11. Murray
Iknew as soon as I stepped onto the harbor the next day that Leth Sholas was abuzz with news of my and London’s marriage.
London had told Cammie to tell people so we didn’t have to because we decided it was better to get the news over with.
I’d dressed for labor, in my bib and brace trousers, waterproof boots, and jacket.
It wasn’t quite blowin’ a hoolie, but the drizzle mixed with a fair wind was making conditions unpleasant for unloading.
The only catch we unloaded at the harbor was shellfish and whitefish, including cod, haddock, and whiting.
Some of it was delivered straight to Shona’s fishmonger and smokery.
The rest was put on boats pulled into harbor for transfer.
Salmon was my biggest income maker, and for that reason it was stored in my refrigeration facility until it was ready for shipment. This morning, one of the trawling crews was bringing in whitefish to be loaded onto another boat for delivery.
And I needed the sea air on my face and to ignore the constant ringing and buzzing of my phone. That element of running a business was mentally draining.
However, I was also escaping my family.
First my mum had insisted I come see her before I went into the office. To say she was unhappy I’d married a woman she’d only met in passing was an understatement.
“You better know what you’re doing, Murray Shaw. For Kelly’s sake, as well as your own.” Mum had been grim. “I know very little about this American, and you’ve just invited her into our lives.”
I’d tried to assure Mum that where London was concerned, she had nothing to worry about, but Mum seemed already set against her and I didn’t want that for any of us. Or London. This lie was hard on us enough without my mum being at odds with us about it.
My cousin, Fraser, head of charter and distribution, was next to agitate me. He’d shown up at the office full of questions and gleeful as fuck that Jill was immediately cut off from the company’s earnings.
“I can’t tell you what a difference this is going to make. Christina said we were close to needing to let some people go.”
“What?” I’d glowered in shock. “Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She was going to if we got to that point, but now we don’t need to. London Wetherspoon, eh?” Fraser had perched on my office desk. “That’s a tasty wee morsel. Since when were you and she …” He’d gestured crudely with his fingers.
I’d warned, “Do that in front of me again and you won’t have any fingers left.”
“Och, dinnae be so serious.” Fraser pushed off the desk. “You don’t want to talk about it, fine. But you will sign a postnuptial agreement and so will she. I’ve already got our lawyers working on it. No fucking way are we putting this company through another Jill.”
“London’s not Jill.”
“Aye, that’s what you thought about Jill.” He strolled out of my office, whistling cheerfully, and I’d wanted to do him a violence.
Since I avoided those kinds of emotions, I decided I’d go meet the Nessie, the whitefish trawler set to arrive into harbor, and give them a hand unloading.
To make matters worse, the first night in the house with London had been strained and awkward. She’d stayed in her room for the rest of the evening, and I’d wandered around feeling unsettled and a bit lost.
That morning, she was up an hour earlier than me to get ready for her job at the guest house, but we’d met in the kitchen as she drank the last of her coffee. The small talk had been physically painful before she departed for work. I could only hope things between us would ease with time.
At the harbor, I could feel eyes on me. Could even hear the whispering when it was near enough. The only folks who weren’t acting strangely were my captain, Matt, and his crew, who had no idea about my sudden marriage because they’d been offshore on the Nessie for a week.
As I was finishing up offloading some fish into ice bins on the larger shipment boat anchored next to the Nessie, Jack Ahmed, the harbor master, met me as I walked down the gangway.
“Problem?” I asked, assuming it would be business related.
“You’re married?”
Apparently, I’d assumed wrong. For forty minutes I’d been distracted from my marriage, so his question was unexpected.
Though not really. Jack was a good friend.
He was the son of an immigrant father and born islander, Jacqueline Doon.
His mother had met Jack’s dad on the mainland, they’d defied both their families and married, and Jack’s father moved to Glenvulin.
The Ahmeds had once owned the first and only Pakistani restaurant and takeaway in Leth Sholas.
It had closed ten years ago when Jack’s mother passed away and his father fell into a deep depression.
He followed her in death not long after.
Years ago, it had taken time for the Doon family to accept the relationship, but the arrival of Jack helped bridge their differences.
The Doons were a family of fisherman and Jack caught the bug, so I’d spent time in his company since I was a boy.
He’d worked his way up to harbor master.
Despite the five-year difference in our age, Jack and I had become good friends over the years.
It hadn’t always been easy for him because no matter how welcoming a community might be, there were always a few racist arseholes to contend with.
He’d learned how to hold his own in a fight way too young.
It had made him tough, and no one caused trouble on the harbor while it was under Jack’s management.
Our longstanding friendship meant I knew Jack’s interest came from genuine care for me. But still. “Aye.” I wiped rain and sweat off my forehead with my arm. “Word travels fast.”
