Page 35

‘You’re just tired. I think you’re a natural.’ Duncan grinned, taking the gun from her and holding out his hand for the ear defenders, too.

‘No, you don’t.’ Bex laughed back.

‘No, okay, maybe not a natural, but I think with a bit of work you wouldn’t be bad at this.’

Bex looked out into the sky, at the miles and miles of blue. ‘So, do you shoot other things too?’ she said. ‘I mean, like pheasants or deer?’

‘No, that’s not my thing,’ Duncan said, crinkling his nose. ‘Strange, I know, for a country boy, but I’m perfectly happy with the clays.’

A warmth rose through Bex at the thought of this burly man with his giant cat and aversion to shooting living things. He was full of surprises, that was for sure.

‘So, given that I helped you this morning, that means I’ve almost worked off my five days, right?’

‘You didn’t help,’ Bex said. ‘You brought me gifts and stopped me from doing work. Technically, because of you, I’m behind where I would have been. Anyway, the five days just restarted.’

‘What?’ Duncan’s jaw dropped, eyes widening. ‘Why?’

‘Well, because of this,’ she said, gesturing to where they were standing.

‘This?’

‘This. This was absolutely a date,’ she said. ‘We went somewhere, just the two of us, we did something fun together, and you brought me food. That’s a date.’

‘Oh, Barker, this was not a date,’ he said. ‘Trust me. When you and I are on a date, you will know.’

‘Is that right?’

The butterflies were swarming in her stomach again, trying to push her towards him. She was an arm’s length away at most. A few small steps and she could be pressed up against his chest.

‘Well, I’m booking a table for Friday,’ Duncan said, breaking her stream of thoughts before she could do anything stupid. ‘I’m taking you for dinner.’

Dinner with Duncan. Was that what she wanted? She knew his situation, and Lorna had specifically warned her off, but really, how well did she know Lorna? It wasn’t like they were close friends; they had just met.

Bex stepped back, shaking her head as she moved. No, that wasn’t the type of person Lorna was. Besides, she had already arranged to meet her again. Next Friday.

‘No can do, I’m afraid,’ she said, leaning in. ‘I’m going out with your sister then. Lorna said it’s the only evening she’s free.’

‘Oh, is that right?’

‘Yes.’ Relief billowed through Bex at having a justifiable reason to say no to Duncan’s request, without having to find any willpower of her own. Yet as the smirk rose on his lips, she suspected she might not have got out of the situation quite as easily as she’d hoped.

‘I guess I’ll just have to check with her if I can come then, won’t I?’ he said. ‘And just so you know, Lorna never says no to her big brother.’ With that, he slipped the gun back into its bag, flashed her another smile, then began walking back up towards the lodge.

33

Duncan offered to walk Bex and Ruby back up to the castle, but given that he would just have to go back on himself afterwards, it seemed unnecessary. Still, as they reached the lodge door, he stopped and lingered outside.

‘I’m sure Kenna would like it if you came in and said hello to her again,’ he said. ‘With all that fuss you gave her, I’m not going to stop hearing the end of it until she sees you again.’

Bex had to make a concerted effort not to look at that smile twisting up the corners of his lips. It seemed to have the ability to melt all her resolve.

‘Is that right?’ Bex laughed. The fact that a man was using his cat as an excuse to see her again was ridiculous – but she couldn’t help but find it very sweet.

‘Well, I’m here for a very long time,’ she reminded him. ‘I’m sure I’ll get to see her again at some point.’

‘And what about me? I guess now you’ve got your coffee machine and papers sorted, you’ve no need for me any more.’

Bex froze and tipped her head to the side, offering him a look of deep confusion.