Page 40 of Someone Like You

IAN

“Thank you so much, Ian! You saved my life!.”

Georgia Walsh, owner of theShelfishbookstore, was ecstatic to have her windows properly lit again. They were getting less daylight every day and having curated shop windows was no use if passersby couldn’t see what was on display.

“No problem,” Ian grumbled. “Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, it’s been a… Ah,challengingweek.”

Challengingbeing the understatement of the year. He and Phil had gone for one of their runs earlier that morning and they’d acted like any other day, tacitly agreeing not to bring up the panic attack or what had happened next. Ian wasn’t even sure whathadhappened next. A moment of weakness. A distraction. He’d let the emotional charge of the situation derail his integrity for a heartbeat, edging dangerously close to losing control. It would’ve been unforgivable of him to take advantage of Phil’s vulnerability. Every fibre in his body had wanted to pull him to himself and hold him tight until hestopped shaking so helplessly. Wipe his tears, kiss his temple. Kisshim. Tell him—

“How much do I owe you?”

Georgia’s voice tugged at Ian’s musings, but he was only half listening and half still caught up in judging himself. What kind of person thought about kissing a guy who’d just come out of a panic attack?

“Nonsense,” he said, trusting he’d processed the question correctly. “It was a ten-minute job and I live round the corner.”

Georgia made another couple of attempts to convince Ian to take a few quid, but he was unmovable.

“Take a book or two, at least!”

“Alright, alright!”

He looked around, meaning to select a random book out of the many within reach, when a bright white cover caught his eye. It was simple and discreet, just like he liked them. At the centre, shattered glass formed a sun-like shape dotted with blood drops, a captivating silvery title embossed on top of it:Seventeen Seconds of Sun.

He’d already picked it up when his heart leaped noticing the author’s name at the bottom.

P. J. Hanson.

“Oooh, that one’s brilliant!” Georgia clapped her hands excitedly. “Have you read Hanson before?”

A corner of Ian’s mouth ticked up fondly at the sound of the name he’d been lovingly twisting since the first time he’d heard it.

“Can’t say I have, no.” He couldn’t believe he’d never thought of looking up Phil’s books.

Georgia reverently trailed her fingers down the cover. “This is his debut novel — my favourite yet. AlthoughStar Captormight be close second. You’ll love it if you’re into mystery and thriller. There’s also a very intriguing romantic subplot.”

Ian wasn’t one of those avid readers who devoured book after book after book, but he did enjoy a good novel and was more than a little curious about Phil’s work.

“You sure I can take it?”

“All yours! Let me know what you think!”

“I will. Thanks, Georgia.”

* * *

He hadn’t expected the story to have a female protagonist, nor that he would end up growing so fond of her so fast.

Alba Kendry, senior Sociology student at UCLA turned improvised detective, was a grumpy, foul-mouthed loner with an uncanny penchant for making people uncomfortable with inappropriate jokes about her prosthetic leg. Ian had had no choice but to spiritually adopt her within the first fifteen pages. He’d never come across a thriller that was also so amusing and full of heart. He could see Phil through Alba’s clever puns, quips, and jabs, in the vibrant descriptions of people and places, and more than once he found himself chuckling at a line, thinking‘That’s so you, Phil’. He tore through the pages even in those passages where Alba’s beau made him want to throw the book out of the window.

It was almost midnight when he started the last chapter before the epilogue and couldn’t resist texting Phil.

You

This Alba is a powerhouse

A reply came almost at once.

Handsome

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