Esther said, “Karaoke.”
I leveled a look at Esther. “Haven’t you DJed enough this month?”
“I give the people what they want.” Esther sniffed.
“Where is it?” I asked. I hadn’t heard about the community center being booked out.
“A house outside town,” Esther said.
“Whose house?”
“Come and see,” she said, which was not an answer.
“I’m not playing dress up to sit in a stranger’s lounge.” I put my hands on my hips.
“You need to come. Otherwise we’ll just terrorize you here,” Esther ordered, but then she softened a tad. “If you hate it, we’ll bring you home.”
I looked at all their faces. They had used this same formation on me when the pub needed painting and when they bullied the paparazzi into buying Christmas concert tickets. It worked then. It worked now.
“Fine,” I said. “But I’m not wearing heels.”
“Who wears heels anymore?” Cherise asked. “We’ve earned our comfort, dear.”
They got me into the dress. Cherise did a quick updo that didn’t make me look like I’d tried too hard. Shannon swiped on a lipstick that made me look like I had a pulse. Esther watched the clock and texted furiously.
“Who are you texting?” I finally asked.
“Daniel. If he’s not dressed and ready, he’s going to be in trouble,” Esther said with a sniff.
Piling into two cars, I ended up in the passenger seat of Esther’s small car while Meredith and Shannon argued quietly about whether Mr. Darcy would have worn a kilt to a Scottish ball.
We left the village and took the road skirting the fields that wound along the sea.
It was one of those clear nights where the air bit your nose and the stars looked like ice chips against the inky night sky.
I had lived in Kingsbarns my whole life, and I knew most of the houses, but we turned down a gravel lane I didn’t recognize and rolled up to a set of stone pillars and a gate that looked like it had opinions.
Beyond the gate, a drive curved through trees and delivered us to a long white house with a slate roof and a view that fell away toward the sea.
It was elegant without being posh. Large windows spilled light out onto the front drive and twinkle lights threaded the bushes.
Smoke curled from the chimney and disappeared into the wind.
“This is new,” I said. “Or is it? I’ve never been down this way before.”
“It was renovated a few years back. I think it’s been used as an Airbnb for a while,” Esther said. “It went through a few hands. It’s been empty more than it’s been loved.”
We got out and the cold slapped me in the face, sending a shiver down my back. Something shifted inside me as I looked up at the house, an awareness, and then the door swung open.
“Skye! Don’t you look lovely?” Daniel asked, looking adorable in a waistcoat and bow tie. “Here, let me take your coat.”
Esther leaned in and gave Daniel a smooch before sashaying into the house like she owned it. The others followed, and I was surprised to see several people from around town already chatting away with drinks in their hands.
The room was beautiful with tall windows that faced the sea, a fire roaring in the fireplace, and done up in earthy tones that I imagined would look lovely with the ocean as a backdrop during the day.
“Did you rent this house for the party?” I asked Daniel.
“No,” Daniel said. “Oh, Skye, be a dear. Can you grab Esther a Coke from the cooler? It’s through there.”
I turned to a door where Daniel, his hands full of coats, nodded at.
“Aye, no problem. Anything for anyone else?” I asked.
“Maybe another Coke for Cherise, as she drove.”
“On it,” I said, happy to have a task, as voices and music swelled around me.
I wasn’t ready to make idle chitchat, I’d need a drink first for that.
I really didn’t want to be here. I wanted to be at home, nursing a gin and tonic, and doing my best not to think about what Noah was doing.
Turning the knob, I pushed the door open and the cold hit me once again.
“Oh, this must be a garage—”
I pulled up short to see Noah sitting in a chair, guitar on his lap, a cheap bottle of the only red wine we could afford back in the day on the table. Another chair sat empty next to him.
My heart slammed against my chest.
It was exactly the setup, albeit in a far fancier house, that we’d sat in all those years ago when we used to write songs shivering in the cold garage, our hearts open and our future before us.
He looked incredible.
I wanted to go crawl into his lap and never let go.
Instead, I let the door fall closed behind me with a definitive click, uncertain of what to do.
Noah quirked that half smile I loved so much and then my stomach twisted as he strummed the opening chords to Skye, his most famous and my most-hated song. I wanted to leave. To just turn around and stomp out of the house and forget that Noah Byrne ever existed.
But when he began to sing ...
He’d changed the lyrics.
“Skye, believe in us, I’m betting with all my heart tonight,
Skye, sing with me and I’ll be there to keep it right.
We’ll build our tomorrow, chord by chord, till it shines—
Skye, say the word and I am yours for all of time.”
My mouth dropped open and then I was moving across the room, staying his hand on the guitar so the chord broke off, discordant and awkward. Noah’s eyes held mine.
“Do you mean it?” I asked, my throat tight.
“Every word. I love you, Skye. A part of me always has. But seeing you again? Making music together? It made me realize what was important in life. I was a fool then, but I don’t have to be a fool now.
I’d like to think I’ve learned a few lessons on the road.
” Noah’s lips quirked up again and my heart softened.
“Is this … is this your house?” I asked, my breath catching as he put the guitar down and stood, cupping my chin with his hand.
Tilting my head up, he kissed me, long and deep, until I no longer noticed the cold of the garage and all I could think about was him.
Then he broke the kiss and bent his forehead to mine, our breaths matching the same beat.
“Aye.”
“You bought a house,” I said. It came out halfway between accusation and admiration.
“Rented for a year with an option to buy,” he said. “It came up the week I left. Matt found the listing. I asked him to put a hold on it. I didn’t know if I’d have the nerve to ask you to come here otherwise.”
I had about a hundred questions. Instead, I didn’t ask any of them. “It’s beautiful.”