you ever need anything or have any questions, my door is always open.”
“Maybe you should shut it more often,” Lachlan quipped.
Callum gave him the finger and Chelsea reprimanded him. “Don’t mind these two,” she said. “They’re very professional most of the time.”
The four of them chatted for a few more moments until Chelsea excused herself. “I’m really sorry,” she said, placing her hand on her small bump. “I have to get to a prenatal appointment.”
“It’s fine.” Lachlan smiled at his future sister-in-law. “We should be getting back to the restaurant anyway.”
“It was lovely to meet you both,” Eliza said.
Callum nodded as he wrapped an arm around Chelsea and pulled her close. “You, too, we’ll see you around.”
Leaving his brother and Chelsea to no doubt partake in a passionate goodbye, Lachlan led Eliza back down the corridor.
“Oh, do you mind if I buy a bottle of whiskey for my grandma?” she asked, glancing across to where Sophie was just wrapping up a sale.
“Of course.” He took her over to the polished wood tasting bar, but neither he nor Sophie would hear of Eliza paying for her bottle.
“Call it a welcome-to-the-team gift,” Sophie said as she placed the bottle in a special case for mailing.
“You’re close to your grandmother, then?” Lachlan asked as he and Eliza finally headed back to the restaurant.
“Yes. I’ve been living with her the past few months and she was kind of like a surrogate mom for me in my teens.”
“Oh?” Lachlan didn’t know if he sounded nosy but he couldn’t help asking, “Was your own mom not around?” He remembered her saying her parents were divorced.
“She died when I was thirteen, in a helicopter crash.”
It was his turn to say, “I’m sorry,” but he couldn’t help being happy that she’d shared a little of herself.
“Thank you.” Her reply was almost a whisper. “Until then she had full-time custody and I stayed with Dad every second weekend, but after her death I went to live with him and Grammy moved in until I was old enough to take care of myself. We became very close.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“No. And sometimes I’m not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse. Did you like growing up in a big family?”
He chuckled. “Sometimes I loved it and sometimes I hated it. My siblings can be my worst enemies or my best friends. Speaking of family...” He slowed his steps. “I just remembered, I’d better take you to the house to meet Mom before we head back, or my life won’t be worth living. Although she’s not involved in the day-to-day running of the distillery anymore, she likes to be kept in the loop.”
“Hallie told me you lived with your mom,” she said.
“Yes, when Linda and I split up, I moved in with my parents, so Mom could help me with Hamish. It was only supposed to be temporary,” he admitted, “but nine years later and we’re still there. Sounds pretty pathetic, doesn’t it? A thirty-three-year-old man still living with his mom.”
There was a hint of a smile on her lips as she met his gaze. “Hallie also told me how much she adores your mom. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Come on, then. And let me hold that.” He took the box with the whiskey from her grasp before she could refuse and gestured for her to follow him toward the main house, pointing out the smaller cottage on the property as they passed it. “Callum and Chelsea live there—it used to be our grandparents’ place. It was the original house they built when they moved over from Scotland in the 1950s.”
“It’s quaint.”
“Yeah, I suppose it is,” Lachlan said as they continued. “Blair also lives at the main house with Hamish, Mom and I.”
“He’s not married?” she asked.
Lachlan tried to detect if there was interest in her question or if she was simply making conversation. “He’s divorced, too. But more recently. And it’s kinda complicated.”
“What divorce isn’t?”
He chanced a glance at her as they walked but couldn’t read anything from her expression. “You sound like you speak from experience.”
Her forehead crinkled and then she nodded. “I’m smack-bang in the middle of one myself.”
“I’m sorry.” Suddenly her move across the country made complete sense.
“Thanks. Don’t really want to talk about it, though.”
“Fair enough.” His divorce was ancient history now and still not his favorite topic of conversation, but he couldn’t help wondering about hers. Who was the party at fault? Had Eliza and her husband simply drifted apart? Had he been abusive? Was that why she was trying to get as far away as possible from him? Or was she still in love with him?
Lachlan pondered these questions as they walked in silence the rest of the way to his mom’s place. The list of things he’d like to know about Eliza was growing longer by the second.
After meeting Nora McKinnel, who was as friendly and welcoming as the rest of her family, Eliza sat down with Lachlan and started going through his to-do list. As he shared his dream and ideas for the restaurant, she listened intently and couldn’t help catching some of his enthusiasm. He asked her questions, valued her experience and was eager to listen to her opinions and suggestions for going forward. It felt good to have a project—something to focus on other than her own woes—and once again, she found herself relaxing in his company. The uncomfortable awareness of earlier in the day had made her tongue tie every time she tried to speak.
As he talked her through the menu, business matters and his vision, she decided her initial opinion of Lachlan as a good guy was more accurate than the one she’d started to form when his ex was there.
Besides, really, who was at their best when interacting with their ex-partners anyway?
She’d surprised herself by telling Lachlan about Tyler—well, not exactly Tyler, she hadn’t mentioned any names or details—but, after he’d been so open and honest about his family situation, it hadn’t seemed such a big deal to share that tiny bit of herself. She was glad he hadn’t pried and for a moment, she’d wondered if she shouldn’t tell him the whole sorry story but she’d bitten her tongue, reminding herself why a move across the country had been so appealing.
In Jewell Rock, she wasn’t met with sympathetic looks and awkward conversation because people didn’t know what the right thing to say to her was. Over the past couple of days, she’d met the whole McKinnel clan, her landlord and a number of other people as she purchased things for and set up her apartment. None of them had treated her like a leper as many
