Both couples give me a hearty tip as they head into the restaurant.
Maisie goes to dig around her handbag and I arch a brow at her. “I need to give you a tip. You gave me the tour for free.”
“I don’t want your money,” I tell her.
“You just spent hours showing me around. For free,” she emphasizes the free part and I shake my head. “I owe you something.”
“Dinner?” I say boldly and she adjusts her stance slightly.
“Dinner?” she parrots.
“Yes, dinner I will be paying for. You will be gifting me the pleasure of your company.”
“I can’t tonight. I promised my sister we would get dinner.”
“A raincheck then?”
Maisie bites her lips and takes a deep breath. “Alright, I can do that.”
I hand her my phone, opening the messaging app. “Why don’t you put in your number so I can send you the photos from today?”
“Swindler in a kilt,” she whispers under her breath, but she gives me her information anyway. I call that a win.
“Thank you for coming along with me. You have a standing invitation for any of my tours.”
“Any, huh?” she asks, ready to walk away.
“For a cost of my choice, of course.”
She shakes her head at me, but heads toward the Heather Beag. She glances back at me once, her cheeks rosy and sweet, and I sigh to myself. I already like her far too much.
The bell chimes over the entrance of Greer’s, my pack mate drying off some drinking glasses, stacking them neatly behind the bar. When I sit down at one of the high back bar stools, he slides me a pint and arches a brow at me.
“How’d it go?” he asks.
I take a sip of the beer, letting it coat my throat as I think about how today went. Before I can get a word in, a hand claps on my shoulder. It’s Todd from the tour group.
“Amazing tour. Where did your sweet girlfriend head off to?” he asks.
“She had plans with her sister,” I tell him with a smile, not correcting him.
“Ah. I remember when Jenny and I were young and in love. They were amazing years, and they only get better,” he says lovingly about his wife. “Also, we already posted our Google review.” He holds out his massive phone, showing me the short but sweet review he left.
“Appreciate it, Todd. If there’s anywhere else you and the missus want to go while you’re here, you know who to call.”
“Not Rory,” he says with a wink and I laugh.
The older gentleman walks away and Greer leans over the bar top.
“Girlfriend, huh?”
“I wish,” I groan, taking a sip of beer. “I don’t know how to explain it. We were with Fiona for nearly a year and yet…” I shake my head. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
He nods his head in agreement, neither of us knowing how to describe this pull we have to Maisie. It’s not just an attraction, it’s something else entirely.
“She’s got a lot going on,” Greer says and I nod.
It’s clear that she’s grieving and losing her job has definitely added an extra layer to the complications of her life.
