Page 38

Fergus smiled at her warmly.

‘You’re all right, lass,’ he said. ‘I’ll have a wander up to the village in a bit. Let these guys stretch their legs.’

‘I’ll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight, Fergus.’

‘Goodnight, lass.’

It turned out that making an omelette after numerous whiskies was easier said than done. The first attempt had to be binned, due to the half a shell that ended up in the mixture. Even on the second attempt, what Bex ended up with was far closer to scrambled egg. Dry scrambled egg with no sauce and nothing to make it taste better. On Monday, when the shops were open again, she was going to need to do a proper shop, even if it meant taking an hour lunch break to get it done.

As she climbed up the stairs towards her bed half an hour later, her conversation with Fergus was still playing on her mind. What were her big memories? There was the memory of her parents’ thirtieth wedding anniversary that had happened the year before. That felt like a big one, as did the memory of Theo proposing to Daisy, not to mention their wedding, but they didn’t feel like they should be her memories. They were theirs. Immediately, an image flickered into her mind: Duncan opening the bathroom door while she was standing in there naked. That one seemed unlikely to fade soon. If ever. What about him bringing the bridie? Or the way he had held her body close to his while he had shown her how to mount the gun, then added the gentle pressure to her finger as he guided her to squeeze the trigger? No, she thought, trying to push the images from her mind. He was a friend. A friend who brought her food and gifts and made her feel like her entire body was on fire every time they touched. People had friends like that, didn’t they?

She dropped onto the bed, only for Ruby to let out a low whine that perfectly encapsulated how Bex felt. There was no point denying it. She didn’t see Duncan as a friend. She never had. But he was also definitely not boyfriend material either. Not given his current state, so where did that leave her?

‘I know, girl,’ Bex said, reaching down to scratch beneath the dog’s chin. ‘I seem to have found myself in a bit of a pickle here.’

35

Bex’s head hurt. Really hurt. Apparently, the burned scrambled egg had done nothing to absorb all the alcohol from the whisky. Thankfully, even in her state, she remembered the earplugs Duncan had gifted her, and as such, it was nearly midday by the time she woke up. So late that even Ruby had gone.

Even with the pounding behind her temples and the foul furry taste in her mouth, she could feel the effects of a decent night’s sleep for the first time since she had moved here.

With a stretch and a yawn, Bex rolled over and picked up her phone, only to see that Lorna had set up a group chat entitled ‘Lion Friday Night’.

7pm. Can’t wait to see you.

Blunt and to the point. It was the type of message Bex liked, although she couldn’t help but notice that Duncan’s name was on the list, too. Not only that, but he’d sent her a message too.

She said I could crash. Hope you don’t mind. And I’m not counting this as a date.

She laughed. Even in her mind, she had to agree this wasn’t a date. Just a drink at the pub. Besides, it was a week away. By that time, she might have completely forgotten about this crush. After all, she had gone off guys far quicker than that in the past. It was perfectly possible, wasn’t it?

* * *

No. Bex discovered when Friday rolled around, it was not possible to be over a crush on someone like Duncan. Not that quickly, anyway.

Unlike the week before, they hadn’t spent much time together, but whenever she did see him, it set her pulse racing. Like the morning she looked out of her window and saw him there, chasing the dogs around, rubbing their tummies and letting them jump all over him. There was something so endearing about the moment. Clearly, he thought no one was looking, and she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him behaving like a big kid.

Then there was the bridie he’d left by her coffee machine on Tuesday. She had been so absorbed working, she’d had no idea when he’d come into the castle, or if he’d even come to the study to speak to her, but when she went to make herself a drink a little after one, there was a brown paper bag and a small note beside it.

So you remember to eat.

That didn’t help her crush, either.

Then there was the way he was with Fergus. One evening, midweek, she had just curled up into bed when she heard the laughter rolling from downstairs, and a whole new sense of warmth took a hold of her. A warmth that increased the next morning when she went down, found the door to the drawing room open, and Fergus there in his chair, with a blanket laid carefully across him, a pillow beneath his head and a glass of water where his whisky would normally be. Bex suspected this wasn’t the first time Duncan had done this for the old man, and the knowledge only made those damn butterflies increase.

By the time Friday had come around, she found herself overthinking what she was going to wear, which was a far cry from when she’d first gone for a drink with Lorna when she’d barely had time for a shower.

Knowing that Duncan had complimented her in jeans, she chose a similar outfit, but paired it with heels. And after popping her head in the drawing room to say goodbye to Fergus and take Ruby down to him so that she wasn’t up all night waiting for her, she left for the village.

Bex arrived at the Lion five minutes early, exactly as she had planned. Being early let her get a sense of the room, maybe even work out escape routes if she needed.

This time, though, she was using those extra minutes to decide where to sit. Did she want to sit next to Duncan? No. This was not a date. Absolutely not a date. Besides, she didn’t know how much Lorna knew about her having spent time with Duncan, and she wanted to get to know Lorna, Eilidh and Niall better. Yes, the aim was to sit one place away from Duncan. That would make it harder for them to talk directly, and she wouldn’t be facing him. That was if the table was round, of course – if it was rectangular, she’d need another plan. Knowing that Lorna had booked them a table, she was about to ask the barman which was theirs, only for Eilidh and Niall to arrive at the same time.

‘It feels like it’s been forever,’ Eilidh said, wrapping Bex in a hug the moment she saw her. ‘How’s it going? How’s life at the castle?’

‘Much of the same – lots of paperwork, but I think I’m through the worst of it, which is good.’

‘You’re done?’ Niall said. ‘You mean…?’