Joseph chuckled at that, causing Flora to give him a light swat on the arm. Charlie sipped at her tea, pleased to find that it settled her stomach and eased her headache somewhat.
“Will ye be returning to yer inn this morning?” Niall asked. “If ye can remember where it is, of course?”
Charlie nodded then grimaced as the movement made her head pound. “Yes, I remember. I think. But I have an appointment to keep first.”
Niall’s gaze sharpened at this and, was she imagining it, or did Joseph and Flora suddenly look more attentive as well?
“Oh?” Niall said.
“I’ve got to meet my cousin at a bridal shop. That’s why I came up from Cardiff yesterday. We’re going for a fitting.”
Unfortunately, her hotel and the bridal shop were at opposite ends of the city which meant she didn’t have time to go to the hotel and change first. The last thing she wanted was to annoy her cousin by being late. No, the wash she’d had upstairs would have to do until she could have a proper shower.
She wouldn’t be the first person to turn up to a bridal fitting with a hangover. Would she?
“I need to go into town this morning as well,” Niall announced. “I will escort ye to this shop if ye wish.”
Charlie put down her cup, surprised by the offer. “Oh. Okay. That would be...nice.”
It would be more than nice, actually. And the fact that he seemed towantto stay in her company suggested he wasn’t offended that she’d kissed him. In fact, perhaps he might have liked it...
She squashed that thought before it could go any further. Niall’s lips curved into a small smile as though he knew exactly what she’d been thinking. He stood up, chair scraping against the worn wooden floor, and offered his hand.
“Shall we?”
Charlie hesitated for a second before placing her hand in his and allowing him to pull her up. Turning to Flora and Joseph, she said, “Thank you for your hospitality.”
With one last appreciative glance at the cozy kitchen and its friendly occupants, Charlie followed Niall out of the kitchen and along the hall to the front door.
Here Niall paused, looking back at Charlie with those arresting leaf-green eyes. He reached for his plaid that hung on a wooden peg by the door, wrapping it over his shirt and breeches without bothering to tie up his wavy hair as he had done the night before.
Something about this unpolished look—the loose hair, the casual drape of his plaid—gave him an air of an old-world highland laird that did something funny to Charlie’s insides.
And if the cocky smile that curled the corners of his mouth was any indication, she was pretty sure he knewexactlythe effect he was having on her.
He lifted a long coat from a peg by the door and offered it her. She accepted it with a nod of thanks—she wasn’t sure where she’d left her own. The book shop? The ball?—and stepped out into the crisp morning air. The chill brushed against her face, taking the edge off her hangover and stirring her senses to life. The air was damp with dew, the sun still hiding behind the low-hanging clouds.
But as she stepped out into the street, she stopped dead. Last night, after she’d left the wedding reception, everything about the city had looked different. But last night she’d been drunk and she’d managed to convince herself that everything would be fine this morning.
It wasn’t.
This wasnotthe Edinburgh she knew. Just like last night, there were no cars, no buses, no busy streets full of people. Instead, she saw rows of tall tenement buildings with cobbled streets out the front, with the odd carriage rolling by. She stared, her heartbeat quickening.
“Is everything all right?” Niall asked.
“What?” she said, jumping. “Fine. Just a little...disorientated.”
“Where is this tailor’s shop ye wish to visit?”
“Miller’s Row,”
Just get to the bridal shop, she told herself.Meet Ruby and then everything will be okay.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, she laid her hand on Niall’s arm and they set off. The cobblestone streets, wet from the morning dew, shimmered under the dim light as they walked, reflecting the old stone buildings and their towering spires. What few shops there were had quaint signs dangling from wrought-iron brackets announcing their professions: ironmongery, haberdashery, wills and probate.
Charlie didn’t see a single coffee shop, fast-food restaurant or pizza place. What the bloody hell was happening?
As they walked, Niall exchanged greetings with the elegantly dressed men and women that passed them. They responded in kind, the women’s cheeks flushing a rosy pink as they curtsied. Glancing back, Charlie noticed that many of the women watched her and Niall walk away.
