Duplicity Read online

  Duplicity

  Lisa J Hobman

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  First Edition, 2016

  License Notes

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the book store and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

  Copyright © 2016 Lisa J Hobman

  All rights reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form of by any electronic or mechanical means, including information and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

  This is a work of fiction, names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  For Rich. My best friend.

  Fin

  You know that feeling you get when you know everything in your life is just about to go belly up? Yeah? Well, I had it in bucket loads. The really stupid thing was, IF I had listened to my gut and backed out before it got to that particular point, I wouldn’t have been standing in the most embarrassing situation ever. A situation I didn’t even want to be in.

  But no.

  Like the spineless moron I’d become, I stood there at the altar, waiting for her.

  When it got to forty-five minutes after the time she should’ve arrived and no one had been able to contact her—not even her own family—I got it.

  I’d been jilted.

  Fin

  Until recently, in all my twenty-seven years, I’ve always done the right thing. Well, at least I’ve tried to. Finlay Hunter—the blue-eyed boy—both literally and figuratively speaking. Never putting a foot out of line but somehow still never good enough.

  Having grown up in a very wealthy family, the younger of two sons, I’ve strived to be the perfect prodigy. Following in my father’s footsteps and taking my degree in law had been part of the plan. Notice how I didn’t say my plan? My St Andrews degree had afforded me a great education and good friends, but not a choice of career. I would’ve been working for the family business in some capacity regardless. A serious case of nepotism.

  A St Andrews University degree was seen by my family as a status symbol. “The Royals study there, don’t you know? If it’s good enough for them…” A famous phrase often repeated at me by my dad.

  I worked my arse off for my qualifications, and it was no bloody picnic, but at the end of the day, to my father, it was simply a necessary piece of paper he could wave under the noses of his corporate cronies. A status symbol.

  My father, Campbell Hunter, is a senior partner in Hunter Drummond Law, based in the magnificent city of Edinburgh. A high-flyer, you might say, and since a very young age, I too was encouraged to do well, to prosper. My father doesn’t suffer fools and ours was never really a relationship based on what you could call out and out love. I know he loves me. Or at least I think he does. He just never shows it, not really. Never has. Dad is a great believer in keeping emotions in check. “No one likes a cry-baby, Finlay,” was another of his favourite phrases, and so I learned to keep my thoughts, feelings, and emotions to myself. It explains a lot.

  Dad wasn’t the kind of guy to play footy on a Sunday with my brother and me. We were both sent to boarding school, and when we were home for holidays, he was always working, so we spent our time with the housekeeper, Henrietta—or Hetty—as Callum and I called her. We didn’t mind at the time because she was great fun. She had awesome taste in music and would smuggle CDs in for me of bands she thought I’d like. I can categorically say that my fantasies of being a rock star stemmed from Hetty.

  My older brother, Callum, was the opinionated one. He’d argue black was white and up was down if he thought it would get a rise out of Dad, and there was always some feud going on between them. They were far too alike; two strong-willed alpha male characters vying for dominance over each other and neither willing to back down. It was due to this reason that I took it upon myself to be the better son. The compliant one. All I wanted was for Dad to be proud of me. But looking back, even when I graduated with a first, he didn’t tell me he was proud of me. Instead, he bought me a new sports car and told me I was expected at the firm the following week to begin work.

  That was over four years ago.

  ♫♫♫

  I suppose I should tell you about my fiancée. Or should I say ex-fiancée.

  Elise Drummond is the daughter of Eoin Drummond, my father’s partner at the law firm. She and I were kind of thrust together as teenagers. It was clear right at the start what our parents’ intent was. She was sweet and pretty. Long dark hair, almost black, in fact, and bright green eyes. But she was quite thin. Now, I’m not having a go there. I just prefer women with curves in all the right places, if you get my meaning. Elise didn’t have curves to speak of. But she was…well…nice enough.

  When we were twenty, we started dating—another contrived setup by our respective parents. You’d think in 21st century Britain there would be no such thing as arranged marriage, but in a roundabout way, that’s what we were being ‘guided’ into. We both silently acquiesced without protest, neither of us wanting to rock the proverbial boat. I grew fond of her if I’m honest, and for a long while, she was my best friend. I could talk to her about almost anything. I say almost because there were things I couldn’t say to her because they’d no doubt get back to my dad, via hers. Things like the fact that I felt trapped, that it appeared my life was mapped out for me and I had no say. Deep down, I was sure she felt the same way, but neither of us broached the subject, and so life went on.

