Page 47 of The Loneliest Number
“This is a building site, ladies. On your best behaviour, please. What I say goes. Okay?”
“Ooooh, I love your stern brunch daddy tone, Cam,” Saff coos at him, patting his chest and fluttering her eyelashes, causing me to giggle.
He rolls his eyes as he places a hat directly on her head, a little firmer than necessary, before passing me mine.
“Let me just get my camera out, and I can shoot while we walk.” Saff slides the backpack from Cam’s shoulder and sets it on the counter. She pulls out a massive camera and fits a lens before wandering around the entranceway, snapping photos.
“Saff offered to take some progress shots for me while we look round,” Cam tells me. He grabs up a folder from the counter and rifles through it before passing something over. “Here’s the letter.”
“Oh, wow.” I take it carefully, aware of the age of the paper from its yellowed tone.
“Oh, wow,” I repeat myself once I’ve read the letter twice. I trace my pointer finger over the type. “I think Saff is right. This has to be some kind of forbidden love story. Your Gran never mentioned it?”
“Not to me, no,” Cam says, grazing his fingers over his bearded chin. “And my parents didn’t seem to know anything, either.”
“Did your Gran have any friends or other relatives who knew her around the time of this letter?” I ask, my mind whirling with possibilities.
“I’ve got a Great Aunt on Skye. Perhaps I’ll check with her.”
“This building has always held a fascination for me, Cam. And this letter just sparks my curiosity even more. I’d love to know when you hear back.”
He tilts his head to the side for a moment before he says, “Come to Skye with me. You can ask her yourself. I’m well overdue a visit to my parents, and you said you always wanted to go.”
“Oh, I couldn’t,” I tell him, disappointed that I can’t take him up on this offer.
“Why not?” he asks.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude on your family. And I’m probably going to be a bit strapped for cash once my mum leaves.”
“You wouldn’t be intruding. They’ve got a guest house we should be able to use. And it would be my treat.” His response comes so quickly, it’s like he was expecting my resistance. It would be a fun adventure to try and solve the puzzle of this building, plus I’d get to spend more time with Cam.
“How do you get to Skye?” I ask him. The thought of meeting Cam’s family is terrifying, but there’s also an underlying excitement swirling in my gut at the thought of visiting his homeland and seeing him in that environment.
“Best way from here is probably a flight up to Glasgow and then drive.”
“How long is the drive?” I ask, knowing Skye is a fair way up the coast.
“Five hours, give or take.” My jaw drops open.
He chuckles at my reaction. “There’s loads of scenery to admire and I enjoy the drive.”
“Okay, maybe then. If I can make it work with shifts. And I’ll buy my flight.”Please let it work out.
“We’ll see.”
“Can I go up the stairs, Cam?” Saff shouts across.
“Wait for us,” he replies, plucking the letter from my hand and tucking it back in the file before tugging me along with him to where Saff awaits us at the stairs.
Is it just the possibility of solving the mystery of this building that causes the excitement of a trip to Skye? Or is it this man?
Chapter twenty-two
Abby
“Oh my,” escapes me as we climb the staircase to the next floor; my first look at the levels above the ground.
“This is going to be a small bar area that serves coffee, set up like an old gentlemen’s working club, but open to all. And then each of the other rooms on the floor will be meeting rooms and working space. There’s going to be a room done up like a study in the same period as the building.”
