One-Off (9 page)

“I’ll overnight both sets of family invitations.”

“You’re so awesome, Skye.”

“Just doing what you’d do.”

She grinned brightly. “Since that’s a hypothetical situation, I can absolutely agree. Or did you suddenly start believing in marriage while we’re here?”

“Dallas,” I scolded and could feel Ainsley’s eyes flick to me.

“Right, okay.” Her hands came up but the grin didn’t diminish. “We should get going.”

“Give Colin and Ainsley some time alone. I’ll talk to you next week.”

“Bye, Skye. Thanks again.”

“Take care.” I stood and headed toward the office door with Ainsley’s eyes tracking me. She didn’t seem to believe I was going to leave her alone or thought to leave her alone. More than anything over the past week, I’ve wanted to change her perception of me. If not to stop the silly bickering, then at least to let her cousin know I wasn’t what she seemed to think I was. He knew me as his boss and Dallas’s friend, but I was sure Ainsley had given him an earful before he’d left for this story.

Tori was just putting her desk together to leave when I came out of the office. “You done?”

“Yeah. Van’s good, and things are going as expected.”

“You’re not calling it a night, are you?”

My shoulders shrugged in defeat. “More wedding stuff to do.”

“You’re a saint to do this for her.”

“I’m the MOH.”

She blew out a loud raspberry. “My sister pulled that crap with me. I found out it was really just a way to order me around and get everything she ever wanted.”

I snickered. “Brides, huh?”

“Let me know if I can help.”

“There’s already two heads making decisions. Add another opinion and we might just pop.”

“Just saying. If it gets too much, let me know.” She glanced at the office door. “Ainsley’s nice. I can’t believe Colin never mentioned he had a cousin from Scotland and she’s going to be his best man.”

“Best woman, yes.”

“Rock on.” Tori raised her fist in a righteous maneuver as she stood and slung her purse over her shoulder. “See you tomorrow, Skye.”

“Have a good evening.”

“She’s sweet,” Ainsley said from behind me.

“She’s good at her job.”

She looked like she wanted to needle me but let it go. “Shall we? There are hundreds of invitations to address, aren’t there?”

I gestured toward the exit and followed her out.

Twelve

Ainsley stepped just inside my row house and stopped. Her head swiveled to take it in. “Wow. I thought Colin’s place was nice, but this is really great.”

“You prefer old and drafty to sleek and modern?” Not really old and drafty, but Colin’s modern loft could be featured in a design magazine. I didn’t particularly care for the style, but beauty came in all forms. That Ainsley’s tastes bent closer to mine gave me more pleasure than it should.

“I’m Scottish.” Her eyes flashed with mischief.

“So is Colin.”

She made a disbelieving sound before grinning. “Show me around?”

I took her through the downstairs. It was a narrow shotgun setup, not overly crowded with furniture. A brown leather sofa played well against the open brick wall that lined one side of the row house. Two chairs and an oversized ottoman clustered together to form the living room. The L-shaped kitchen filled the back of the house with a small dining set in between.

“Did you do renovations?”

“It was a turn-key place when I bought it. The former owners had done extensive renovations.” I used air quotes for effect. “A month after I moved in, there was a leak in the brand new high-end fixtures on the farm sink.” I pointed to the offending piece. “I brought in a plumber, who proceeded to rip out half the kitchen wall behind the cabinets and showed me the patchwork plumbing done by the previous owners. Not a professional job and not inspected.”

“Oh, dear.” Her sympathy sounded genuine.

“Yeah, and while he was ripping apart the wall for the plumbing, he found old knob and tube wiring spliced with new wires to make it appear updated. Basically it was in danger of becoming a moldy fire hazard.”

“Lovely.”

“I try not to let it bother me that I spent a lot of money and the end result looks exactly like the overpriced original that was supposedly newly renovated.”

“I’m sure there’s some sort of legal action available to you. This is America after all,” she said in her best sarcastic tone.