  She too worked for the family firm, which left us with little to talk about apart from our respective cases at the office. And that was it. Our tastes in just about everything were completely different. I loved rock music, but she couldn’t stand it. I loved art, but she preferred plain walls. She loved to travel, but I was a home body. They say opposites attract, but we were more ‘opposites thrown together for the greater good’.

  Only it wasn’t our
greater good.

  We moved in together aged twenty-two, just after leaving uni. The vast apartment was in a stunning area of Edinburgh in an old Victorian building, and Elise chose all the furnishings. But, of course, our parents paid for pretty much everything.

  The only things I contributed to my new home were some photographs I’d bought from a little craft shop in the city. The photographer, simply known as S.A.M, had captured a totally different side of Edinburgh. He or she had made it look somehow ethereal with the light and the glow to the prints. I loved them. Elise wasn’t keen, but I put them up anyway. I think we had got to the point of living on the path of least resistance, never mind just venturing down it.

  Our relationship had been chaste up to moving in together, and rather embarrassingly, we were both virgins until then. In my defence, my upbringing and schooling hadn’t allowed the allotted time for rebellion that most teens get. There were no wild, alcohol-fuelled parties, no one night stands, and no strip clubs. I guess I’d led a pretty sheltered life, but thankfully, so had Elise. Realistically speaking, we’d been promised to one another since before university. It had been a kind of unspoken agreement between our parents that just added to my feeling of being a puppet in someone else’s theatre.

  Star

  From a young age, growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana—Midwest USA—I always said I’d travel the world someday. When I started high school, I had narrowed my dream down to visiting Europe when I left college. It wasn’t that I hated my hometown or anything like that. It was simply that Europe seemed like some kind of mystical fairy-tale land from the movies I’d seen and books I’d read.

  Of all the stories that gripped me, it was Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie that didn’t let me go. Set in Edinburgh and with a strong-willed female at the heart of it, the book sparked something inside of me, and that was it. I was hooked. Edinburgh became dear to my heart as it jumped from the pages of the book in the full technicolour of my imagination. I had begun saving when I was ten years old, but in my teens, Miss Brodie captured my soul and determined my ultimate destination.

  My dad’s origins were Spanish, although you wouldn’t know it to look at him, and my mom’s were American, although her grandparents were British which I guess is partly why Europe fascinated me so much. I had a small selection of good friends at school, but I wasn’t what you could call one of the popular kids. I was the one who shopped at the thrift store by choice and liked to experiment with bizarre fashion. From a very young age, I decided I wanted to have my own identity. I didn’t want to be a carbon copy of anyone else. I added my own personality to whatever I wore, and some kids at school either ignored me or made fun of me for not being “normal” —but what’s normal, right? And why strive to be anything other than your true self?

  Only, for some bizarre reason, I seemed to be drawn to guys who were the total opposite of me, and those relationships always ended badly. My first real heartbreak came during my final semester. Sully was a handsome, ball-playing, popular guy who needed extra credit toward his football scholarship. Someone in the higher echelons of the school decided that I would be the perfect person to help him achieve that goal.

  Without going into all the gory details—I mean, we all know how Pretty in Pink goes, and Some Kind of Wonderful, right? Let’s just say I fell. Hard. And all the time I was tutoring Sully, he acted like he adored me too. But of course, once my usefulness had expired, I received a letter from him telling me we were from totally different worlds, and that while my quirkiness was sweet and endearing, it just didn’t fit him and his future. He hoped I would find someone better suited to my “style” and that now he was going off to college it would be best if we remembered the good times with fondness. He didn’t even have the decency to speak to me face to face. Bastard. Suffice it to say, I was dropped from my place on Cloud Nine and hit the ground of reality with a huge resounding thud, my heart less than intact, and my ability to even consider trusting another guy was something I couldn’t begin to comprehend.

  When my final semester ended and my mom and dad handed me an envelope that contained a plane ticket to Edinburgh, UK, I think I screamed with glee for a half hour solid. I just couldn’t wait to get on that jet, head over the Atlantic and put Sully, heartbreak, and all that painful shit behind me. Well, what American girl can say they wouldn’t want to visit Europe? If they do say that, I can tell you damn straight, they’re lying.

