Page 51 of Elijah
Amy
aged 28
The Scottish air was clean and clear, and I had to be honest, I’d enjoyed the peace and quiet of the little village of Anaclellan. I’d been really busy since I’d arrived, working with builders and decorators, trying to create the vision that Mr & Mrs Murray had for their hotel.
I’d persuaded them to veer away from the tartan and heather theme, instead going for a New England look of stripped floorboards, comfy couches, and hurricane lamps and candles. It was all in pale blues, creams, and lilac and was looking good.
It was only a thirty room hotel, and the major building work had been completed before I arrived, with only a couple of bathrooms and the bar needing to be finished. The decorators were on their last day and I was pretty sure I’d be finished a few days ahead of time.
The only fly in the ointment was Finlay, the Murray’s son. He regularly let me know his opinion on the refurbishment. He was a nice guy generally, but his desire to purchase horrifyingly ugly, peach, silk bed runners for all the beds was getting a little annoying. At his fourth or maybe ninetieth time of suggesting it, I lost my temper and threw the Hotel Linens R Us catalogue into the bin and emptied a bottle of water over it. Since then Finlay had kept a quiet distance.
There was one other thing bothering me and that was Elijah – I was missing him and had a constant lump of pain pushing against my breastbone. I knew it was my own fault. I’d been stubborn and childish; but I’d also been heartbroken and feeling vulnerable at the time, unfortunately it’d taken me five years to realise how wrong I’d been in not taking time to see if we could work things out. The problem was, I didn’t think I’d ever un-see what I had that night. It was still as vivid in my mind as if it was yesterday, and no matter how much I loved Elijah – had always loved Elijah – I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to forget and properly move on.
“Are you wanting a drink, Amy?” Finlay asked, smiling brightly at me. “I’m having a wee one, if you’d like to join me.”
I blinked rapidly, wondering when he’d come into the lounge, I’d been so lost in my own thoughts.
“That would be lovely, Finlay, thank you.”
I pulled my feet under me on the huge, squashy sofa which I was sitting on in the Murrays’ lounge. Mr & Mrs Murray- Iain and Marcia- had already gone up to bed as they were early risers. I usually went up to my room soon after them, liking to get up and out for a long walk before I started my working day. The rain had been sheeting down all day though, and Iain had said it was forecast to continue through to the following evening, so I decided not to walk the next morning and maybe sleep in a little longer instead, as long as I was up and ready to talk to the floor layers at 8 a.m.
“Brandy?”
I nodded and watched as Finlay put some ice into a glass and then poured some brandy over the top, making it crack and crackle. Once he poured himself a whiskey, he handed me my drink and with his large hand curled around a crystal glass, he sat down on the armchair.
“Not long left now,” he said, swirling the amber liquid around.
“No, we’ve made good time. It helped that the contractors were able to start before I got here.”
“Well, I’ll be sad to see you go.”
Finlay flashed me a perfect smile and sat back in the chair, stretching his legs out in front of him. He was tall and lean, with strawberry-blond hair and pale-grey eyes, and if my head hadn’t been so caught up in Elijah, I may well have thought about something happening between us – I was pretty sure that he found me attractive because I’d caught him looking at me when he didn’t think I’d notice, a few times.
“Do you have anyone at home?” he asked.
I frowned, pausing with my glass halfway to my lips. “My family?”
“No,” he replied, his Scottish lilt as smooth as the brandy I was sipping. “A man.”
There was that pain again.
“No.” I cleared my throat and moved my cheeks to make a half smile.
“So, would you go to dinner with me then?”
Finlay remained relaxed in his chair, watching me carefully as I drank some more brandy. I wasn’t sure what to say. If I said no would it appear rude; he could simply be offering as a thank you for the work I’d done over the last three weeks. But what if I said yes and he did think it was something more, that it might lead to something more?
Then Finlay laid it all out there and made it plain why he’d asked.
“You know I find you attractive, Amy and I’d love nothing better than to take you out before you leave us. We’re both single, so what would the harm be?” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “You’ve been working non-stop for three weeks, so why not have some fun with me – for one night.”
His eyes twinkled as he stared at me, waiting for my response. I shifted, feeling a little uncomfortable under his gaze, not because he was creepy or anything like that, but it had been a long time since anyone had given me so much attention. I’d shied away from it over the last five years, with my standard move being to pull away after a short time to avoid getting in too deep and getting my heart broken again. I’d only had sex a handful of times since I’d left Elijah and that had been with a guy in my second year in London. Seb had worked in menswear at the store and we’d gone out for a couple of months, but when he left his toothbrush over at my flat and talked about us taking a holiday together, I knew I had to end things with him. He’d said it was okay and understood that I didn’t want anything serious, but he left the store soon after that. Just before I left London to come home, I heard he’d gotten engaged, so I knew I’d done the right thing.
“Well?” Finlay asked.
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay,” I replied. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”
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