Chapter 6

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"Rise and shine!" A knock at my door and Fionn's voice woke me from a dead sleep.

It had been three days since I arrived in Scotland and we had developed a good rhythm around the bookstore. Ever since that first night at the pub, I felt more like I belonged. But I still had trouble getting a read on Fionn.

I groaned and covered my head with the pillow. "No!"

Fionn laughed. "You know I have a key."

I sat up and clutched the sheets against my chest. "You wouldn't."

"I won't if you come out and help me set up. We have to be ready for the author signing that happens this afternoon."

As he talked, I scrambled from bed and threw on a fresh outfit and added a swipe of mascara to my eyes. When I opened the door, Fionn leaned against the doorframe with a wide grin across his face.

"Happy now?" I asked, taking the cup of coffee from his hands like I had grown accustomed to doing over the last few days.

"Ecstatic." Fionn started down the stairs. "Now, the refreshments will be here during the reading per your request."

"Good." I looked around the bookstore. Displays lined the walls with images of the author who was going to be the guest of honor at the book reading. Chairs lined the open floor and a table sat at the front with copies of the novel for the signing.

I counted. Twenty chairs, probably not nearly enough. Working in a library had taught me it was always better to be safe than sorry. "We need more chairs."

Fionn twirled a key ring around his finger. "I'll go get more from the storage room in the office. Can you finish printing the flyers? Copier is at my flat."

I bumped my knee against the table. "Y-you're letting me see your apartment?"

"Relax, it's not like I'm inviting you inside for a drink at the end of the night." He winked at me.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "What is that supposed to mean?" Although I knew perfectly well what he meant. And I really didn't want to think about it.

"Nevermind." Fionn tossed me the key. "Don't lose it." He walked away and I headed next door to Fionn's flat. It was convenient; live next door to your business so you could come and go as you pleased. And it allowed for quick service if renters needed help.

Was I a renter? I was a guest, sure, but someone else was paying for me to stay and it still wasn't clear who that could be.

It didn't matter, I tried to convince myself. I was here in Scotland, that's what mattered.

Inside the flat, I found the copier down the hall and punched in the code. The machine whirred to life and while I waited, my gaze wandered. A mahogany desk similar to the one at the bookstore sat in the center of the room, stacked high with books. All of them were classic literature.

I ran my fingers over the top copy—Jane Eyre; he certainly had good taste—just as the handle to the front door jiggled open.

"Almost done, Fionn, and then I'll head back over," I called out. "You don't have to come and check on me." Annoyance crept into my voice.

"I wasn't," a new voice responded.

I froze. That wasn't Fionn, but I knew I'd locked the front door behind me. So whoever this was must've also had a key. I ran through the options. Roommate? Brother? How much did I really know about Fionn anyway?

Slowly, I turned around and came face to face with the one and only Angus MacLeod. My eyes widened.

"Mr. MacLeod. I-I'm so sorry. I thought you were Fionn," I said. The copier beeped behind me.

"Ah, not an issue. I'm used to my son's various rendezvous." He raised his eyebrows at me.

My eyes widened. "Oh no no no. Fionn and I—we're not—he—"

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

Oh thank goodness.

From the doorway, Fionn glared at his father with his arms crossed over his chest.

"About time," Angus said.

"I thought I told you not to come here anymore." Fionn's glare deepened. "You always end up jumping to the wrong conclusions."

Angus held up his hands in defense. "My mistake. So she's not your—"

"No, she's not my girlfriend," Fionn spat out. "She's the guest living above the bookshop. And you would know that if you actually took the time to do your job and not leave me with it."

"In case you forgot, this store is your legacy," Angus threw back at him. "And you should know better than to let a girl get in the way. You know how that turned out last time."

My fingers curled around the copies of the flyer but froze at Angus's words. Last time? My gaze traveled over to Fionn's face which was now red with fury.

"I, um, I'm just gonna go back to the shop." I placed Fionn's key on the desk and hurried out. The last thing I wanted to do was get in the middle of an argument between Fionn and his father.

While I was gone, Fionn had found extra chairs as promised and had set them up throughout the room. I placed the flyers on the front table and finished last minute preparations. Fionn stomped back in a few minutes later, muttering something under his breath.

"Hey, I'm so sorry about what went down with your father just now. I had no—" I started to say.

"Forget about it." Fionn slammed open the desk. "I'm used to him belittling me. Are we ready for the book signing?" The edge in his voice hinted that the conversation was over.

I nodded. "Yes. We're all set." Ask. You know you want to know. I forced down the questions I wanted to know. If I wasn't ready to share my personal life with Fionn, I had no right asking him to share his with me.

"Good." Fionn shut the desk. "I'll be in the office until the signing. Don't interrupt me."

My heart sank, and just like that, we were back to how things were on day 1.

