Page 46 of The Loneliest Number
“Do you have other family?” he asks.
“An aunt and uncle and a couple of cousins. They live down South. My grandparents are gone. What about you?” I deflect, not wanting to dwell on my family circumstances.
“I’m fairly close to my parents. They live on Skye. I haven’t seen them since I’ve been down here working, but we keep in touch. I was also close with my grandmother, who left me The Juniper when she passed away about six months ago.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. Your family must mean a lot to you. You sound close-knit.” I murmur.
“Yeah and that’s what makes The Juniper such a family mystery–it was some random guy no-one’s ever heard of that left it to her, and we don’t know why.”
“I remember you mentioning that when I found out you owned it. You’re not tempted to do some detective work?” I ask, even more interested in the building now that I know there’s a mystery attached to it.
I’m about to ask him what he knows when Saff drops onto the bench beside me with a huff. “Sorry guys, it was manic in there. They said it’s up to an half-hour wait for food. I went with it because I assumed we are all in need of sustenance.”
“It’ll be worth the wait, I promise. The food is decent here,” I tell them before turning back to Cam. “So what exactly do you know about the building then?”
“That it had been boarded up for a few years. My Gran never visited it that we know of. It was managed by a legal firm, and when my lawyer looked into it, the guy in charge of the account died a couple of years ago.”
“Have you told her about the letter?” Saffy asks, her eyes sparkling.
“What letter?” I interrogate Cam, desperate to know more.
He laughs at my eagerness. “I’ve got it with my paperwork at The Juniper, you can read it. It’s from this William guy, gifting it to Gran.”
“It reads like it’s some kind of love story,” Saff says with a sigh. “Some kind of forbidden love, and he had to leave, but he gave her the building so she had a way to support herself.”
“We don’t know that, Saff. The letter is pretty vague. And the dates don’t match up for that.” His brows knit together as he stares into the distance.
“Which is why we need to read between the lines. People don’t just give other people buildings, Cam. Especially ones as grand as The Juniper. There has to be some real emotion at the heart of this.”
“Maybe,” he says, but his voice sounds certain in his disagreement.
“My friend, Cass, would love this story. She’s an author, and she loves stuff like this.”
“Oooh, what kind of books does she write?” Saff asks.
“The dirtiest, smuttiest romance I’ve ever read,” I tell her with a grin. “It’s amazing.”
“I love romance. What’s her name?”
“Cassidy Connor.”
“Oh my god, I’ve read her stuff. She wrote that amazing MMF book last year,” she exclaims, excitement sparkling in her gaze.
“She did. And she’s in a throuple in real life. With the two guys that helped her research that book.” I use my fingers to air-quote ‘research’ with a waggle of my brows, which sets Saffy off into giggles.
“Is that Tom’s Cass? Tom’s in a throuple?” Cam asks with interest.
“Yes, they’re so fricking cute together. Have you met Jack?” I ask him.
“No, although I should have realised because he mentioned them both when we were chatting.”
Saff’s tapping away on her phone and holds up her screen to show me. “Look how many of her books I have on my Kindle app.”
“I can get you an introduction if you like? She loves meeting her readers. I bet she’d be happy to chat books and sign some paperbacks for you.”
“That would be amazing. And I love her even more now I know she’s in a poly relationship. That’s so cool.”
We’re all stuffed from our brunch when we waddle over to The Juniper. Cam unlocks the front door, locking it behind us once we’ve all stepped in. He reaches over to a counter just by the door and hands over two hard hats.
