To drown in noise—and maybe whisky—and forget.
Ewan stands behind the bar looking overwhelmed but cheerful. He spots me immediately.
“Finn! Over here!”
I make my way through the crowd and sit on a barstool. Ewan places a whisky in front of me before I even ask.
“Rough day?”
“You could say that.”
I take a sip. The whisky burns pleasantly down my throat.
Ewan wipes the counter and gives me an observant look.
“You seem tense.”
“I’m the doctor for the Highland Games. That’s normal.”
“Uh-huh. And it has absolutely nothing to do with Mary spending the day with Jamie?”
I stiffen.
How does literally everyone know?
Ewan raises both hands peacefully.
“Glenfield’s a small village, my friend. News travels fast. Besides, I saw Mary and Jamie grabbing coffee together this morning.”
I take another drink.
A longer one this time.
“It’s none of my business.”
“Really? Because you look very much like someone whose business it absolutely is.”
I don’t answer.
Ewan leans closer, lowering his voice slightly despite the noise surrounding us.
“Look. Jamie and Mary grew up together. He always had a thing for her, that’s true. But she never saw him that way. At least that’s what she used to say.”
The words echo in my head like a sentence being handed down.
“They have history,” I say quietly. “A past. Shared memories.”
Ewan looks at me with surprising gentleness.
“Yeah. But she chose you.”
I want to laugh.
Or cry.
Possibly both.
She didn’t choose me.
