Highland Fling - A Funny Chick Lit Romance (COMPLETE)

You Lost Him at Hello...

"Mena, have you ever heard of FOMO?" I ask the question solemnly, and she shakes her head. I'm kidding. She's a cat and has no understanding whatsoever of what I say, but I'm sad to report that I've succumbed all too quickly to crazy cat lady and now carry out serious conversations with her. I find it's best if you make up the answers yourself.

"Fear of missing out," I say, pulling open my bag to check I have my notepad, pens and phone. "Rhetorical question, Mena. No-one could argue that going to the village library for a meeting of the Lochalshie Highland Games committee comes anywhere near the top ten things to do."

Yes, Jolene might not be Dexter-like in her assessments of my work but things I thought were requests turn out to be orders. Attending the next meeting of the games committee is one of them. It's a Friday night—yup, Friday, not a Tuesday or anything—and I'm heading to the library to discuss the plans for the 2018 games. How did this happen? And yes, if I were to post my plans for this evening on any social media site, I doubt my followers would experience FOMO.

Still, a library outing hardly rates appearance preparation, which fits in perfectly with how lazy I feel. I'm in my work uniform of leggings, a slogan tee and a hoodie. I've got into the habit of not showering in the morning. When you work in an office with zero colleagues, why bother? Strictly speaking, I should have done so before heading off to a meeting with other people but I tell Mena, it's not worth the effort and she agrees. See, the thing with conversations with cats is that they almost always work out in your favour.

The library is yet another of the Lochalshie buildings that disguises itself as a home from the outside. Only the council logo on the front door indicates it might not be what it seems. Inside, there's a huge display of new books on offer. Dr McLatchie slides up to me and points at every one in turn, "Pish. Pish. Pish." If you have ever wondered what might appear on a doctor's recommended reading list, I suspect now is not the time to find out the best suggestions.

"What about this one," I pluck a random book from the display, You Lost Him at Hello by Jess McCann. "It's the secrets of one of America's top dating coaches," I say, reading from the back cover and wondering if Kirsty knows her local library stocks one of her rival's books. Dr McLatchie takes it from me, bends it open in a way librarians probably hate, and reads the page in front of her.

"What total tosh! Daters have to apply successful sales techniques and know and love the—"

Whatever she is about to say is cut short. Jolene appears, materialising around a book shelf armed with a bell and telling us the meeting is to begin. She nods a greeting to me. At the centre of the library, there's a table. Jolene sits at the top of it and eight other spaces are filled. I slide into the seat next to Dr McLatchie and nod a greeting to every other committee member. "Hello! Lovely to j-join—"

FOMO comes back and bites me. Here I am, stuck in a small room with the guy I fancy like... As I did that authenticity thing—looking around the table to make my intro sound as sincere as possible—I cottoned on to Lochalshie Highland Games committee member so far unknown: Jack McAllan. I haven't seen him since I fell asleep in his house post dog rescue. I've had every pair of fingers and toes crossed since then that a) he didn't see the Nipple Nora pic, and b) he didn't witness me snoring, mumbling in my sleep or dribbling. Ryan told me I sometimes do all three when in repose. It's mortifying. I risk a small smile in his direction and he smirks back at me. Darn it. Either he did see the wardrobe malfunction or he returned to his living room and witnessed my best pig in a poke impression.

Jolene stands and waves me down. "Thanks, Gaby! We'll be coming back to you later. Now, back to the important stuff—the games and Psychic Josie!"

Jack scrapes back his chair and stands up. "So far, we've got ten entries to the Highland Games."