“They’re wondering who ye are,” Niall said in answer to her unspoken question. “And envying ye.”
Charlie glanced over at him to see that cocky smirk twisting his lips again. “Envying me? You really think a lot of yourself don’t you?” Wow. ‘Arrogant’ didn’t even cover it.
He shrugged. “Just being honest. I’m considered quite the eligible bachelor in these parts.”
Charlie’s brows rose. “Oh, is that so?”
He cocked his head as he looked at her. “If I remember rightly, ye seemed to think so yerself last night. Or did I dream that kiss?”
Did hehaveto mention that? She desperately tried to suppress the blush creeping up her cheeks but wasn’t sure she succeeded. “Yeah, well, we both know I had too much to drink last night,” she said defiantly.
“Ah, that must be it.”
There was faint amusement in his voice that made Charlie want to throttle him.
Niall turned off the street and led her down a winding alleyway between two stone houses, their ivy-covered walls seeming to lean together. She caught glimpses of private courtyards adorned with stone statues and overflowing flower pots through wrought-iron gates. A fat tabby cat sat washing its face on one such gate post, regarding them with lazy curiosity.
They stepped out of the alley into a wide thoroughfare, and Charlie was glad when Niall announced that they’d reached Miller’s Row. She dug out her phone and glanced at it, checking if she’d had any annoyed messages from Ruby. She hadn’t, but that was probably because she still couldn’t get a signal. According to the display, it was 9.15, so she was already fifteen minutes late. Damn.
What excuse could she come up with? Not the truth, that’s for sure.Sorry I’m late but I gate-crashed a wedding reception, got drunk, ended up in a part of town I didn’t know, and I think I might have taken a whack on the head because I’ve spent the morning trying to figure out if I’ve slipped into some kind of alternate reality.
Niall was staring intently at her phone, a strange expression on his face. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, she tucked the phone into the pocket of her dress.
“Well?” she said, gesturing around them. “Where is Miller’s Row?”
“Right here, lass,” Niall replied, indicating the curved street they were standing on.
Charlie looked around. The street was lined with tall tenement buildings crowded close together. None of them looked like bridal shops. A strange sense of unease filled Charlie’s stomach as she walked down the street until she reached number two—where the bridal shop ought to be.
Instead, she found what looked like an old-fashioned tailor’s. Its facade was a mix of dark wood and leaded windows with a sign hanging from a wrought-iron bracket overhead. The painted letters were faded and chipped but clearly spelled out ‘S. MacGregor: Tailor & Clothier.’
Confusion knitted her brows together. “Are you sure this is it?” she asked Niall.
“This is number two Miller’s Row,” he said with a shrug.
“But...but...This isn’t right. It’s supposed to be a bridal shop.”
“Bridal shop?” Niall echoed, a bemused smile playing on his lips. “Lass, this has been MacGregor’s Tailor for as long as I can remember.”
Charlie’s stomach sank. She peered through the leaded windows, willing the bolts of fabric and spools of thread to morph into satin gowns and veils caught in the morning light. They didn’t.
She turned away from the shop and tried to take a deep breath to steady herself but it didn’t help. Her heart pounded in her chest as if she’d just run a marathon. Was it possible she had gotten the address wrong? No, she’d written it down when Ruby gave it to her. And she’d also Googled the shop before coming here.
“But...but I saw this place online,” she said. “And it looked nothing like this.”
The cocky smile was gone and now Niall frowned with concern. “Lass, are ye all right? Ye seem a little...disorientated.”
Disorientated? That was an understatement.
The text message from Ruby had been clear:Bridal Bliss, 2 Miller’s Row, Edinburgh. But here she stood outside an old-fashioned tailor’s shop that Niall claimed had been here for ages.
Was she losing her mind?
Niall was watching her with concern etched on his features. “Look,” he began, taking a step closer. “Why dinna I take ye back to my townhouse? Flora can take care of ye until ye feel a little better.”
Charlie shook her head. She needed to find Ruby and explain what was happening. Or rather, try to make sense of what was happening herself before she started explaining anything to anyone else.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “I think I’ll just go back to my hotel and rest.”
