The book signing that afternoon went off without a hitch. Despite the short notice, the bookstore was still jam-packed with people waiting for their copies of Finley's newest book and for the short reading that she'd offered to give the crowd as part of the deal.
As the guests started to disperse, I leaned against a bookshelf eating one of the finger sandwiches from the trays that the shop down the street happily offered to cater. My gaze roamed over the room, watching as Fionn chatted up a young blonde who hung on his every word.
"He's cute." Finley came to stand next to me, nodding in Fionn's direction. "Is that the guy?"
I nodded.
Of course, Fionn took that moment to tear his eyes away from the blonde's cleavage to look over at me. I quickly diverted my gaze, but it wasn't quick enough. He dipped his head at me and I forced a smile.
"I take it the two of you are not on speaking terms?" She glanced between us.
"Not exactly." If only she knew the truth.
Finley hummed in thought. She dug around in her bag and pulled out a book before handing it to me. "I want you to have this. Free of charge."
I glanced down at the cover. "Your new book?"
She nodded. "I'm a romance author but I'm also a wife. I know heartache when I see it; I know love when I see it. And the way Fionn looks at you, Emilie, it's more than just the girl who's staying in the flat above the shop.
Heat crept into my cheeks. "He doesn't think of me as anything more than that, believe me."
"Mm." Finley pursed her lips and I made myself busy by rearranging the books on one of the carts in alphabetical order.
Nothing more than professional, that's what I had to keep telling myself or I'd think back to the kiss. The way his lips felt on mine. The way our bodies molded together.
"Emilie." Fionn crossed his arms over his chest as he stood in front of me.
I stumbled backwards, crashing into the cart I'd been organizing and causing the type of commotion I hoped to avoid.
Several of the attendees jumped at the sound and turned in my direction.
"What?" I asked through gritted teeth. The last thing I wanted was to draw more attention to myself.
"We need to talk. About—"
"Fionn, love," Finley interjected with narrowed eyes, "I don't think this is the time or the place to discuss personal matters."
"Aye. My apologies." Fionn cleared his throat.
Silence passed between us. I couldn't read the expression on his face, but there was sadness behind his eyes.
"My, oh my," Finley said when Fionn had left again. "That boy has fallen hard for you, dear."
I swallowed, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. "You really think so?"
"Even if you can't see it, there is love between the lines with you two," Finley said. "Every little glance, every fleeting moment, those unspoken words because—and please forgive me for saying so—you're both too stubborn to admit the truth." She looked over at Fionn, who bit his lip and turned away pretending he hadn't just been staring again.
I bit my lip. She was right. But I wasn't ready to admit out loud that he could very well be my second chance if I let him.
***
The pub down the street that Fionn and I often frequented for dinner offered a comforting atmosphere after playing 'glance tag' all day.
"What can I get for you?" the bartender, Kenny, asked as he wiped down a fresh glass.
"Lemon drop martini, please." That was my usual over the last few days, and I desperately needed the alcohol tonight.
"Rough day?" Kenny raised his eyebrows. He picked up a bottle of limoncello and began to pour it into a glass.
"Busy. And just dealing with...stuff." I wrapped my fingers around the glass and lifted it to my lips. The liquid immediately comforted my tired body, sending a buzz through my veins.
Kenny glanced at a spot over my right shoulder. "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the dashing young man over there, would it?"
I winced, refusing to turn around. The sound of drunken laughter told me exactly what I needed to know but didn't want to hear.
"Just my luck," I muttered, frowning as I stared into my now-empty glass. "Hit me again, Kenny."
Kenny laughed. "Aye, no more until you've eaten something."
"In that case, I'll take the Leek and Tattie soup, please," I said. "I feel that I need the comfort tonight."
He nodded and went to put the order in with the kitchen. While I waited, my gaze traveled around the pub. The televisions mounted on the wall played a game of football. Several people sat with their eyes glued to the screens as they downed large volumes of whiskey.
"...quite a girl over there," a voice said loudly. "Are you sure you don't want her, Fionn? I'll take her in an instant."
I rolled my eyes. Of course, it was just my luck that I'd run into Fionn and his friends here, but I had been hoping to avoid them. Just this man's words made my skin crawl.
How could Fionn be friends with them? I hadn't officially met them, but I'd heard Fionn out with them a few times since arriving in Scotland. They were always loud and rambunctious, throwing out insults left and right to one another.
I shuddered, fixing my gaze on the bottles of alcohol behind the counter. Kyle had been the loud, rambunctious type too. I never understood why Jared was friends with him, but guy friendships were just as strange as girl friendships sometimes.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fionn shove the man who'd spoken.
"Leave her alone," he said loudly.
I swirled around the last few drops of my drink and stared longingly at the glass as if doing so would make it refill by itself.
At least Fionn was defending me, not letting his friend do anything except make a fool of himself.
Kenny took that moment to return with my soup and began to make a new lemon drop for me, this time the shot glass version.
"I'm sorry he's an idjit," Kenny said, passing me the shot glasses.
"More like a feckin' gobshite," I muttered. "Thanks." I downed the shot glasses in turn before moving over to my soup.
Wisps of steam rose up over the bowl and the warmth of the soup coated my throat. This was exactly what I needed. Leek and potato—my favorite soup—had always been a comfort to me.
"How are those classes going?" I asked, wanting to make small talk to get my mind off of Fionn."
"They're good. I'm set to graduate after the new year." Kenny beamed.
"Will you still be working here?" I lifted the spoon to my mouth and blew on the soup to cool it.
"Probably less often. How long will you be staying in Scotland? You've been here a while, aye?"