***

The bookstore bustled with chatter as the signing went off without a hitch. Folks from all over crammed into the room, eager to hear the reading from a locally published author, Anna MacNaught.

"This was really wonderful," she told me as the guests started to disperse. "Have you hosted many signings before?"

"This is my first one here as I'm just a guest. But my library back in the states does host them occasionally," I told her.

"Well, I've been thinking about taking my work international." She slipped me her card. "I would love to collaborate."

I grinned. Liv was going to be ecstatic. "Thank you so much. We really appreciate you choosing MacLeod's Book Emporium."

Once the last guest had left, I leaned back against the desk and let out a sigh. Fionn had slipped out partway through the reading and had yet to return. So, this was the perfect opportunity to take some time to explore the shop. Although I'd only been here a few days, I hadn't had the chance to really immerse myself in the literature yet. And with Fionn gone off somewhere, this was the perfect time to see what was in the office.

The door squeaked open and I winced at the sound before closing the door quietly behind me. The office looked pretty normal with a desk and bookcases lining the walls. One of the shelves held a bust of Arthur Conan Doyle. I ran my fingers over the top, and the bust moved a few inches, followed by the sound of a latch unhinging itself. With that, the bookcase thundered open. I stepped back in shock. A bookstore with a secret passageway? Score!

Glancing over my shoulder, I walked through and the door shut itself behind me. I blinked, taking in the new room in front of me. It held a black sketch table and a folding chair with a bunch of mathematical tools that flashed me back to some pretty hard days in high school. In the corner of the room were two plush chairs, each cluttered with a few random books.

I smiled. It was like a little piece of home here in Scotland.

On the table were several pieces of paper with various designs on them. The bottom sheet I recognized as a larger version of what Fionn had been sketching on my first night at the coffee shop.

"What the hell are you doing in here?!"

I jumped at the sound of Fionn's voice. He was still fuming, although this time I wasn't sure if it was because of his father or finding me in the secret room hidden in the office.

"I thought I told you that the office was off-limits." He brushed past me into the room, stashing the sketches into a portfolio.

"I'm sorry. I saw that the door was open and I needed to put things back from the book signing," I said.

Fionn sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "Sorry. It's fine. I just...I haven't really shared these sketches with anyone. My dad doesn't even know this nook exists. He travels a lot, so I sort of made the changes when he decided he wanted me in charge."

"You don't like being in charge?" I asked.

"I do. I just like having more control over it, you know?" Fionn sank into one of the plush chairs, moving aside a stack of books. "That's why I designed this room."

I sat down next to him. "You're really talented, you know that?"

"Thanks. I wish my father thought so." Fionn wouldn't meet my gaze. "He's always wanted me to go into the family business."

"But you want to be an architect."

Fionn nodded and unraveled the sketch I'd seen. "This one is something I've been planning for a while. It's not much."

I scooched closer to him so that our knees were almost touching. "It's great. Really." My gaze flickered up to meet his. "You have a real talent here, Fionn. It should be something you share with the world."

"Someday, maybe." He stashed the sketch back into the portfolio. "You want to grab some food?"

I nodded. "Sure thing." I stood up and brushed off my jeans before letting Fionn lead me out of the bookstore.

The frosty night air nipped at my cheeks while we walked. A welcoming silence fell between us. Neither of us had to say anything; we could just enjoy each other's company. It was nice.

"You deserve an explanation," Fionn blurted. "What my father said, well, he should've kept his mouth shut. But I think you should know what he was talking about."

I shook my head. "No, Fionn. You don't have to tell me. I want to respect your privacy. We all have our secrets or things from our past we want to stay hidden."

"I know. But I want to tell you." He took a deep breath. "My ex. She wanted to see me succeed with my architectural skills, even helped me get a job at this really great firm. Or at least, she helped score me the interview. And that's sort of where things all went to hell."

"By 'score the interview' you mean—"

"She slept with the hiring manager, yeah." Fionn scratched the back of his head. "Apparently she didn't believe in me and thought the only way I could get out of my father's business was by forcing it to happen."

"Sounds like she thought she was doing the right thing."

He nodded. "Yeah, just with the wrong approach."

"So, when your father said that about a girl getting in the way, he meant how your ex got in the way of you continuing the family legacy?" I asked.

"Yeah." He sighed. "Maybe he'd meant well, but it sure didn't seem like it at the time. Especially when he made it all about him."

Our hands brushed gently against each other. For a second, I thought Fionn would pull away, but he didn't. He let his fingers linger on mine for a few seconds.

"You'll find someone who believes in you, Fionn," I said. It was the same words of advice Brena and Sydney had given me over and over again for the last three months. This time, he needed it more than I did. Our fingers bumped again and again. Maybe at first it had been an accident. But now it was definitely on purpose.

"I hope so." Even though he thought I wasn't looking, I caught the way his gaze lingered on me before darting away quickly.



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