Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 121460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Thankfully, she took the photo without another word, but the easiness between us was gone. Once we’d grabbed a couple of burgers, it became obvious that any privacy we might have was blown. The tourists at the fair had gotten word I was here. We stood to the side, eating our burgers, but we both felt public attention on us.
“How can you be okay with them talking to you like that?” Monroe asked.
Shrugging, I explained, “It’s easier to ignore it, give them a photo or autograph, and just walk away. It comes with the job. To them, I’m not a stranger.”
“But you are. And they talked to you like you were some inanimate sex toy.”
I snorted at her words. “You are very sexy when you’re angry. That might be a problem for me.”
“Shut up,” she said without heat.
“You’ve always been like this.”
“Like what?”
“Just as protective of me as I am of you. Remember when Michelle Kingsley kept shoving me in the quad? You came running to my rescue.”
“She’s lucky I didn’t break that perfect nose of hers,” Roe muttered, clearly still agitated by the young couple at the burger van.
“Admit it.” I nudged her. “You still care about me.”
Monroe eyed me seriously. “It was never a question of that, Brodan.”
Fuck, I wanted to kiss her so badly.
“Mr. Adair.”
I squeezed my eyes closed in frustration but pasted on a smile as I turned to face our latest interrupters. It was a family of four, all staring at me with shy excitement. I widened my smile. “Hullo.”
The mum said, “Mr. Adair, we’re such big fans. Could we bother you for a photo?”
And so it began.
By the fourth group that asked for a photo, I turned to see if Roe was okay and found the space where she’d been standing empty.
My gut twisted. I conjured my acting skills to smile for the camera with the fan. Just as he nodded his thanks and walked away, two older women eyed me like they wanted to approach. Just as they got up the courage to do so, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and found a text from Roe.
Sorry for leaving you. Just feel a bit sick and didn’t want to interrupt. Have a good day.
I scowled at the formal tone of the text.
This was what I’d feared.
That even if I could convince Roe to give me another chance, my fame might be too much for her to handle.
Giving the approaching women a quick nod of hello, I hurried past them to Sloane’s stall. She was cleaning up for the day. Word had obviously gotten around about her amazing baking. “Hi,” I said.
“Oh, hey. We’ve got your boxes. Can you carry them all?”
“Pile them up.” I held out my arms.
Sure enough, they towered right up to my nose. I could just see over the top, and I left with Callie giggling at how ridiculous I looked as I tried to walk carefully down the street. The upside was that the boxes disguised me as I slowly made my way down Castle Street to Monroe’s. I had to kick her door in lieu of a knock.
What felt like forever later, she opened it.
“What on earth?” Roe asked from beyond the boxes.
“Grab your stuff and come with me.”
“Brodan—”
“I know you’re not sick, Roe. I’m sorry about the fair.” This was ludicrous. “Look, I can’t talk to you when I can’t see you. Just get your stuff. Please.”
To my utter relief, Monroe did as I asked. “Now to my car.”
“Let me take a few of these.”
“Nope. They’re hiding me.”
She chuckled as we skirted the fair to get to my SUV that I’d parked outside the Gloaming. It was a miracle I hadn’t dropped any of the boxes. Once they were loaded, I pulled out a bunch of notes from my wallet and handed them to Roe. “I’ll wait here. You go back and buy some mulled wine and as many hot chocolates as you can carry.”
“Where are we going?”
“My family hasn’t shown up yet, so we’re taking the market to them.”
“Brodan—”
I stepped into her. “It’ll be like this for a while. But the fame will die down now that I’ve retired. It won’t be as bad as this.”
Roe sighed. “Brodan—”
“Just … today we were supposed to spend time together as friends. I don’t want it to be ruined. So let’s just go bring a wee bit of Christmas cheer to some very exhausted new parents.”
She considered this and then nodded. “Okay.”
I deflated with relief, watching her walk away before I climbed into the Range Rover. Then I called Regan to tell her to gather everyone at her place. She loved the idea because she loved being surrounded by family. The two of us had that in common.
Not long later, Monroe returned with an impressive load of mulled wine and hot chocolate. “Your family knows we’re just friends, right? And they’re good with that? Eredine is good with that?” Monroe fired at me as I swung the car out of the space and took the side road that would lead me out of Ardnoch.