Her sarcasm couldn’t get to me this time. It didn’t compare to my own sarcastic thoughts throughout the ordeal. “I’m sure there is, but I could have insisted on seeing the construction records and calling for a reference before I bought the place. Instead I trusted my inspector and believed the seller’s disclosures about being professionally renovated.”

“So because you consider it your fault for not doing the research, you’re not taking the legal action you’re probably entitled to take?” Her head tilted in interest.

“Is that so hard to believe?”

“From my experience with others here, yes.”

“I guess I’m unique.”

Her gaze stayed on mine for a long moment before she glanced back around the kitchen. “It’s really nice, even if it took two times to get it right.”

“Thanks.” I pulled out a chair at the table and gestured for her to sit. “We should get started. Can I get you some tea?”

“Tea?” she asked. “Not coffee.”

“You like tea. I’ll order some Chinese if you’re hungry.”

“Och aye. I haven’t had a chance to order any takeaway since I got back.”

I smiled. Chinese was her go-to meal whenever she’d been stressed. Taking two extra classes in her last year of undergrad, she was stressed often. I picked up the phone and placed an order without bothering to check what she wanted. I assumed she hadn’t changed her favorites since New York. I wasn’t sure if she’d been back to the States for any length of time since receiving her degree. As a Scottish history professor, I wouldn’t imagine she’d spend much time outside of Scotland.

“You got all my favorites.”

“You’re just lucky they’re my favorites, too.” Not all, but she didn’t need to know that.

The boxes of envelopes and invitations took up two place settings at the table. Ainsley’s eyes drifted over the stacks and onto the two lists I’d printed out. “Is this the official list?”

“Dallas emailed it today.”

Her eyes went down both lists. “Lots of people on her list.”

“She’s got everyone from work on hers, but they’re guests of both.” I skimmed my eyes over Colin’s list in her hand. “It looks like a small plane load will be coming over if they accept the invitations.”

“I’m a little worried that everyone will take him up on the offer.”

“Would that be bad?”

“Some of these distant relatives wouldn’t drive thirty kilometers to visit Mum and Dad, but a free plane ride to the States might bring them all out.”

“That’s for Colin to worry about, and it won’t happen until we get these things out.” I’d been dreading this part from the beginning. What usually takes couples several days to complete, we were trying to knock out tonight. I’d left work early for it. Early for me, I should say.

The kettle whistled and I got up to make the tea. Ainsley sauntered in with me, probably not certain I would make it properly. When she saw I was using tea leaves in a strainer inside a tea pot, she looked like she might mist up.

“It’s just tea,” I said.

“Reminds me of home.”

“Did you always plan to stay a few weeks or did it come up when he gave you the date?”

“About a fortnight. I planned a few lectures and a visit with Colin. A day later, they’re telling us about the date change.”

“So instead of a quick trip over you’re here for how long?” It was more than idle curiosity. Despite the hassle of dealing with these wedding decisions and the occasional flare up between us, it felt nice to have something other than work occupying my mind and time.

“Through the honeymoon. I’m housesitting.”

“Will your parents stay long?”

“Dad could only get a week off from work, but Mum’s staying a fortnight.”

“She’s still teaching, isn’t she?” Her mother was a primary school teacher and should have the entire summer off. “I hope it’s longer than that.”

“She’ll be happy to hear that.”

“We have some exploring of a new city to do.” I watched her eyes narrow, so I offered, “That is if you’ll have me as a tour guide.” I didn’t want to ruin our tenuous relationship. Not when we had two hundred envelopes to address.

Hours later, my hand was killing me. I’d insisted we take breaks every half hour to keep our script legible. At this point I was considering going against Dallas’s wishes and printing labels in elegant script on my laser printer. Dallas wanted the personal touch, though, since the invitations were going out so late. I would have shoved the task at her if she didn’t have a packed schedule to get her interviews done. As her friend, I’d rather she do these, but as her boss’s boss, I needed her to concentrate on work.

“I’ll be keen never to address an envelope again.” Ainsley groaned and stretched her hand.

I went to the refrigerator and pulled out all of the takeout containers. Ainsley’s eyes followed me with question. “I’m snacky and we’ve burned a ton of calories.”

