Page 4 of A Summer House on Arran (Scottish Romances #3)

Logan tried not to wince as Tallulah dug her bright pink nails, which were as hard as talons, into his back.

Her arms hooked around his neck and, for a brief moment of horror, he panicked that she was about to kiss him.

She had clung to him like a limpet these past few days.

He was used to tourists in his group tours thinking they had a crush on him now and again, it was that whole tour leader thing, but he hadn’t experienced anyone quite like Tallulah.

She was Irish, newly divorced and on the lookout for love — as she kept reminding everyone several times a day.

‘There you go,’ he said, gently unhooking her and guiding her to where the path broadened out ahead. ‘Just that way.’

She flashed him a sorrowful smile. ‘You’re so strong and manly. Thanks for helping me. That crossing was very narrow.’ Then she turned, wiggled her bum in her very tight walking shorts and flounced down the path.

Logan felt his cheeks redden. He didn’t think he’d ever been called strong and manly before, though he had spent many years in the Navy.

If his sisters could see him now they would double over laughing.

He looked behind him to make sure the rest of the party were safely passing the narrow walkway, and breathed a sigh of relief.

He was escorting a small group on a three-day walking tour of Skye and some parts of the trails were tighter than others.

Hence Tallulah’s . . . over-reliance on him.

She was an older woman, confident, flirty ― not quietly so ― and normally in association with him. He sighed.

Thanks to his two older sisters he was more in touch with his feminine side than he wished to be.

Growing up, he had learned all about period pains and hormones and mood swings.

He had got used to being sent out to buy emergency stashes of chocolate.

Then, as his sisters got older, he became very used to hearing ‘all men are wankers’ being shouted and doors being slammed.

Thanks to his ongoing education, Logan also knew one could never be too careful around hot flushes.

He normally loved his job, but he would be glad when this particular tour had ended.

He couldn’t remember ever feeling so on edge before.

Fortunately his time in the Navy had served him well for dealing with Tallulah and her unwanted advances.

She had thrown him a few sad smiles, as today was her last day, which had almost made him feel sorry for her.

But never before had he needed to keep such a firm boundary in place for a guest. It was utterly exhausting.

Logan reached the clearing ahead, where the four-strong group were waiting for their next instruction.

‘You’ll be glad to know that this is where we’re going to stop for lunch.

’ His words were met with an enthusiastic cheer — people sank to the ground and started pulling out their lunchboxes.

Logan drained his bottle of water and stretched his neck, then sat down and joined the small circle they’d formed.

‘This has been incredible,’ said Sam, who was visiting with his wife from New Zealand.

‘Just beautiful. The scenery is spectacular,’ said Sylvie, a French student, who was trying to cram as much as she could into her year overseas.

‘What have your highlights been?’ he asked, expecting a little silence as they each pondered over the past few days.

‘That’s easy,’ said Tallulah in a lazy drawl. ‘Definitely the Fairy Pools and the wild swimming.’

Logan groaned inwardly at the way she lingered on the word wild .

Crikey, that had been another day he wanted to forget in a hurry.

The Fairy Pools were a stunning spot at the foot of the Black Cuillin mountains, attracting visitors from all over the world.

Especially now that wild swimming was all the rage, although he had just thought of it as swimming outdoors.

He was always a bit baffled by the wild part.

He had prepared the group in advance, telling them that the water would be extremely cold so there was no pressure to go in.

However, that day was warm and sunny, perfect for a quick dip.

He had led the way, after stripping to his shorts, aware of Tallulah’s eyes on him. He’d always hated attention.

Tallulah was the first of the group to strip off to a bikini that looked like it had been stolen from the set of Love Island .

It certainly wasn’t designed for doing any swimming, especially not in Scotland in some random river pools.

He clocked Sam throwing his wife a look of incredulity and tried not to chuckle.

Then he said to the rest of the group to take their time getting in the water.

He swam over to Sylvie, who looked a bit nervous.

‘Once you’re in, it will be okay. It’s cold but you’ll soon warm up.

’ He tried his best to smile at Tallulah, even though she was now swimming a bit too close for comfort.

When he felt her leg brush against his, he manoeuvred himself out of the way, then encouraged everyone to enjoy their time in the water but not stay in too long.

‘How about you, Logan?’ asked Sam. ‘You must have done thousands of these walks and know Scotland like the back of your hand.’

That was true. Logan absolutely loved his job — being outdoors, showing off the country he adored to tourists.

After leaving the Navy five years ago he had taken some time out to hike and explore Scotland in a way he hadn’t before.

