Page 23 of A Summer of Secrets on Arran (Scottish Romances #5)

When Luke reached the front door of Creel Cottage, he felt a bit discombobulated.

On a typical weekday, if he wasn’t on location and he hadn’t been for a while now as the latest series he’d starred in had come to an end, he had a routine of checking emails, dealing with admin and meeting up with friends for coffee or dinner, or a game of golf or squash when he was in one of his healthy phases.

Being here on this island, on his own, was liberating but he was also a bit lonely.

He hadn’t realised just how much he enjoyed the company of others and wasn’t particularly good at being alone with his thoughts.

The more he tried to focus on writing down some words — after all, that was the reason he was here — the more he got fidgety and distracted.

He had been here several days now, yet had barely written a few hundred words.

‘Hello,’ said Rosie as she swung open the door and ushered him in.

‘It’s been a while,’ he said jokingly and then inwardly cringed.

A few days on his own had clearly turned him into an imbecile.

He followed her through to the kitchen. Although the cottages looked almost identical from the outside their interiors were completely different.

Beach Cottage might have been very high spec with lots of luxuries and mod cons but Creel Cottage was much homelier.

The kitchen units were made from worn pine and the flagstone tiles looked as though they had been there for decades.

He immediately felt welcome here. It was a space that was inviting and cosy and as he looked out through the French doors that opened on to the garden, he couldn’t help but admire it.

‘Wow, what a beautiful garden. Completely different to next door, which is all paving and decking.’

Rosie shrugged. ‘I suppose that is easier maintenance, though, for a holiday home.’

‘True,’ he said with a nod. ‘It is a very special spot. Especially with those sea views. But your garden is something else.’

‘My dad was a keen gardener so I must give all the credit to him.’ She paused and looked as though she was considering whether to elaborate. ‘This was my parents’ home for many years. They both passed away and, well, they left the cottage to me.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ he said gently. ‘It must be comforting to feel a bit of a connection to them through the house.’

Rosie nodded. ‘Yes, it is. Anyway, please do come outside. I don’t know about you but I am desperate for my caffeine fix.’ She gestured outside and picked up a tray which had two mugs of coffee, a small pot of sugar, a jug of milk and a plate of shortbread.

Coisty, who was sunning himself on the patio, opened his eyes then wagged his tail lazily. Rosie laughed. ‘You’ve lost your touch. He can’t even be bothered to get up and greet you.’

Luke laughed and bent down to pat him. ‘He is very cute, aren’t you, boy?’ Sitting down at the bistro table, he gratefully accepted the coffee from Rosie. She also encouraged him to try the shortbread.

‘It’s my mum’s old recipe,’ she explained.

He bit into the crumbly, buttery biscuit and chewed. ‘Wow, it’s delicious,’ he said. ‘I think it’s the nicest shortbread I’ve ever had.’

‘Homemade is always better, I think,’ she said, her cheeks pink, evidently encouraged by his response. ‘I’m trying out a lot of recipes from her old book that I found. It’s been fun and even nicer to share them with friends.’

Luke took a sip of coffee. ‘How is Bella doing? I haven’t seen her. Did she end up going back to Glasgow?’

‘No,’ said Rosie, a little perplexed, and shaking her head. ‘She’s been in a bit of a tizz these past few days. She’s lost her job in Glasgow. She’s a beauty therapist and she got a call to say the salon was closing with immediate effect.’

Luke put his mug down on the table. ‘Oh dear. Poor Bella. That will have come as a shock . . . honestly, I do feel for kids these days. Everything feels so much harder for them than it was in our day.’

Rosie sighed. ‘I totally agree. Being young feels like a lifetime ago. But at least we had fun and we weren’t always on edge wondering if our jobs were safe like kids are these days.

Everything seems to be short-term and contracts.

There doesn’t seem to be much stability.

It’s no wonder they get a bit scunnered. ’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Scunnered?’

She laughed and nodded. ‘Scunnered. It means pissed off.’

Luke found himself lost for words which was most unusual.

He was normally good at being a smooth talker but there was something about Rosie that unsettled him, albeit in a nice way.

He got the sense that she was a bit nervous, not obviously so, but he was used to reading people and their body language.

The way she was swinging her foot quickly was a bit of a giveaway.

And just at that moment their eyes met and it was as though they were remembering a memory of something that had happened between them.

Even though Luke was still trying to locate those specific memories he still felt a connection and he couldn’t peel his eyes off Rosie.

He could definitely feel a spark of something between them.

‘Have you got kids?’ asked Rosie hurriedly, breaking the moment, and reaching for the coffee pot to fill his mug up.

‘Yes, two boys. Scottie is twenty-three and Ralph is twenty-two. They’re both travelling together in South America right now. Seems they are having the time of their lives. How about you?’

‘I’ve got a son. Ben. He’s twenty-four . . . and he’s also travelling. Though on the opposite side of the world. He’s in Indonesia right now. So, you must have settled down and had kids not long after that world tour then?’

Luke nodded as he thought back to a very different stage in his life.

What he didn’t want to admit was that his marriage to Cindy had been a whirlwind affair after she had fallen pregnant.

He thought he was doing the right thing by marrying her but it had actually turned out to be one of his better decisions as he had loved her deeply throughout their marriage.

