Contents ( 57)
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by Sharon Gosling
Rachel couldn’t quite bring herself to be annoyed about it.
She had yet to tell anyone about the new status of the lighthouse. It would take such a monumental explanation, and there was no way she had any intention of overshadowing Ezra and Edie’s day. She watched them from where she sat, marvelling at the pure joy that emanated from both of them – and from Gilly, too. The girl looked magnificent in a fitted grey suit with a matching waistcoat and crisp white shirt, and shiny black DM boots. She’d also had her hair done, so that instead of the thick, messy ponytail they had all known her with since she arrived, she sported a sleek pixie cut that perfectly framed the angles of her face. It was remarkable, the change Rachel had seen in her since she’d found her way to the Lighthouse Bookshop. But then, she knew first-hand how transformative this place could be to a life, didn’t she?
Although of course it wasn’t just the place, Rachel knew that. It was the people Gilly had met here, too.
At this thought Rachel found herself looking at the man next to her. Toby offered a smile and then leaned toward her to talk over the music.
‘Penny for them?’ he said. ‘You look as if you’re miles away.’
She leaned towards him, too, close enough to catch the scent of his aftershave as she spoke into his ear. ‘Will you come for a walk with me?’ she asked. ‘There’s something I want to tell you.’
Outside the lighthouse the evening was sliding towards sunset, shadows beginning to lengthen into the warmth of a late summer dusk. They started a slow circuit of the tower, music and laughter filtering from the open double doors to accompany them.
‘At the risk of overstepping,’ Toby said, into the quiet between them, ‘you look beautiful.’
Rachel had chosen a plum-coloured calf-length tulip dress with an all-over botanical print that she thought would team well with a smart jacket for work purposes. She smiled.
‘Thank you. You look pretty good yourself,’ she observed, and then, at his obvious surprise, added, ‘First time I’ve seen you in a suit.’
He glanced down at himself with a wry twist of his lips. ‘First time I’ve worn one for a while. Feels a little strange, to be honest. I’ve got used to being the kind of writer who sits at home all day in jeans and a sweater.’
‘Not something you can get away with in your new position as contributing editor, then?’
He glanced at her with a smile. ‘Not out in the field, at any rate.’
Rachel stopped and turned to look up at the tower. Toby came to a stop beside her, apparently happy to wait until she was ready to talk.
‘I haven’t told anyone else this yet,’ she began, ‘but The Scottish National Trust are going to take on the lighthouse. They want to preserve the camera obscura and Eveline MacDonald’s legacy.’ Rachel looked at him then, glad that he was the first one of the bookshop’s inner circle to know the new fate of the James MacDonald Tower. ‘Not only that, but they’re going to keep the bookshop pretty much exactly as it is.’