Page 50 of Highland Hearts Holiday Bookshop

“I seriously don’t think they show any naughty bits,” I said, my shoulders shaking with the laughter I was trying to keep inside.

“We can’t get docked points for flashing seahorse privates to the judges.” Esther glared at the room. Everyone nodded as though this made perfect sense.

“I’m never going to look at seahorses the same.”

“And this, my new friend, is what makes small-town life never dull.” Harper laughed behind me.

“What about a pufferfish?” I suggested. “They might look cute with a Santa hat.”

“And how am I going to get a Santa jacket on him? His spikes will rip the material.” Shannon spoke as though she was actually going to be wrangling a pufferfish into a Santa costume.

“Right, of course. My mistake.”

“Maybe a crab or lobster should be Santa?” Alexander suggested. “Since they’re already red?”

“Ohhhh.” The entire pub took a collective sigh of relief, many sending Alexander nods of approval.

“I think you might have just saved Christmas,” I whispered from the side of my mouth.

“But what about the seahorses?” Cherise’s face fell.

“Could they be reindeer maybe? With antlers and little saddles?” I asked, and the room exploded with enthusiasm. I even got a few claps for my suggestion. “Why do I feel like I just won an award?”

“Let’s just say that people tend to get very fixated on the small things here,” Harper said.

“I can see that.” A wave of sleepiness hit me, and I realized I’d been awake since before dawn that morning. “I think I need to go. As exciting as this discussion is, I’m still adjusting to this time zone.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Alexander said.

“You don’t have to.” I nodded to his half-finished pint. “It’s fine if you want to finish it.”

Alexander drained the rest of the pint in one gulp and my eyes widened.

“Don’t leave me herewith them.”

“Message received.” I waited as Alexander settled up and we stopped by the Book Bitches on the way out.

“Oh, both of you are leaving at the same time?” Esther blinked coyly at me.

“Yes, that’s what people do when they finish their drinks,” I pointed out.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Goodnight. Everyone, please stop by for my open house party this Saturday. The shop will be open all day, but I’ll stay open after hours for drinks and snacks to get to know everyone better,” I said to the pub and everyone waved us off, seemingly happy with their window design planning.

When Alexander turned toward the shop, I looked up at him. His eyes gleamed in the light spilling from the windows at the pub.

“You don’t have to walk me from here. It’s right around the corner.”

“It’s my job.”

“You take this friend thing seriously.” I fell into step next to him as we walked along the silent street. It was so quiet here. At home there would have been cars whizzing past, horns sounding, and likely a siren or two in the background. But here, I could just faintly hear the ocean in the distance, and the wind rustling the branches of a cluster of trees as we walked.

“I don’t have many of them anymore.”

“Lose some in the divorce?” I guessed and then clapped a hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business.”

“Och, it’s fine, lass. And yes, I did lose some in the divorce. I guess they weren’t much my friends anyway.”

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