"Yeah." I glanced down at the counter. "I'm not sure yet. With the holiday rush, I probably won't go back until after the new year."
Truthfully, I hadn't decided anything on my return. I knew I wanted to clear the air with Fionn first even if I wasn't ready for that yet. If he hadn't realized his mistake yet...
"I know this isn't my place," Kenny said, interrupting my thoughts, "but it might be worth a chat. Let Fionn know what you're thinking. He came in not long before you tonight, but the way his smile faded when he walked through the doors made me wonder if he was looking for you."
"Doubtful." I thought back to what happened at the shop with Finley. "But I'll give him a chance. I-I'm just not sure this is the right time."
"No time like the present. Although, he may need to sober up first." Kenny nodded behind me.
I turned around. Fionn and his friends had made their way over to the darts in the corner of the room and were now laughing loudly with one another as they stumbled over their feet.
"I should go make sure he gets home safe," I said. I threw down some bills to pay and thanked Kenny for the talk.
As I made my way over to Fionn, one of his friends approached me.
"Are you the famous Elimee?" he slurred, mixing up the consonants in my name. His breath reeked of whiskey. I recognized him as the guy who I'd overheard before.
"Oy, leave the girl alone," Fionn said. He stumbled forward. "Sorry about that. He's an arse."
"I can see that." I held out my hand. "Keys? You're drunk."
Fionn's friends started booing.
"You're no fun, Elimeeee," another one of them joined in.
"It's Emilie." I punctuated my name as I caught Fionn from falling over a table.
"Nice to meet you Emilie," a new voice chimed in. I caught on immediately that this one belonged to someone not drunk.
The man sported a beanie pulled over dark brown hair. His voice had a clear English accent to it, different from the distinctive Scottish accent I had grown accustomed to hearing when I was with Fionn.
"Are you the DD?" I asked. When he frowned in response, I explained, "Designated Driver. The sober one?"
"Ah, I am. Asher." He stuck out his hand toward me.
I hesitated then shook it. "Can you help me get Fionn back to his apartment?"
"Absolutely." He turned to Fionn. "Oy, Fionn. Where're your keys?"
Fionn patted his pockets. "No idea."
I groaned. "Okay, fine. We'll take him back to the bookstore." I bit my lip. They really didn't need to know that's where I was staying.
Luckily, Asher didn't focus too long on that.
"Let me get these two gits into a cab and we'll walk back together. Plan?" he said.
I nodded. "Thank you."
A few minutes later, Asher and I stumbled down the road with a very out-of-it Fionn between us. We'd slung each of his arms over our shoulders as we maneuvered the path back to the bookstore.
Why hadn't Fionn given me a key to his flat? I wondered miserably. There was no way to get inside his flat without it, and the only other person I knew who had a key was Catriona. She was in Paris, so there was no way she could help.
The next best thing would be letting him sleep off his drunken haze on the couch in the apartment above the shop so that I could keep an eye on him.
"Just a few more steps," I muttered under my breath as I fumbled with the key to get the door to the shop open.
"Ah, so you're the girl who's been staying here," Asher said.
I grunted, and together we pulled Fionn up the stairs. "Yes, that would be me."
"He talks non-stop about you, you know."
The door to the apartment swung open. Fionn groaned between us, and I handed him off to Asher.
"Put him on the couch, please," I said. I went to grab some extra pillows and a blanket from the closet.
When I returned, Fionn was on his back with his head propped up.
Asher ran a hand through his hair. "I'll leave you to it, then?"
I nodded. "Thank you. And, um, what has Fionn told you about me exactly?"
He smiled. "Fionn'll kill me if I tell you all of it, so I'll just say that he's never met anyone like you before. And while you're a pain in his arse—his words, not mine—he thinks the world of you."
The corners of my mouth twitched up into a smile. I looked down at Fionn's passed out form on the sofa. His hair fell over his forehead in small curls, and I resisted the urge to run my fingers through it.
"You're going to use that against him aren't you?" Asher asked, laughing.
I turned toward him. "Maybe. But if I do, he deserves it, don't you think?"
"Truthfully?" Asher readjusted his beanie. "I don't know what's gone down between the two of you. But I know Fionn has yet to figure out how he's in the wrong here. Although—and I realize it's not exactly my place to say so—you are, too."
I swallowed, heat rushing to my cheeks for I don't even know how many times that day. "What exactly did he tell you?"
Fionn's snores filled the silence between us. I walked over to the stove and heated up a kettle for tea.
Asher scratched the back of his head and shifted his weight between his feet. "Just that you were fine the morning after the two of you had a nice evening together, then something changed after you spoke with Cat."
"Oh." So maybe he'd figured something out. "Did he talk to Cat?"
"I'm not sure. But she's not the one he needs to talk to." Fionn's friend glanced at the clock. "I best be going. You'll be alright with Fionn?"
I nodded. "Yes. Thank you for all your help."
My hands wrapped around the warm cup of tea after Asher left and I sighed. Fionn was passed out, and I was exhausted. The clock on the wall read 1 am.
Every so often, I'd check on Fionn to make sure he was still asleep. His mouth twitched, but no audible sound ever escaped.
I couldn't help myself from smiling. It was cute and something else I could hold against him in the morning.
Once my tea cup was empty, I went into the bedroom to get some sleep. Fionn would wake at some point, and I wanted to make sure I was rested before relaying the night's events to him.
I thought about what Finley said and what Asher told me. Maybe I'd jumped too quickly to accuse Fionn of using me as a fling, if that's even what the other night was. One of us was going to have to speak first.
At this rate, it was probably going to be me. But I would give Fionn one more chance, just one, to own up to what that night we spent stargazing was really about.
Then, who knew?