“Didnae know you and the American were that close,” Jack hedged, his dark eyes filled with curiosity.
“Her name is London.” The American. She’d been living and working on the bloody island for nearly two years, and they were still calling her the American.
“Aye, I know. No offense meant. It’s just a shock to us all.”
“Really? Wouldn’t you try to keep a new relationship as private as possible while living here? You of all people know what the folk here can be like, Jack.” I brushed past him to see if there was anything more to be done today.
Jack followed me. “Aye, I do. And I probably would keep it a secret for a time. But marriage seems awful sudden-like. You cannae expect folks not to have an opinion.”
I turned to face him. “No, I can’t. But that doesn’t mean I’m interested in folks’ opinion about my business. They’ve been”—I gestured toward Main Street—“flapping their gums about my life for years. I’m not going to start paying attention now.”
“She’s quite a bit younger than you.”
I tried not to wince because if we were really married, our age gap might give me pause. But we weren’t really married, so it was a moot point. “Aye.”
“Bonny lassie. Young. Impressionable …”
Realizing where he was going with this, I narrowed my gaze. “First, she’s almost thirty, for fuck’s sake. Two … Jack, you’ve known me my whole life. Are you really insinuating what I think you are?”
Jack winced. “No, man. I’m no’. But I want you to be prepared that folks are talking, and what they’re saying is that you’re taking advantage of this lassie to cut Jill off from the company.”
Disgusted that people I’d grown up with could think such a shite thing about me, I couldn’t even respond.
Instead, I shouted down to Matt to see if he still needed me.
He waved me off, yelling that he’d catch me later, and I abruptly marched away.
The plan was to jump in my Discovery and head home to shower, but the door to Pages & Perks opened and suddenly London was there with Ramsay and Tierney, coffee cups in hand.
London took one look at my face and hurried toward me. “What is it? What happened?” She reached out to touch my chest, and I shifted away because I didn’t want her getting fish grime on her.
“Nothing happened.”
She glanced out of her peripheral and then back up at me, annoyance glittering in her pretty eyes. “I have to be able to touch you in public or we’re not going to fool anyone,” London hissed.
I frowned, my irritation with the day building. “I’m covered in crap from hauling in fish. I didn’t want to get it on you.”
“Oh.” She winced sheepishly. “Sorry. You look … you look wet, sweaty, and pissed.”
“Haven’t you heard? I’m using a young, impressionable woman for my own gains.” I flicked a look over her shoulder at Ramsay and Tierney who hovered closer. “Surely, you’ve heard.”
“Heard what?” London reached up as if to touch me again and stopped. She glanced back at our friends. “Are people saying that?”
Tierney looked uncomfortable. “I might have heard something to that effect.”
“How dare they?” London’s ponytail almost whipped me in the face as she turned back to me. “They should know you better than that. Anyone says that to me, and I’ll give them a piece of my mind. And how young do they think I am? I’m almost thirty!”
Just like that, I felt better. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not. Assholes.” London glared down Main Street, as if searching for someone to reprimand.
Tenderness suffused me. She was adorable.
“It’s really okay,” I promised. “I’m just … it’s been … a lot. Anyway, I need to head back home and shower. Where are you off to?” I didn’t know if it was any of my business, but if she was really my wife, it was something I’d ask.
“Back to the B and B to prep for tomorrow’s breakfast. I’ll be … home … for dinner. Do you want me to cook?”
Right. We would have dinner together. “I can cook.”
“And I need to get going.” Ramsay turned to his wife. “No heavy lifting again.”
I had no idea about the context, but clearly Ramsay was worried about his pregnant wife doing too much.
Tierney wrinkled her nose. “I wasn’t …” She stopped at his darkening expression and rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay, I’ll leave furniture moving to the housekeepers.”
His expression lightened and he pressed a kiss to her lips and murmured “Good girl,” just loud enough for us to hear.
London tensed before looking quickly away, a strained distance in her eyes.
“You all right?” I asked as Ramsay strode off with a nod that London didn’t even see.
“Fine.” She murmured and then looked up at me from beneath her lashes. “We should probably say goodbye like a husband and wife might, but you’re all …” She waved a palm over the front of my body to indicate the fish muck.
I leaned down, making sure the rest of me didn’t touch her, and I pressed a kiss to her mouth. As I pulled back, she reached out for more and almost stumbled forward. As London’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, I steadied her, even though I’d been trying not to touch her.
“I’m fine. It’s fine,” she repeated, awkwardly not looking at me before turning away. “I’ll see you at home.”
As London strolled away with Tierney at her side, I stared after my so-called wife with a mounting panic. If anyone investigated this marriage and we acted like that … we were so totally and absolutely fucked.