Skye and the City (A Romantic Comedy)

Chapter 24

Seven months later . . .

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" I ask him as we pause outside the door, which barely disguises the noise contained behind it. "You know you're going to be the talk of the village, right? They're like vampires here, desperate for fresh blood . . . but instead of feasting on you, they'll just gossip incessantly about you behind your back. And possibly in front of your face!"

Ross simply grins at my warning, however. "Bring it on." I know he's actually been dying to meet some of the characters I've told him about over the past few months. He squeezes my hand reassuringly, the warmth passing through me like liquid courage, and we push our way into the Village Arms.

It's the annual pre-Christmas party night and, as usual, most of the village has turned up. We drove up after work (yes, somehow my contract at the college actually got extended), so we're pretty late, and as a result, it's standing room only.

"Let's get a drink first, and then I can introduce you to . . . Well, everyone," I grimace, pulling Ross towards the bar while waving over to my parents, who I've spotted in the corner. Yes, tonight is a real baptism of fire for my poor boyfriend . . . He's meeting my family for the first time, too!

Iona and Ryan are just turning away from the bar, drinks in hand, as we approach. "Ah, this must be the famous Ross!" Iona cries. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

"What happened to that other guy?" I hear Ryan murmur in her ear, and she elbows him in the ribs. "Ouch!"

"I did tell him what happened with the mystery dude, but it seems he's forgotten," Iona shrugs apologetically. "Or maybe he just wasn't listening - rude! Anyway, we're over there with Alice and Alan, so come join us if you ever get served!"

"I'll need to catch up with my folks first, but we'll chat later," I call after her as she leads Ryan away.

It takes us about ten minutes to get a drink, and in that time, half of the pubgoers have approached us to find out exactly who Ross is. Ross, bless him, is already looking knackered by all the social interaction he's had to endure in such a short period of time - it's fairly adorable how readily he'll take himself out of his comfort zone for me, but I try not to push him too much.

He really is a total sweetheart, though. Our relationship may have stalled abruptly and then accelerated rapidly in a ridiculously short space of time, but our bond just gets stronger by the day, and I love every minute of it. It really does feel like moving to Glasgow was the best decision I ever made. And the cherry on top of the cake is that the head honchos at the Fortune Department have apparently decided to give me some time off for good behaviour. I'll never take it for granted, but hopefully, my lucky streak will continue!

As we make our way through the crowd to reach my family, I spot Eddie glaring malevolently over from the corner. I can't resist giving him a cheeky wave. Which may or may not morph into me sticking my middle finger up at him. (Come on, the prick deserved that!)

"Eddie?" Ross guesses, following my gaze. He laughs, narrowing his eyes in the direction of my ex. "Remind me to thank him later for being such a fuckwit."

And I mentally make a note to keep the two of them as far apart as possible.

Much to my delight, Granny Annie has made it to the pub. She's in her late eighties now and has bad arthritis, so she doesn't get out as much as she would like. I'd planned to bring Ross to visit her tomorrow, but I guess he's getting the full family shebang today instead!

Granny Annie is in fine form tonight, though. She's on the whisky and has several empties in front of her already. As I leave Ross to get acquainted with my parents, she shifts up in her seat to allow me to squeeze in next to her.

"So is he The One, then, hen?" she asks, putting an arm around me and nodding towards my boyfriend. (Honestly, my stomach still clenches up in delight at the fact I get to call him that!)

"I'm pretty sure of it," I admit quietly. Because, honestly, I find it hard to imagine a life without Ross in it now. It just seems wrong, somehow. I can definitely see a future with him.

"Well, it took you long enough. I thought you were never going to find him," she huffs, knocking the rest of her dram of Laphroaig down her throat in one go, before coughing dramatically. And understandably, because no one - not even someone with Granny Annie's strong constitution - should imbibe malt whisky as if it's a shot of sambuca.

"But he's exactly how he looked in the vision," she adds amongst the sputtering.

What the actual hell?

"Wait . . . Are you saying Ross actually is the man from your vision?" I ask disbelievingly. Nah, the woman has to be at it. "But . . . you said you didn't remember it!"

She waves her hand impatiently, a classic Granny Annie move. "I lied," she tells me baldly. "I decided it would be more fun for you to find him yourself. Without my psychic gift influencing your decision. And look . . . You still found him." She lowers her voice. "And he's a hotty! If I was thirty years younger, I wouldn't kick him out of bed."

I should correct her - it definitely should be closer to fifty years than thirty - but I've always suspected Granny might be a bit of a cougar. So I wisely keep my mouth shut about that. No point in opening that slightly disturbing can of worms, after all.

But she's beckoning Ross over now, and I can't help but smile as he comes around the table to join us. It doesn't really matter whether Granny Annie is lying about the visions or not - the important thing is that we somehow found each other . . . Twice.

"So tell me, Ross," Granny says, after they've been introduced. "Was that lovely white shirt of yours ruined, or did you manage to get the cabernet sauvignon out? It looked like a nasty spill."

Dark green eyes widen as Ross shoots me a questioning glance. "Did you tell her . . . ?" He asks, and I shake my head, my own heart pounding double-time all of a sudden.

Nobody at home knows the story of our meet-cute yet. I imagine it's probably the sort of tale we'll reserve for anecdotes further down the line - perhaps even tell at our wedding one day, which Granny later tells me isn't too far in the future. (I'm not entirely convinced if that's vision-induced or simply wishful thinking on her part, though.)

So it seems that Granny Annie always did know what was going to happen. And, actually, I think I'm glad she kept the truth from me because it makes finding Ross all the more special.

"I feel like I might owe you a new shirt," I tell him now, and he reaches out and squeezes my hand again, that heart-melting grin lighting him up from within.

"I wrote that debt off a long time ago," he says warmly, brushing his lips lightly against mine.

And Granny Annie just sits there quietly with a smug smile on her face.

Picture the scene . . .

You're back in your hometown for several days, in the local pub.

These past few months have probably been amongst the best of your life. And right now, you're surrounded by your loved ones, and a gorgeous man who looks at you like you're his favourite thing in the entire world.

Everything has finally fallen into place, and you really couldn't be happier.

Seems like the perfect place to end this story, right?

I agree.

*****THE END*****