Page 38 of A Summer House on Arran (Scottish Romances #3)

Kitty was exhausted, but there was no way she was going to let him beat her.

She was determined to reach Lamlash first, and she could feel her competitive nature powering through her as she paddled furiously.

Her arms were burning, but she couldn’t help laughing as she heard Logan behind her singing about being a champion.

She desperately wanted to turn around and tell him he hadn’t won the race yet.

But she suspected his singing was a distraction tactic, so she kept her eyes on the land ahead.

She focused on the sound of her paddles, swooshing through the water, grateful that there were no waves or strong currents today, which would have made this much harder.

It had been a while since she’d been out on the water like this, and she was relieved that she had kept up with her regular Pilates sessions, which seemed to have maintained her core strength and balance.

She had no doubt though that she would feel all of this hard work when she woke up tomorrow.

‘Not far now,’ she whispered to herself. She had about one hundred metres to go, and she realised that Logan had gone quiet. Turning around in a panic, to check he was okay, she saw that he was right behind her. His face was a picture of concentration as he focused on trying to overtake her.

‘Looks like I could be winning this one after all,’ he said as he edged slightly ahead.

She grimaced and paddled harder and faster, her muscles burning as her breathing started to become more laboured. They both reached the shallows and jumped out of the water to race and touch the shore at the same time.

‘I’d say that was a draw,’ said Logan. ‘Well done.’ He raised his hand to high-five her and Kitty forced a smile, reluctant to admit defeat.

‘Well done,’ she said. ‘You know I’ll need to challenge you to a rematch some time?’

His eyes widened in surprise. ‘Any time you want. You weren’t joking when you said you were competitive, were you?’

‘Too much?’ asked Kitty apologetically.

He shrugged. ‘Actually, I quite like it. Come on, how about I buy you lunch?’

‘Deal,’ she said, pulling the kayak towards the shed and waving at Fergus, who came over to meet them.

As she told him about their morning, she couldn’t help but notice Logan’s defined chest muscles and a smattering of dark hair when he unzipped his wetsuit.

Even though she tried not to stare, it was really hard to pull her eyes away.

‘I’ll give you a call later in the week,’ said Fergus. ‘Maybe you can come and meet Amelia too?’

‘I’d like that very much,’ she said. ‘And thanks for sorting us out today.’

‘Anytime, guys. Logan, are you back for another tour soon?’

Logan nodded. ‘Yes, next week, and Kitty has just challenged me to another race, so clearly I’ll need to get some training in.’

Kitty chuckled. ‘Right, let me just go and get changed, and then you can take me for lunch.’

* * *

They were sitting in the corner of a café that looked out over Lamlash Bay, waiting for their food to arrive.

‘Tell me more. What else do you do when you’re not at work or being a champion kayaker?’

She mulled his question over. ‘I like to bake.’

He eyed her suspiciously.

‘What?’ she said self-consciously.

‘I didn’t have you down as a baker either,’ he said.

‘Just goes to show you have me all wrong. I have lots of hidden talents.’ She realised that she sounded as though she was flirting. Then she realised that actually she was flirting, and it was quite good fun.

Logan grinned and she fought back a smile.

He leaned towards her. ‘Now I’m intrigued. Tell me what sort of things you bake.’

‘Well, everything really, as long as it’s vegan.’

Just then the waitress arrived with their food, putting a club sandwich in front of Kitty and a plate with quiche and salad down for Logan. He looked at her plate in confusion. ‘But there’s chicken in that?’

‘Oh, I’m not vegan,’ she said. ‘What happened was that when Cameron was younger, we worked out he had a dairy intolerance, so I started experimenting with cakes and things that didn’t have dairy in them.

That way he could take his own stuff to parties.

And then somehow, without realising it, I had a cottage business of cake making.

When I started to cut out eggs too, I could sell them as vegan cakes, which has become a bit of a thing.

I was the go-to for making folk’s birthday cakes.

’ She pulled out her phone and opened up her Instagram account, showing him some of the designs.

‘These are incredible,’ he said as she scrolled through pictures of Disney princess cakes, footballs, a putting green on a golf course, stacks of books and a handbag cake. There was even a kayak. ‘You’re so creative.’

She smiled sheepishly. ‘I never used to bake as a child. But I wanted to make sure Cameron didn’t miss out.’

‘How do you find the time?’

‘I just fit it in around work. Obviously, I’m having a break while I’m here.’

‘Is it something you would do full-time?’ he asked, putting a forkful of quiche into his mouth.

‘I’ve toyed with it,’ she admitted. ‘But it might feel like too much pressure and take the fun out of it.’

He nodded. ‘Yes, I get that. Then it becomes a bit of a chore rather than something you genuinely enjoy.’

‘Exactly.’ She took a bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. Picking up her glass of water, she took a sip and said casually, ‘How about you come over for dinner next time you’re back? I’ll even make my special brownies. All for you.’

Logan looked like he was giving her question serious consideration.

‘Or not?’ said Kitty lightly, trying to quell the flicker of worry that was forming. Had she read all of this completely wrong?

‘Kitty,’ he replied, his dark eyes twinkling with amusement. ‘I would love to come to dinner next week.’

Kitty let out a quiet breath of relief — she felt a small glimmer of pleasure and anticipation at the thought.