Love Between the Lines ✔️ DRAFT 1 COMPLETE

Chapter 9

But it was still a lie because something had happened.

"Yeah," Fionn added, disappointment clear in his voice. "Nothing happened."

Without another word, I turned on my heel and left the shop. My end goal: breakfast. The bell above the diner chimed when I walked through the front door.

"Ah, Emlie, love. The usual?" the woman behind the counter, Martha, asked.

I gave her a soft smile and jumped up onto one of the stools at the counter. "Yes, please. And some extra bacon, please. And lots of coffee."

"Uh oh. Rough night?" she asked as she poured me my first cup with raised eyebrows.

"You could say that." Wisps of steam floated off the top of the cup, filling the air with a comforting aroma.

"Is Fionn joining you today?"

I shook my head. "No. He, um, had things to do this morning." Not a lie. He was probably still getting breakfast with his sister and then he would likely lock himself in the hidden room behind the bookcase in the office like he did every morning.

My heart twanged with guilt. Maybe I shouldn't have waved off the kiss as nothing. It wasn't nothing.

I touched my fingers to my lips. They still tingled from the kiss. It was certainly something I would remember for a long time. Fionn had wanted it. And my body may have been all in, but I wasn't sure my heart was ready.

"Your breakfast, love." The woman placed down a plate heaped high with eggs, sausages, baked beans, and mushrooms. "Enjoy."

I ate my food in silence, listening to the soft music that played through the diner. I knew the shop would need to open soon, and I wanted to change my clothes since I was still wearing the dress from the night before.

"Catriona, lass! Long time!" Martha called out.

Cat sat down next to me and ordered her food.

"So," she said casually. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," I told my coffee. "I thought you were getting breakfast with your brother?"

"We decided to reschedule." She lifted her coffee mug to her lips.

Wow. He must've been upset. I didn't blame him, though. We kissed, twice, in a matter of hours and I was the idiot who said it didn't mean anything.

It couldn't mean anything. I wasn't ready.

"Did Fionn say anything else about it after I left?" I asked, glancing over to where she was seated next to me.

"You mean besides sulking and going to his office?" She raised her eyebrows. "No. He doesn't talk to me about this stuff. But I am curious, and I won't make you tell me if you don't want to."

I sighed. She knew Fionn better than me. "He took me for milkshakes."

"Just milkshakes?" She wasn't convinced.

I bit my lip. "Then we drove for a while and he took me to this open grassy area where you could just see the sky for miles and miles."

Catriona winced. "I was worried about that."

"What?" I narrowed my eyes. "What is it?"

"He...took you stargazing," she said, waiting for the realization to hit.

And then it did.

"Fu—"

"I'm so sorry, Em." She rested her hand on my arm. I didn't think he'd do that. I mean, he knows about Kyle, right?"

"I told him last night." My head pounded. "Right before he kissed me. Oh god, that was the move! And I can't believe I fell for it."

"It's going to be okay," she tried to reassure me.

I shook my head and pushed my plate across the counter. There was no way I could eat anymore right now. "No, it's not. I have to...I don't know. I have to get out of here." I threw down a few bills to pay for breakfast and practically ran out of the diner.

The store was already open when I returned. Fionn, surprisingly, wasn't hidden away but rather in my usual spot behind the counter helping customers. His eyes locked on mine when I entered. I couldn't stop my nostrils from flaring at him.

As I ran to the stairs, I heard him mumble something to a customer then he showed up at my side.

"Emilie, we have to talk," he said, his voice low and gruff.

God, I hated how hypnotizing it was. And why was I thinking about that?

I ignored him and continued up the stairs.

"Em!"

"No!" I whirled to face him. A few patrons jumped at my raised voice and I winced.

I lowered my voice and moved back down the landing so we were at eye level. "No, Fionn. You don't get to call me 'Em' anymore. That nickname is reserved for friends and you..." My throat constricted. This was exactly the type of confrontation that I didn't like.

"I get it," Fionn said. Bitterness laced his words. "We'll keep this relationship strictly professional. After all, nothing happened last night, right?"

I swallowed hard. Wrong. "Right."

He gave me a curt nod before storming back down the stairs. I sighed and continued up to my room to change my clothes. I had a job to do. Fionn was my boss while I was here. Maybe he was right; this relationship needed to remain fully professional and nothing more.