Page 53 of Highland Hearts Holiday Bookshop

For a moment, I was alone, and icy wind danced along my stockings, threatening to blow my skirt up. But I didn’t care. The blast of cold against my skin invigorated me, and a soft thrill of happiness filled me. This place was mine. Happy voices and music spilled into the night air, with snatches of conversations pulled away on the wind. The exterior of the cottage had been transformed into a winter wonderland, and on cue, the music started from the speaker that Alexander had rigged outside the shop.

AsUnder the Seabegan playing, I clapped my hands together, as giddy as a little girl on Christmas Day. Well, never the Christmas Days I’d had growing up, as my mother had more often than not forgotten about the holiday, but what I imagined the feeling would be like.

The main window showcased an enchanting underwater landscape. Faux kelp strands hung from the ceiling, intermixed with shimmering tinsel strands, to make it seem like a sparkly underwater world. Jellyfish, with sparkling tentacles, floated in the air. Between the kelp, underwater creatures danced, each one more sparkly than the next. I’d taken a stand on my pufferfish, and he’d been allowed in with a small Christmas bow tie. A lobster had been decided upon for Santa, and he was tucked inside a conch shell sleigh while being driven by seahorses with antlers on. One corner, a faux coral reef had been created, and on it sat a voluptuous mermaid, wearing a tinsel bra, with Christmas presents strewn around the pile of pearls she sat on. As the song played, the lighting changed, highlighting different corners of the window or flashingin tune to the beat of the song. Propelled by whatever magic Alexander had programmed into it, the conch sleigh moved slowly across the ocean floor, and as the song wound down, sharks in Santa hats sprung from behind the kelp, silly grins painted on their faces. At the very top of the window, a pirate ship dangled, bobbing slowly across the surface of the water.

For an aging book club, a new store owner, and one determined computer programmer—we’d knocked it out of the park.

“Rosie! This is fantastic.”

I turned to find Harper, along with two handsome men, standing behind me.

“Isn’t it? I’m really in awe of how it all came together.”

“No seahorse breasts to be seen,” Harper observed.

“Nope. They managed to navigate that particular hiccup.” We grinned at each other before she turned to the men at her side. “This cutie is Reed, my boyfriend and owner of The Royal Unicorn. And this is his friend Aiden who is visiting from Boston.”

I registered Aiden’s easy smile and interest in his eyes. He was handsome enough but didn’t quite hold a candle to the kilt-wearing programmer inside.

“Are you enjoying your visit?” I asked.

“I am. It’s a beautiful area, and I feel like there’s so much to explore. How do you like living here?”

A funny little jolt hit me.

He was just on holiday, and I might as well have been, having been here for only a week. But it was aworld of difference between living here and just visiting. And in such a short time I realized I’d already put down roots.

Esther poked her head out of the door.

“Judges will be here in twenty minutes.”

“Oh, for the windows. Exciting!” Harper clapped her hands and we went to join the party. Two steps into the door, I was stopped by a nervous Edina.

“Can I speak to you?” Edina looked lovely tonight in wide-leg black pants and a soft emerald sweater with pretty pearl buttons. But her eyes were wary.

“Of course.” I nudged her through the crowd and into my flat, closing the door behind us. “What’s going on? How are you?”

“I think … I think this was stupid. The whole thing was a stupid idea. Och, I’m not sure what I was thinking. Signing up for a matchmaking. Stupid, really.” Edina paced, wringing her hands. “I don’t even remember the first thing about dating. How am I supposed to just go on a blind date? I don’t think I can do this. I’ll just take a refund.”

Damn it, I’d hoped to give her a chance with Samuel. He hadn’t arrived yet, from what Esther had told me, and I had been excited to see if my first match would work.

“Sorry, no refunds,” I said, cheerfully, and her head whipped to me.

“What do you mean, no refunds?”

“It’s part of the policy. In the fine print.” I was making this up as I went, but I didn’t get the sense that I’d be able to placate Edina with words that everythingwould work out. She’d been told that before in her life and it hadn’t.

“Where’s this policy?” Edina demanded. “That’s not fair. What if I don’t want to be matched anymore?”

I shrugged. “Then you just say no when he asks you on a date.”

“He? You have someone for me?” Despite her nerves, curiosity lit her eyes.

“Of course. It’s my job, isn’t it?”

A knock sounded at the door and Esther poked her head in.

“The local paper wants a photo with you before the judges arrive.”

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