Page 12 of The Breakup Bookshop

‘He does not,’ she says emphatically. ‘And you don’t. How could you hate him? He’s a puppy dog! Just like Finlay, his best mate. Have you met him yet?’

‘No. Why? Please tell me he was third in line for my shop throne? I can’t afford to offend any more of the men of Ullapool.’

‘No, no. Finlay’s just… he’s a good friend of mine too. He’s our local dog walker; he takes my beautiful Bonnie out for walks when I’m working.’ Donna laughs, although I’m not sure why, her face flushing. ‘Anyway, Rory may be a bit put out, but he’s very loyal. Once you have him as a friend, he’s yours for life.’

‘And once you have him as an enemy?’ I arch my eyebrow. ‘I take it that follows the same premise. He hasn’t even come intomyshop to say hello.’

‘You left his cleaning stuff outside the shop instead of saying thank you,’ Donna points out.

Damn Donna for being surprisingly good at recalling small details.

‘Ah, c’mon, Donna! I need you on my side here,’ I say. ‘He has a whole army of people here in this village. Mr Loyalty or Popularity or whatever. I’m sad and lonely andEnglish– you’re my only real friend. Well, you and your dad. And Fiona, my coffee dealer.’

‘Of course I’m on your side!’ Donna promises. ‘But I do think you need to try a little with Rory. Once you’ve cracked him—’

‘Oh, I could crack him, alright…’

‘Give it a try. Just think, you could be nipping next door if you need something, rather than waiting for deliveries that don’t turn up.’

The noise of the drill pierces the silence as my head whips up. He’s only gone and drilled a hole right the way through the wall into my shop and straight through my Dusty Blue paint sample. My mouth falls open. Donna attempts to hide a little smile behind her hand and coughs to cover it up.

‘Excuse me!’ I say, advancing towards the tiny hole. I put my eye to it, peering through. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’

‘Ah, my mistake,’ Rory calls back. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll fix it up in no time.’

‘What if I had been walking past and you just drilled through the wall and hit me?’

‘What, as you slid casually along the wall?’

I ignore Donna’s muffled laugh behind me.

‘I should be able to do that if I want,’ I retort. ‘Without fear of being drilled to death.’

He doesn’t respond. I peer through the hole, wondering where he’s gone.

‘Rory? Rory!’ I call, but there is no response.

‘I’m sure he didn’t mean it,’ Donna says.

I frown and spin around as Rory enters the shop, all big, burly and bloody annoying.

‘Hey, again.’ He grins at Donna. ‘Did I mention you’ve got a great colour?’

Donna gives him a friendly slap on the arm. ‘You flatterer. This Highland skin doesn’t tan. This is courtesy of St Tropez.’

‘Coulda fooled me.’

My mouth falls open. Whoisthis guy, full of friendly chat, who is sonice? I certainly haven’t met him before.

‘Well, don’t mind me and the hole you just put in my wall.’ I glare at him, folding my arms across my chest. ‘I’ve got enough that needs fixing here. The last thing I need is new things to repair.’

‘I’ll sort it in no time,’ Rory assures me. Already swinging out the doorway, he adds, ‘Back in a minute.’

‘He will, you know.See, he’s a sweetheart,’ Donna says. ‘Anyway, I’ll leave you both to it. Pop over soon for a cut or colour? Although I wouldn’t want to do anything to that gorgeous auburn. We can have a good gossip. You can tell me all about making up with Rory.’

I want to say that she shouldn’t hold her breath, but she is clearly a founding member of the large Rory fan club in the village, so I refrain.

‘I do need a trim.’