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“Come on, Gabby. We haven’t been out in ages. Please come with us to the club tonight; we miss you!”
I turn from the shelf of books I’m re-organising and face my friend Hannah. She flutters her eyelashes at me and places her hands together as if praying.
“Please! We can use it as a late birthday celebration. We still haven’t been out for your twenty-third birthday!” she whines as I walk away, chuckling.
“I’ve been busy. You know this shop takes up all my spare time,” I explain, picking up some fluff from the floor.
“Who would have thought a bookshop would be so popular!” Hannah exclaims as she leans against the counter. Blocking the way of one of my regular customers. I point towards the seating area.
“Some people like to read rather than watch TV,” I tease, smiling. “Now shift, Mr Hudson is trying to get to the till.” I point towards the seats on the other side of the shop. Hannah holds her hands up and quickly apologises to the gentleman behind her whilst backing away.
“Afternoon, Gabriella dear. How are you today?”
“I’m good, thank you, Mr Hudson. How are you? Did you enjoy the books you picked up last week?” I ask as I total up his purchases.
Mr Hudson has been a regular since I opened. He may be in his late sixties, but his grey hair and smart clothes always make him look more like he is in his early fifties. He has the kind of face that makes me think of my grandfather before he died when I was four. I have very few memories of him, but he always had a big smile that made all my worries disappear. Mr Hudson has the same effect on me, which is why I always spend a little more time with him than most customers. I always look forward to his weekly visits.
“Oh yes, thank you for the recommendations.”
“You’re welcome; anything for my best customer,” I reply, grinning as he taps his card against the machine. “I hope that boss of yours is giving you some time off,” I add as Mr Hudson chuckles.
“Not really, dear, but I like being kept busy.”
“Well, tell that slave driver from me; I said you need a break now and again. Life’s too short to be spent working and not enjoying yourself.” It’s become part of our routine for me to complain about his employer. Apparently, he is a wealthy businessman who expects poor Mr Hudson to drive him around at all hours of the day and night. I have never heard Mr Hudson say one bad word about his boss, but that’s because he is too polite. But I have no problem saying it for him. Which is probably why he refuses to tell me who he works for.
“Maybe that’s something you should remember too,” Mr Hudson replies with an arched brow. “Why don’t you go out tonight and enjoy yourself with your friends? You certainly deserve to let your hair down. You also work too hard.”
“You tell her, Mr H!” Hannah calls out as he laughs. I shake my head smiling.
“Where will you be going?” he enquires, looking at Hannah.
“Euphoria. Gabby’s brother hates her going there, so she always bails. But I say what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” She looks at me and wiggles her eyebrows. She’s not wrong. Oliver has given me a list of clubs and bars he doesn’t want me to visit. He can be overprotective like that; he has been since my eighteenth. I’m sure he has his reasons, so I respect his wishes … Most of the time.
“Well, I don’t think you will have any issues there. I hear the owner is strict on whom he lets in,” Mr Hudson says, giving me a playful wink.
“I’ll think about it.” I sigh, rolling my eyes as I follow Mr Hudson to the front of the shop. “Same time next week?” I ask, holding the door open for him.
“Of course, and I expect to hear all about your night out,” he smirks as he leaves the shop and heads down the street. I stay holding the door for my friend as she prepares to leave.
“I’m not taking no for an answer. We will pick you up at eight, be ready. Otherwise, I will drag you out, pyjamas and all,” she declares, kissing me on the cheek and rushing to her car. I shake my head and wave before closing the door and locking up. I turn the sign to closed and start cashing up for the night.
Three years ago, my brother helped me set up my bookstore. I used half of our inheritance from our Mum to buy all the fixtures and stock. Oliver announced that he used his half to purchase the shop and the flat above it where I now live. I have tried to repay him many times, but he always refuses.
For a long time after my eighteenth, I shut myself off from the world. I was hurting, and my brother was the only one who stuck by my side and tried to get me to start living again. I was starting to make new friends and experience life as a twenty-year-old should when Mum died. She’d been ill most of our lives with one form of cancer or another. She would overcome it, but then it would reappear somewhere new. I will never know how Oliver managed it, but she had the best treatment available. When she relapsed that last time, he found her a bed in the best hospice in the UK. Nothing was too much for her, and he ensured she had everything she could possibly need.
I don’t remember much about the week she died; I went into a state of shock. Once again, Oliver took over everything and moved back home to ensure I cared for myself and was the best big brother a girl could ever ask for. I don’t know what I would have done without him. There again, I don’t know what I would have done without him ever. He took what happened on my eighteenth personally and has always put me before anything else. As much as I try to stand on my own two feet, Oliver’s always there with a bag of shopping, money for rent or bills, and even things I don’t realise I need. He’s the best like that, which is why when he asks me not to go to certain places, I respect his wishes. But occasionally, I will cave to peer pressure and do as I please. Tonight may be one of those times.
I walk into my apartment and look around. Do I really want to spend another night on my own? I check my phone and see a message from the guy I’ve been on a couple of dates with, saying he is away until our date Friday night. There is no explanation of where he is, but I don’t care either. I look back at the empty apartment and admit defeat. I quickly text Hannah and rush off to prepare for my first night out in months.
Chapter Three
Gabby
I walk off the dance floor and head to the toilets in the hope of being able to reach my friends. Great fucking friends they are too. They dragged me out, then ditched me when someone better came along—this time in the shape of a couple of cute guys. I’ve drunk a fair bit and know I’m heading to my limit, which makes it all so much worse. With everyone ditching me, I know I’ll have to admit defeat and call Oliver and ask him to pick me up. He’s going to be so mad at me for not only being drunk but for being here in the first place.
I’m so busy thinking of an excuse I can give him that I don’t notice a group of guys heading towards me until they knock into me.
“Hey, arseholes! Watch where you are going!” I curse whilst straightening myself up. One of them turns around and grins when he sees me.
