Page 20 of A Scottish Christmas Hideaway
‘Cheers,’ said Reuben, lifting his glass and knocking it against Brodie’s. The last thing he wanted or needed was any more stress in his life. It was far better to be single. That way he could suit himself.
Chapter Twelve
When Jessica opened her eyes the next morning, she knew that coming home had been the right decision. She could hear her parents downstairs in the kitchen, the radio playing in the background. As she lay there for a moment, she felt surprisingly lighter now that she had told her mum what had happened to Tim. And as she took deep and slow breaths in and out, she realised that she felt more at ease. Not completely calm though. This would be about taking one step at a time. But she was definitely more relaxed than she had been for months. She sighed and allowed herself a smile of relief. She wasn’t going to allow herself to dwell on that part of her life any longer. She had ruminated on Tim and what might have been for too long. And she would never get all the answers she wanted or needed because the only person who would tell her the truth was dead. Today was a new day. It was time to move forward and part of her plan also involved some damage limitation.
A couple of hours later, she strode down the lane and stopped at Primrose Cottage, rapping on the door sharply. After a few moments the door opened.
‘Good morning, Reuben. I just wanted to say thanks for the lift home yesterday and I’m sorry that I rushed off and didn’t stay to help you decorate the tree. I’m off to the village and wondered if I could bring you back a coffee?’
Reuben was back in his painting overalls again and he pulled off his baseball cap and scratched his head. He looked slightly puzzled and didn’t reply immediately.
She tipped her head to the side. ‘What people would normally say is,yes thanks, Jessica, that is really kind of you. And by the way, it’s me who should be buying the coffees and apologising for calling you Jessie when you asked me not to.’
Reuben paused. ‘Sorry, I’m expecting a delivery. I didn’t realise it would be you.’
‘Sorry to disappoint. I would have called but I don’t have your number. Anyway . . . What kind of coffee can I get you?’ She suddenly felt nervous and hoped he would start saying something,anything, relatively friendly in the next few seconds. Maybe she had misread this and he was annoyed withherfor some reason? A slight niggle of doubt lodged itself in her mind. She had to keep telling herself this was Reuben. Her brother’s oldest friend, and now, it seemed, a friend of the family. It was perfectly fine for her to call in and offer to get him a drink especially when he was working so hard to help out her brother. She just had to ignore the fact he was so good-looking.
But then Reuben smiled at her and raised his eyebrows. ‘You are right. I owe you an apology and I’m sorry. I will try harder from now on in to call you by your proper name. Jessica not Jessie.’
She nodded, trying to ignore the happiness she now felt that he was being himself and was okay. Thattheywere okay. ‘Apology accepted. Now what kind of coffee can I get you?’
‘A latte would be wonderful please. And you can have my phone number if you’d like.’
Jessica pulled out her phone, ignoring Reuben’s smirk and quickly typed in the number as he shared it with her, then dialled it. ‘There,’ she said. ‘Now you have mine in your phone too.’
‘Great. And thank you for thinking of me with the coffee . . . Jessica.’
‘You’re welcome. I’m off for a wander, so I’ll be back in about an hour or so. Does that fit in with your timings?’
He glanced at his watch. His sleeves were rolled up. Those forearms, she thought again. Never before had she considered forearms sexy. But his definitely were.
‘Perfect.’
She pulled her eyes away from his arms, smiled brightly and walked away, feeling oddly excited to know that she would definitely be seeing him again very soon. Then guilty. He was her brother’s best friend.
This time as she walked the high street she went at a more leisurely pace, looking in the shop windows properly. Jessica had done zilch Christmas shopping and it was starting to dawn on her that she might like to make a start. It had been years since she had been shopping in Glasgow and she idly wondered if she might go there one day after all to have a mooch around Buchanan Street. In the meantime she was going to embrace shopping locally as much as she could. Stopping at the small gift shop, The Bay, her eyes spotted a beautiful pair of earrings in the window. They were cerise-pink and silver hoops and she immediately thought of her sister-in-law, Carolyn, who loved anything pink. They always teased her that it was lucky Lexi had been a girl who actually liked pink. The earrings were perfect for Carolyn and she decided today was a day for being decisive. Pushing the door open, she walked in and gasped in delight when she got inside. It was a complete treasure trove.
‘I’ll be right with you, dear,’ said the woman behind the counter, already helping some other customers.
‘No rush,’ said Jessica, glad of the chance to have a browse and see what else she could find.
As she wandered around the shop, she saw a delicate necklace with a blue pendant, perfect for her mum. Then she spotted a stylish red tweed tartan purse, which immediately made her think of Freda, whose favourite colour was red. She picked it up and decided she would buy it and post it to her for Christmas. They didn’t usually exchange gifts, but then she had been so supportive this year. If it hadn’t been for Freda insisting she take a break from work, who knows what state she would bein. She would probably be lying in a crumpled heap underneath her desk.
Jessica had always been so busy that she didn’t have a chance to look for perfect gifts — resorting to Christmas shopping that could be done online or on the hoof. The last time she had been home to celebrate Christmas, two years ago, she had rather swiftly picked up some gifts for her parents at Selfridges as she’d passed on her way back from a meeting and had a case of champagne delivered to Thistle Cottage before her arrival. She now realised how much she was enjoying just taking her time to browse and actually give the gifts she wanted to buy a bit more thought. While she was looking, she found a light silk scarf that would match the necklace for her mum. Then she saw a candle in an orange Irn-Bru tin which made her laugh out loud. She picked it up to smell it. How weird. It did in fact smell like the national soft drink. A weird combination of citrus and bubble gum and sweeties.
‘You either love or hate those candles,’ said the woman as she waved off the other customers and walked over to Jessica.
‘The person I’m thinking of will love it,’ she said. Carolyn, who was from Edinburgh, adored Irn-Bru, especially after a late night out, and she knew she would appreciate having it to take back to Melbourne as a wee reminder of home. Freda on the other hand would have been horrified as she thought Irn-Bru was an absolute crime against fizzy drinks. Not that she ever drank any type of soft drink. The only soft drinks she had seen Freda drink were water and black coffee, and the only bubbles to pass her lips were those in a glass of champagne.
‘How’re you getting on? Can I help you with anything?’
‘You’ve got some lovely stuff in here,’ admitted Jessica, ‘but I’ll take these things for now and maybe come back. My dad and my brother will be the challenges.’
The woman pushed her glasses back on her nose and laughed. ‘Well, if you need any help, just pop back in. We’re open all day and every day right up until Christmas Eve.’
‘I’m in the village for a few weeks actually,’ said Jessica. ‘Staying with my folks. Catriona and Angus.’
The woman looked at her again and narrowed her eyes. ‘You must be Jessica? It’s so nice to finally meet you,’ she said with a beam. ‘I know your mum from the crafting classes. She’s been so excited about having you and your brother home. Sorry, you must think I’ve lost the plot chatting away like a daft old woman. I’m Moira.’
