Page 5
The second woman nods excitedly. “He is! Show him, Barbara. Go on!”
Before I can stop her, Barbara unzips her suitcase and rummages through it. “Wait till you see this. He’s just like you!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Emily smirking as she continues to comfort Ru. His sobs have reduced to sad little sniffles.
Barbara slaps a calendar down on the reception desk and flips through it until she reaches July. She then proudly displays it for me and Emily to see.
Under the sun, an axe-wielding Highlander wipes sweat from his brow, a pile of chopped wood on the ground beside him.
“Isn’t he your doppelgänger?”
“Er . . . I’m not sure I see the resemblance myself.”
I can only assume Barbara’s gaze is distracted by the drops of sweat trickling down the man’s bare chest. His face is nothing like mine.
Barbara’s friend thinks otherwise. “You see it, don’t you?” she says, turning to Emily. “The likeness to your husband is uncanny.”
“Oh, Lewis isn’t my husband. I’m actually married to his older brother, Ally.”
Barbara rests her arms on the desk and leans closer to me. “Does that mean you’re still on the market? Because I’m recently divorced and wouldn’t mind a Scottish boy toy to spice up my vacation.”
Her companion bursts into laughter and claps her hands together.
I chuckle, perhaps a little nervously. “That’s quite the offer. Unfortunately, unlike my brother, who started dating Emily here while she was visiting, I adhere to a strict code that forbids relationships with guests, no matter how attractive they are.”
“Then you’ll just have to quit your job,” Barbara shoots back with a wink. “Trust me, I’m worth it.”
This sets her friend off again.
I grin. “I can’t do that, but what I can do is carry your cases upstairs for you. I’ll lead the way.”
The two women follow behind me and compliment me regularly on my strength and muscles—plus I overhear an approving whisper about my “ass”. I ignore their flattery, although I can’t help but wish Iona had shown a bit of appreciation earlier when I was helping her out. Instead, she’d remained indifferent the whole time, even while dumping a second box of books on top of the one I was already carrying.
I decline a last-ditch suggestion from Barbara that I join her in her room (I think she’s just having a laugh but I’m honestly not sure) then head back down to reception. “Those two are going to be trouble,” I mutter to Emily. “We should come up with a safe word in case I need you to rescue me from them.”
“If you’d stayed in the office rather than sticking your nose in, you wouldn’t need rescuing. I was getting on fine.”
“Sorry, you’re right.”
Emily used to be a wedding planner in London and thrived on creating the perfect day for her wealthy clients. She understands better than anyone the importance of getting every detail just right and so is well aware that a crying baby isn’t the first impression we want to give guests of the Bannock Hotel. She knows it, I know it—but I also know I’d get my head bitten off were I to say it out loud.
Ru whimpers again so I reach out and tickle his belly in an attempt to cheer him up. The way I see it, Emily wants to apply the same perfectionism to the hotel that she did to her wedding-planning business, but she also wants the very best for her son, and at times those demands come into conflict. That’s why I’m always happy to step in and help where I can, and yet . . . it irritates Emily when I do. I’m not sure what the solution is.
Ru’s cries get worse, so—with a sigh—Emily announces she’s going to put him down for a nap. I smile and nod, judging that to be the safest response.
The pair of them have barely left when my younger brother, Jamie, strolls in from the snug—that’s what we call the hotel’s bar area. He leans against the reception desk, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“One minute you’re tripping over your own feet in your rush to welcome Iona, the next you’re chatting up older women. You’re coming across a bit desperate, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t ask you, and anyway, if you overheard that conversation, you must also have heard Ru crying. Didn’t it occur to you to maybe step in and help? I was in the middle of something in the office, and I bet the snug isn’t busy right now.”
“There’s not a single customer,” Jamie agrees. “I was thinking of coming to help, but I was actually at this really important bit in a game I was playing, so . . .”
I shake my head. Jamie and his bloody video games.
“Anyway, you’ve missed the boat with Iona,” he adds. “She and Richard have moved in together and have new jobs lined up—they’re settling down. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pops the question soon.”
This hits me like a blow to the gut. Are things that serious between them? I suppose they have been seeing each other for a while, but surely they’re not thinking of marriage?