  I arrived in the UK around three years ago, aged twenty-two. It was my intention to take a year out before deciding what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but when I discovered Edinburgh—I mean really discovered it—with its intricate stone architecture, peaceful cemeteries, and lofty castle, I decided I was home. I know that sounds crazy and all, but I just fell in love with the place, the people, the accents, the atmosphere. You name it—I loved it. My camera accompanied me everywhere. You could say I was a little snap happy, but I’ve always been the same. I managed to find work in a city centre coffee house and a room in a gorgeous apartment close to the town centre, and that was it.

  I was made.

  Okay, maybe made isn’t the right word to choose. I mean, I wasn’t exactly rolling in cash or living in Edinburgh Castle, but I had a roof and a wage, and that was enough for this uncomplicated, Midwestern girl. My parents were great about the whole thing. They’re kind of relaxed and very trusting, and they always say that so long as I’m happy, they don’t mind what I’m doing. I think they’re pretty great really, and I do miss them. They’ve visited since I moved and they totally get why I love it here so much.

  The apartment in which I rented a room was really sweet; my roommate/landlord told me it was Victorian; it had high ceilings and lots of original features. I loved the fireplace, even though it only had pillar candles in it. The guy who owned it, and the coffee shop, was Alec McVey. He was just great; gay, and the best person to shop with. We had tons of fun, and he’s still a great friend after all these years. The best. So, all in all, I landed on my feet and things were going really well for me.

  The coffee house—very originally called McVey’s—was in the main shopping area of the city, just off Princes Street. Every day, on my way there, I walked past the Scott Monument on his stone precipice. I’d usually say good morning to him and give him a salute, which got me some bizarre looks from people, but I didn’t care. I got bizarre looks most days anyway. Let’s just say I’m a…um…colourful character. I love tattoos and have them on my back and arms. My naturally blonde hair spends very little time in its natural state. I love to experiment with colour and have been known to have blue, red, and pink hair. Not all at once, though. Don’t get me wrong, I’m colourful, not insane.

  My day started at eight, when I usually opened the shop while Alec stayed home with the admin for a while. Well, he used that excuse, but the truth was he hated mornings. My first customers of the day were the folks on their way to work, grabbing their caffeine fix on the go. But my favourite customer, Mr McYummy, usually called in at around eight twenty-five. He was so shy, which, of course, I found endearing. I had to remind myself I was there to serve him coffee, not drool and fawn all over him.

  But boy, it was hard.

  He was pretty much the opposite of me in every way. He was a tall, natural blonde and had the most incredible eyes I’d ever seen. I’m talking the brightest, most vivid blue. He worked out too. I could tell by the hang of his expensive suit. I guessed he was some high-flying executive on account of the briefcase he carried, but I had no clue where he worked. I kept thinking that one day I should stalk him to find out. But, of course, I didn’t. Like I said, I’m not insane.

  He always smiled at me, and when he did, my belly did this funny flip. But it wasn’t just my belly that reacted to him. I’ll leave the rest of that to your imagination, but I’m guessing if you’re a hot-blooded, heterosexual female, you’ll totally get me.

  Okay, so here’s how it usually went with him. I’ll call him MMY (Mr McYummy
).

  Me: Good morning, sir. What can I get you today?

  MMY: (Blushing and soft spoken) Um, good morning. Um…can I get a latte with skim milk to take out, please? (Oh my God. I love his Scottish accent.)

  Me: Sure you can, sir. (I’d go off and start the coffee machine) It’s a lovely/cold/horrible day out there today, huh? (Delete as applicable)

  MMY: (Smiling briefly and blushing again) Yes, it really is lovely/cold/horrible.

  Me: So, any exciting plans for this evening? (And no, I wasn’t asking him out. It was just small talk.)

  MMY: (Shaking his head and smiling again…drool) Oh, no. Not really. Working late again. (Rolling his eyes)

  Me: (Handing his coffee over) Well, don’t work too hard, huh? Here you go. Enjoy, and have a great day.

  MMY: (Blushing again… so sweet) Th-thank you. You have a good day too.

  Me: I’ll try. (But you’ve just made it a whole lot nicer)

  And then he’d walk out and I’d sigh dreamily. Okay, so it was no dramatic love scene from a Nicholas Sparks movie, but as you can see, I had no clue how to get him to talk. He just went beet red whenever I tried, and I’m not exactly hard to talk to. I gave him opportunities, but it was my guess that maybe I was a little too quirky for him to take notice.