‘I amwayahead of you.’ Harper tugged out a hefty ring binder that thwacked when she dropped it onto the forest green coffee table. It spilled open to reveal plastic wallets filled with notes and collage cut-outs that Struan could only stare at, dumbfounded. This was a woman who had come prepared – for an apocalypse as well as a wedding, it seemed. ‘Originally, we wanted the wedding to happen this autumn, but the dress I’ve picked out isn’t made for a baby bump, so it needs to be soon.’
‘I don’t feel like I need to be here for this.’ Struan shuffled off the couch to stretch his legs. At the same moment, a tinkling of the bell above the door signalled a visitor. He expected to see their newest book club member, Blair, in the entrance – but the short woman in the doorway was not nearly as energetic as the flirtatious teaching assistant, even if they did share similar dark hair and curves.
No, it was Rae who hovered awkwardly on the sunflower-patterned rug, skin dewy from the humidity outside and bun scraped even tighter than usual, as though she was trying to ensure that not a strand would escape after last week’s disarray.
She didn’t seem to notice Struan, and he stood still in the hopes it remained that way.
‘Hello!’ Eiley greeted, standing and nudging her stool aside. ‘Can I help you?’
‘I’m so sorry to interrupt. Is this a book club?’ As Rae’s eyes danced over each of them in turn, Struan held his breath. It whooshed out of him a moment later when, finally, they landed on him.
He tried not to feel the pressure on his chest, or worse, the lurch in the very pit of him that seemed to respond to every movement she made. Tried not to remember berry stains on her lips and the bucking of her hips, and the bolts of pleasure she’d pumped through him.
But it was impossible. She’d given him a summer night that he’d only ever seen in movies, and even if it had been unplanned, a mistake swiftly corrected, his body refused to let it lie.
‘Oh,’ she breathed, wringing her hands. The daisy-patterned skirt she wore was a little like the pink one of malfunctions past, only it reached her ankles. No danger of another underwear sighting. ‘Hello. Wait… Areyouin the book club?’
Her surprise felt offensive – proof that, like everybody else, she saw him for the plain, unintelligent man he usually felt like. ‘Why? Does it surprise you that I can read?’
‘No, of course not.’
Puzzled, Harper’s head darted between them. ‘Wait, what did I miss? What manner of awkward sexual tension is this?’
‘Harper!’ Eiley poked her in the arm. ‘You can’t just say that about everyone you see.’
‘I can when they very clearly want to jump each other’s bones. Besides, I’m always right!’
‘Nope. No. No bones being jumped,’ said Rae adamantly.Kick a man while he’s down, thought Struan. ‘We just… We know each other. Anyway, I should come back at a better time.’
‘No, stay. We weren’t getting much reading done here, anyway.’ Eiley joined her by the door, and Rae’s shoulders relaxed at her warm smile.
‘Who is she?’ Harper whispered under their quiet conversation without much subtlety.
‘Just a friend.’
‘Liar.’
Struan slipped his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t fidget. He couldn’t remember why he was still here, only that if he left now, he’d have to pass Rae at the door. See her freckles up close, smell her sweet perfume, feel her warmth, which seemed to radiate from her skin like sunlight. He’d already been torturing himself every night with those memories. No amount of self-induced orgasms had driven her away; his own rough hands couldn’t mimic the sensation of her delicate ones, true pleasure hollow and just out of reach. All he wanted was to bury himself in her until this desire was finally flushed from his system.
‘I saw your van outside,’ Rae was saying to Eiley, motioning her head to the green bus Eiley sometimes drove to sell in different locations. Struan had mentioned enquiring over the weekend whether Eiley was interested in attending the Strawberry Fair, but the bookshop had been closed while Eiley enjoyed a getaway with her boyfriend, Warren, and three children. ‘I was just wondering if maybe you’d like to have a space reserved at the Sweetbriar Strawberry Fair at the end of August.’ She handed Eiley a flier.‘Struan said you might be interested.’
Harper gasped, squinting to look at her more closely. ‘Wait! You’re Rae Docharty! Cam told me you were in town!’
‘Oh.’ Rae winced. ‘I sort of hoped the Cam thing wouldn’t come up, but never mind. I’ll leave you all to it.’
‘Wait!’ Harper repeated, hurdling over Dot’s legs to grab Rae’s arm. Rae raised a brow. Struan knew what it meant, having experienced a similar confusion upon meeting Harper.Why is this bubbly blond woman suddenly latching on to me? Am I about to be kidnapped and left in her basement?
There was no saving Rae now. She had been chosen. He inched closer in an attempt to provide some reassurance, his elbow brushing her arm. Unintentionally, of course.
‘Yes,’ Harper gushed, ‘Cam told me about the drama, but she also told me you’re RaeDocharty!’
‘Erm… that is my name, yeah.’
‘TheRae Docharty! Judge onSuperCook, fine-dining extraordinaire, overall beautiful badass! My ex-fiancée introduced me to your food years ago, when you were working in Manchester, and I almost broke up with her to marry your roasted lobster. In fact, I should have.’
‘Oh! Thank you! Wow, it’s a small world.’
‘It was so fascinating to watch you work. Sorry, I didn’t recognise you without all the steam in your face,’ Harper continued, and then shot a piercing glare at Struan. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were “friends” with my favourite chef?’