He had taken his backpack and gone at his own pace, which was a refreshing change after living to such tight routines.

It took some getting used to, knowing he could stay in a place for as long or as little as he wanted.

He had no ties or responsibilities. The whole experience was really liberating.

Then he had started working for a touring company, which offered guided tours to small groups.

He loved being able to take people to hidden parts of Scotland and really show them the best of it.

Meeting people from all over the world was a perk of the job too, and he had made some great friends who he still kept in touch with.

He had set up an Instagram account, the Tartan Wanderer, and, yes, he knew it was really cheesy, but tourists loved it and it was easy to remember.

His sisters had made fun of all the comments he got from ‘the ladies’ if his face appeared in a post, which was very rare.

He tried to focus on showing images and reels of Highland cows, hills, glens, snowy mountains, dolphins, castles and white beaches.

Logan had recently celebrated his landmark birthday of forty, and felt no urge to settle down. He liked his freedom and his space far too much. He couldn’t understand why anyone would choose a relationship over that.

‘Do you ever get bored of going to the same places time after time?’ asked Sam.

‘Oh, not at all,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Never. No two days are the same, no two visits are the same. There’s always something different, whether it’s the weather or the scenery. I always notice things I haven’t before. It’s the best job in the world. I’m very lucky.’

‘You have an amazing office,’ remarked Sam’s wife, Naomi.

He nodded.

‘Where is your favourite place?’ asked Sylvie.

He frowned as he tried to answer her question. ‘That’s really tricky,’ he began. ‘I mean, there are so many amazing spots . . . I love Glencoe, and obviously Skye is amazing. In fact, I love all the islands . . .’

‘Okay then.’ Sam was clearly enthralled. ‘How about this? What if you had to choose one island? If you could recommend just one, which would it be?’

Logan took another swig of water from his bottle as he thought. Then he smiled as he felt a slight shiver down his spine. ‘Arran,’ he said dreamily. ‘If I had to choose my favourite spot it would be the Isle of Arran. It’s just off the west coast. About an hour’s ferry ride away from the mainland.

‘Oh,’ said Tallulah, a tad breathlessly. ‘Have you got time to take us there? It sounds spectacular. And so romantic.’

He briskly shook his head. Oh, good God, that’s the last thing I need. ‘I’m afraid not.’ He cleared his throat. ‘As you know, this is our final day, and it would take us a good day to travel there and then several days to explore.’

Her shoulders slumped and she stuck out her bottom lip. ‘What a shame. I was thinking about cancelling my trip to Edinburgh and perhaps trying to see more of the islands.’

‘Well, our next few tours there are fully booked,’ Logan said quickly.

‘Until the end of the season,’ he added, crossing his fingers that his boss wouldn’t find out he’d said that.

‘Edinburgh is a must-see. Especially when you’ve flown all this way.

’ What was he talking about? Dublin was only an hour away. He knew he was grasping at straws.

Sylvie nodded in agreement. ‘It is stunning, Tallulah. You must go. Edinburgh is such a romantic city.’

Tallulah quickly switched her attentions to the young French woman. ‘Oh, do tell me more. Can you give me any recommendations?’

‘Of course. I’ll make you a list of suggestions. You will not be disappointed, I promise.’

At that moment Logan wanted to high-five Sylvie and thank her profusely. Instead he clasped his hands tightly together. ‘I hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve seen of Scotland so far and . . . that you’ll feel like coming back some day. There’s so much to see and do here. We’re so lucky.’

He decided that he wouldn’t share details of his next trip, just in case Tallulah made a last-minute change to her plans.

He was in fact heading to his favourite destination, to lead a tour around Arran, the island he loved and knew well.

He would have a couple of days off before the tour started, then some time off afterwards.

He planned to spend it on the island, relaxing and catching up with his good friend, James, who had moved back there last year to run a new distillery.

‘Well, we will definitely be back, that’s for sure,’ said Sam to the rest of the group. ‘I think I can safely say we have loved every minute. Thanks for looking after us so well.’

Everyone clapped and nodded.

Logan beamed in pride. ‘Thank you. And haste ye back.’

‘What does that mean?’ asked Tallulah from underneath her eyelashes. She was clearly going for one last ditch attempt.

Logan turned to her and gave her a kind smile.

Then he addressed the rest of the group.

‘That means you are all always welcome here.’ He didn’t want to say it meant, ‘Come back soon.’ Because that would give her the wrong end of the stick completely.

Honestly, he was mentally exhausted from walking on eggshells these past few days.

He just hoped that his next group on Arran wouldn’t have any Tallulahs in it. His nerves couldn’t take it.