“Like you have to worry about that,” she commented then looked back down at the growing stack of completed envelopes to hide her surprised expression.

I grinned at her discomfort but was secretly glad she appreciated my exercise regimen. Someone should because I didn’t like going through it much. Not that she looked like she needed to worry either. She wasn’t a stick figure like most of the women I worked with, whether they were on screen or not, but she couldn’t be more than a size eight. “What’s your usual workout?”

“Chasing after sheep on the farm.”

“Give me a break,” I laughed. “It’s your parents’ farm with maybe a dozen sheep? No one is chasing them anywhere.”

She grinned. “I take the stairs up to my office every day.”

“And walk around campus.” A sprawling campus that was part of the city of Edinburgh. I’d taken an entire day walking through it when I visited.

“And that.” Her grin flared. “I’ve never been obsessed with exercise like you Americans.”

“Stop doing that,” I chastised playfully.

“What?”

“Pointing out unattractive habits as belonging to all Americans. I don’t do that with Scotland.”

Her tongue poked at her cheek. “You don’t know enough about Scotland.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“That sounds like a challenge.”

The microwave dinged. I pulled her fixed plate of leftovers out and replaced it with mine. “Someday when we’re not overwhelmed with wedding planning I can tell you everything I remember from your paper.”

“Not likely.” She didn’t have faith in my recall capabilities.

“Maybe I read your books.”

“Quite.” Her sarcasm dripped freely. She’d probably swallow her tongue if she knew I’d bought all four of her books since she came back into my life. I was well into the second already. They read more like historical novels than comprehensive textbooks. It was difficult to put them down so I could get some sleep every night.

The microwave dinged again and my leftover plate joined hers on the table. A smile crept over my face when I noticed she’d waited for me before picking up her chopsticks to start eating. It was something I looked for in every woman I dated. An old fashioned practice it seemed, since so many people didn’t seem to value the beauty in manners anymore.

“How’re you going these days?” she asked.

Polite conversation or a real discussion? I went with my hope. “I was recently promoted, so it’s been mostly work for me.”

“Colin said you used to be his boss.”

“Only for three months. I was the executive producer on Dallas’s show for a few years before he took over the co-anchor spot.”

“And now you’re in charge of his whole division.”

“Something like that.”

“You like it?”

“It’s a little too much business and not enough journalism for me.”

“More money though.”

“Yes, but that’s not why I made the jump.” Not entirely. After paying off my student loans and saving up for the down payment on my house, I didn’t have to worry about money like I had my entire life. It was nice to be able to put more money into savings and build security I’d never had, but it wasn’t the only reason I took the director level position.

“It must have been a headache dealing with Dallas every day.”

“Listen,” I started, breathing out my irritation at her jab. “Dallas is a wonderful person and she’s marrying your cousin. You’ll be dealing with her for years to come. Why not try to enjoy it?”

“I was having you on.” She smiled as proof. “I meant that Dallas is a star and seems to like things just so. Being her boss couldn’t have been easy, especially since you’re friends.”

“The whole show was a bit of a bear, but it’s successful and informative.”

“Good journalism.”

“Yes.”

“Enough that she’s inviting a hundred more people than my cousin?” Her eyes came up to meet mine. “I’m just grousing.”

“I can take care of the rest. If I’m late to work tomorrow, no one will bother me.”

“Must be nice.”

“Sometimes.”

She must have noticed something in my tone. “And others?”

“Others, I long for the days of a small show with a small budget and small personalities.”

“You’d get lots of that in Scotland.” She grinned her Head of Scotland Tourism grin.

I chuckled, trying to imagine myself moving from one of the best cable news networks in the States to a small station in Scotland. It might actually be a wonderful break from all this stress. Completely unrealistic, but a nice break. Not that it would be necessary. I was counting on going back to enjoying my job once all the wedding stress was over.

Thirteen

She was even better tonight than she’d been at the last lecture. I got there just after the start and sat fascinated through the whole thing. If she was this good in her own classes, she’d be the most popular professor in all of the U.K.