Page 40 of The Breakup Bookshop

I don’t want to think about Macy, though. Not today.

Fiona’s cheeks flush. ‘Erm, yes. Anyway, I’ve included some extra fruit skewers. We had some strawberries and mango going spare. Let’s put them on the edge of the table here. Do you need some help pouring the Prosecco?’

‘No, no. You go home and get ready! I need you back here with a smile on your face and a glass of fizz in your hand in approximately thirty-six minutes.’

‘Oh, Ava, everything looks just wonderful,’ she grins, gazing around. ‘I’m so glad you moved here. It’s so lovely to have fresh faces in the village and the bookshop is such a fantastic addition.’

‘And I’m single-handedly keeping your business afloat with my coffee addiction?’

She winks and gives me a warm hug. ‘Well, there is that. Okay, see you back here soon! Good luck!’

*

‘He’s even more gorgeous in real life, isn’t he?’ Donna whispers in my ear. ‘Your pal, Richard. I know he’s a wee bit older than us butlookat him. Eilidh, what do you think?’

Eilidh blushes. ‘Oh, I don’t know. I mean—’

‘Sorry, is it too soon for you to be eyeing up other men? After Mark?’ Donna asks, rubbing her on the shoulder.

Eilidh eventually opened up to Donna about Mark at one of our book club meetings. Donna threatened to hunt him down and kill him, but Eilidh graciously refused, and we all lived happily ever after. Aside from the bookshop, being part of the three musketeers with Eilidh and Donna is my proudest achievement in Ullapool so far.

‘It’s not that,’ Eilidh whispers. ‘Richard is my ex. We were together for a few years before Mark and I met.’

‘Oh my God!’ Donna splutters. ‘Eilidh, you sly dog.’

‘Must have been an amicable breakup,’ I say with a smile. ‘Since you were willing to invite him along for me. Unless it was just an excuse to see him again?’

Eilidh’s face flushes a deeper shade of pink. ‘He’s staying at a bed and breakfast. No funny business. Plus, I have the boys tonight.’ Just as she says it, a pair of boys tear through the bookshop, squealing and chasing each other between the shelves. Eilidh tries to calm them, but I place a hand on hers and tell her it’s fine. She continues, ‘I’m not ready for anything likethatjust now.’

Donna nods. ‘I get it. A quickie for old times’ sake, then send him back to the bed and breakfast.’

‘Donna!’ Eilidh laughs, shaking her head.

The launch party of The Next Chapter is in full swing. The fizz flows, people chat, and the till is red hot. I paid Jen, Donna’s Saturday girl and one of the courtyard snoggers, to take charge of purchases tonight so I can mingle, gather content for social media and try to soak it all up.

Margaret has backed Richard into a corner, interrogating him about one of his mysteries. As I make my way over to rescue him, I bump into Rory.

I’ve been hugging everyone on arrival since the event started. Without thinking, I lean in to do the same with Rory. My face brushes against his cheek as he jumps back, as though I’ve given him an electric shock. My arm, ready for the embrace, hangs in the air awkwardly. I let it drop as he steps back.

‘Hi,’ I say, clearing my throat. ‘It’s, erm, customary to return a hug from the host.’

He doesn’t reply. He’s made an effort for the occasion, or as much as Rory can. He’s swapped his usual Toolbox T-shirt for a plain black tee paired with a pair of smart, grey trousers, and I can smell the deep, woody scent of his aftershave. As I look back up, he stares me straight in the eye.

‘You have this habit of swooping in out of nowhere,’ he says, tapping me awkwardly on the shoulder, presumably to avoid any further advances. ‘I thought a plank of wood was about to come at me again.’

‘Says the middle-of-the-night painting ninja.’

Donna sips a large glass of fizz as she makes her way over to me, bumping into Finlay, who has a smoked salmon canapé in hand.

I hear Finlay manage to cough out, ‘I meant to ask… how was your holiday?’

‘Just what the doctor ordered.’ Donna flashes a wide smile. ‘Sun, sea, sand, the works. Well, not the works as in sex. I didn’t mean that… I didn’t do that. Have sex, I mean. Not on holiday.’

Donna casts me a sidelong glance. She grimaces at me as she brushes her hand across her forehead.

I sneak a glance at Rory, who seems to be enjoying the awkward interaction, judging by the grin on his face.

‘What is going on with these two?’ I whisper to him.