He loved their sons and he loved family life.

It was just a shame that Cindy had fallen for his brother.

‘Funny to look back to your younger days, isn’t it?

I know I feel like a different person now.

You have kids and then it all feels like a complete blur,’ she said, biting her lip.

‘And then they grow up and have their own lives to lead. And we are left wondering what just happened. But it sounds like our kids are having a good time at the moment, living their best lives.’ Although Rosie smiled, he could tell there was a sadness behind her eyes.

‘And you? Are you living your best life?’ he asked tenderly. He held his breath as he waited for her to answer. He couldn’t help flickering his gaze over to her hand to check whether she was wearing a wedding ring. She was not.

‘I’m fairly content,’ she said slowly. ‘I love living here on Arran in this house. I have Coisty. I love my job at the school — I teach English — and I have great friends . . . how about you? What’s made you come and hide yourself away on Arran for the summer?’

Luke realised she was changing the subject and deflecting the attention away from herself and he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable by probing too deeply.

‘Well, believe it or not, I thought it would be a good idea to hide here as I have a book to write. And I thought the cottage would be an ideal solution. But I have to admit it’s harder than I thought.

’ He knew full well he should really finish up his coffee and head back to try and actually get some words written.

But sitting in the sunshine with a beautiful neighbour was far more appealing.

Rosie looked curious. ‘What’s the book you’re writing?’

He coughed nervously and cleared his throat.

‘It’s my memoir. And my agent is going ballistic as I should have sent her some of it already.

But when I sit down my mind goes blank. I’m actually at the point of wondering if I should pull out of the book deal altogether.

I really don’t think my life is all that interesting. ’

Rosie burst out laughing, her eyes sparkling. ‘I would beg to differ and so would thousands of others. I would say you’ve lived a more interesting life than your average punter. You must have loads to say. Maybe you’re just taking the wrong approach.’

He leaned in towards her, elbows on his knees and his hands steepled together. ‘Do you think so?’

She nodded. ‘Yes. It’s all there, isn’t it? Inside your head. You must have millions of stories to write about. What we need to try and do is tease the stories and details out.’ She looked pensive for a moment.

Luke was transfixed. Especially at the mention of we. We need to try . . . Was she talking figuratively or literally?

‘Look,’ she said, as though reading his mind.

‘If you want me to help you I can . . . that’s if .

. . I’m not being too forward. I’m just used to working with kids who don’t think they have much to say but of course they do.

We all do. The kids just need some structure and encouragement and it sounds like you do too.

But obviously tell me if I’m being too keen.

I always get very enthusiastic at the thought of a project. ’

Luke sat up straight, his heart racing. Would this work? Could this work? The truth was his options were limited and if he didn’t get his finger out soon then there definitely wouldn’t be a book. And that was why he was here. ‘Are you really sure you don’t mind?’

‘Not at all,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m happy to help and give you some pointers.’

‘Well, in that case, you’re on,’ he said, feeling more excited about anything than he had in weeks.

‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ she said, jumping up and running inside.

Luke now felt energised and enthusiastic about the project instead of the mounting dread that had been chipping away at him for weeks.

He watched as Rosie walked outside, now carrying a notepad and pen, and walked briskly over to the table.

She sat down alongside him and quickly made some notes on a large piece of paper.

Her face was a picture of concentration as she wrote quickly.

Then when she looked up and saw him watching her, she blushed.

‘Okay,’ she said, ripping the paper from the pad. ‘There you go.’

‘What’s this?’ he said, taking the sheet from her.

‘That is your homework .’

She said it firmly but kindly and as he looked at her notes and back up at her face, he knew she meant business. ‘No time like the present,’ she said popping the dirty mugs and plate on the tray. ‘That’s your breaktime over.’

‘You want me to do this now?’ he said timidly, really hoping he could just have another five minutes with her. He was so enjoying the company.

‘Indeed. Set the timer on your watch or your phone for half an hour. It will help you concentrate.’ She stood up.

‘I better do as I’m told then. Thank you, Rosie.’ Gosh, he wasn’t used to anyone being so forthright with him and he had to admit he quite liked it.

‘You are welcome. And, just so you know, I’m a hard taskmaster. And I expect results from my students.’ She laughed, clearly relaxed in her teacher role. ‘If you just focus on that for now and I will check in with you tomorrow. Then we can chat about what comes next.’

Luke couldn’t believe he was actually feeling a flutter in his stomach at the way she was talking to him. He gave himself a shake. The last thing he needed to do right now was fall for his teacher, even though she was beautiful.

‘Do you want to give me your number and I can drop you a message?’ she suggested. ‘Unless you’d rather I randomly knocked on your door?’

He grinned. ‘Let’s swap numbers and keep in touch that way.’ He pulled out his phone and handed it to her so she could add her details. Then he quickly called her phone so she would have his number on hers.

As she saw him out, he was so tempted to hug her but that would be totally inappropriate — wouldn’t it?

He didn’t want to scupper this before they’d even started.

Instead, he smiled and thanked her for coffee and walked across the driveway to go next door.

He felt hugely relieved and realised he had a spring in his step and was whistling cheerily.

He couldn’t remember when he had last felt so optimistic.