Ignoring the flush of pleasure I felt from the kiss, I focused on his comment. Why would I need a buffer?

“What does that mean?” I asked as he gestured to Shadow to follow him.

Roane just shot me another boyish smile before descending the stairs out of view.

“Roane!” I called after him. “What does that mean?”

The only answer I got was the sound of his deep chuckle.

However, hours later, as I walked into The Anchor accompanied by Roane and Shadow, I finally got my answer.

A roomful of eyes met us as we strolled in, and I felt suddenly self-conscious. This only worsened when four men turned on their stools at the busy bar, saw me, shared a knowing look, and then burst out into song.

“When you’re good to Mama, Mama’s good to you!” They gestured to me comically.

While most diners stared on in confusion, others let out barks of laughter, including Roane, whose guffaw was the loudest.

Realizing I’d met these men the night before and had no memory of it, I made eye contact with Milly, who was hee-hawing behind the bar.

Mortification flooded me but so did something else.

They were teasing me.

Like I was one of them even though I was a visitor.

Much like how Roane had befriended me even though Milly said he usually steered clear of tourists, I somehow sensed this was unusual behavior for the locals.

Pleasure seeped into the mortification, and I couldn’t help but laugh through my groans of embarrassment.

•   •   •

Evie, you can do whatever you want, pet. That’s the point.” Penny gave me a reassuring smile.

The next day the rain had cleared, the sunshine bringing more tourists with it. A few came into the store to browse and I tried not to act giddy at my first sale. The woman had called my window display adorable and purchased a copy of A Midsummer’s Night Dream along with a few little key rings with the Northumbrian flag on it.

Not long after, while I was pondering splitting the display with all the books and information on Northumberland so I could continue the Shakespeare theme, Penny had come to the store to see how I was doing.

I’d told her about the sale and asked her if I could put the books on Northumberland on the bottom half of the case and more Shakespeare titles on the top half.

Grinning at her answer, I was antsy to start riffling through stock for more Shakespeare plays.

“So, you’re doing fine then?” Penny asked.

“Oh, I’m doing great.”

Her smile widened. “You’ve made quite an impression here.” She nodded to the window. “The locals love your display when it’s lit up at night.”

People had talked about my homemade, whimsical display? Pleasure suffused me. “Really?”

“Aye. It’s very cute. Probably the most memorable display I’ve had at the shop.”

“Well, yay me.”