Page 74 of The Breakup Bookshop

‘Pete. Someone from the post office is helping with his shifts for a few days.’

‘You’re going for a few days?’ I repeat.

Stop sounding so shrill, Ava. Calm down.

‘Sorry, Ava, I thought I’d told you. An old friend is getting married in some fancy hotel in Inverness. I’m a groomsman so I need to drive up first thing tomorrow to help my mate with a few things at the hotel before the rehearsal. I would have asked for a plus one, but we’re so new together and I didn’t want to put that pressure on you.’

He didn’t want to put pressure on me? A million questions run through my mind. I can’t tell Rory about Elle’s confession. What happens at the breakup bookshop stays at the breakup bookshop, after all. Chatham House rules.

My stomach churns at the thought of them together. Rory’s so casual about it all. I want to demand to see a full itinerary, broken down by the hour, but I need to keep my cool.

‘Who else is going?’ I ask. ‘Finlay?’

I’m trying to appear nonchalant, but I want details. Does he know Elle will be there?

He shakes his head. ‘Finlay couldn’t make it. And he’s looking after Piper for me. I was sure I’d mentioned that too. God, where has my head been? Elle will be there. She’s a bridesmaid, I’m sure.’

A-ha.

Yes, she is going to be there. And she’s going to confess that she still has feelings for you.

My heart drops into my stomach.

I can’t think straight.

I want him to know how disappointed I am that he lied to me or withheld this from me, whatever he wants to call it. I want to pour out my heart to him, beg him not to go, warn him that Elle is going to make a move on him and plead with him to say no.

But what good will it do? Not much, not really. Maybe he’s right. Maybe a few days away will be good for us. Maybe he’ll realize it’s Elle that he’s wanted all along. At least then I’ll know and have none of the uncertainty.

I guess now I have to be prepared for that. It’s not like I can grab his ankle and beg him not to leave.

‘Okay,’ I say evenly, even though there are so many other words flying around my mind. ‘Well, have a great time then. I’ll see you when you get back.’

I open the door and leap out, trying to stifle the tears in my eyes.

‘Ava!’ he calls from the car. I turn around. His arm is draped over the side of the car, the window wide open. His eyes shine earnestly in the moonlight as he says, ‘Look, we’ll talk about it when I’m back, okay? All of it.’

I pull out the keys from my bag and nod, unable to meet his eye as the window closes. He speeds off into the night.

26

My head is all over the place following Rory’s departure. I find myself checking my phone every five minutes and spend an unhealthy amount of time hovering around the bins, to see if a message will pop through. But, so far, nothing.

I’ve never been one for moping around. Even when Seb cheated on me, I lost my job and felt like my world had imploded, I started to make my escape plans. But this feels different. Even though Rory’s away, I feel like I’m surrounded by him. Pete whistles away in the shop next door, while I catch sight of Finlay taking Piper up the hills for a walk. Every time the bookshop door opens, I expect to see Rory popping through for a chat, or a rant, or a cuppa.

I miss him already.

By the morning of the wedding, I am contemplating a trip to Inverness, to halt the wedding just to take the handsome groomsman off their hands and claim him as my own. I’m in countdown mode, wondering when the ceremony will finish, where the pictures are being taken and when Elle will take her chance to drop her love bombshell on Rory. It is the perfect night for The Next Chapter support group and, desperate for company, I’m ready to welcome everyone with open arms. I won’t even care if Margaret complains that the toilet’s not flushing.

I’m in good company too. Eilidh is glued to her phone as she arrives, awaiting updates from Mark. She eventually agreed to the boys travelling abroad to Spain and has come along to the bookshop early, for some company, to keep her mind off things. She curls her long red hair around her fingers.

‘You’re almost as bad as me,’ she says as I hover with my phone in the air near the bookshop’s front door. ‘I just want the text that says they’ve arrived safely. What are you hoping for?’

‘A bloody miracle,’ I say, explaining the whole situation to Eilidh, from start to finish.

‘No way, so Elle was talking aboutRory?’ she says. ‘Are you sure? I don’t even remember them being together. It can’t have been for long. Maybe she has more than one ex at the wedding?’

‘I tried to tell myself that it wasn’t going to be Rory. But that would be a pretty big coincidence. And he “forgot” to tell me he was going to a wedding. Who forgets to tell someone something that significant?’