Page 28 of A Summer of Secrets on Arran (Scottish Romances #5)

Luke was grinning from ear to ear when he got back to Beach Cottage.

He paced the kitchen, the lounge and then the garden.

He felt as though he had been drinking strong coffee all afternoon and his thoughts were scattered and flying in lots of different directions.

He made himself stand still as he planted his feet firmly on the grass and took a breath in a bid to gather himself.

He loved spending time with Rosie, just the two of them, outdoors and walking and talking.

He couldn’t remember when he’d last enjoyed himself so much and had such a laugh.

Feeling deliriously happy was something he hadn’t experienced for a very long time.

He had been so close to pulling her towards him and kissing her properly in the library.

Then they were interrupted. Which was perhaps not a bad thing as he wasn’t sure he could stop kissing her once he started.

When they had arrived back at the cottages, they stood for a moment and then Rosie had turned to him, her eyes bright, and he had hoped she was going to invite him in. Perhaps they could take up from where they were about to start.

‘Would you like to come in for a drink or another coffee?’ he said.

Really what he wanted to do was to reach forward and gather her in his arms. But then she shook her head.

He’d panicked that he had completely misread the situation.

Maybe she was just being friendly and he’d overstepped the mark. He inwardly groaned.

‘Not to sound like a nag or anything . . . but, you are going to go into that cottage and get to work. You’ve already had your coffee break for the day. Set that timer and plan a reward for getting the words done. A beer or a cup of tea. Anything that will make you just write,’ she had said firmly.

He sighed. That wasn’t exactly what he’d been hoping to hear.

He was finding it difficult to drag his eyes away from her even though he knew she meant business.

In the short time that he had spent with Rosie, he knew she was kind and gentle but also had a steely side to her too.

And the more time he spent with Rosie, the more the memories had started to come back of their time together in Sydney.

The way her eyes sparkled when she teased him about doing his homework reminded him of the Rosie back then.

She had always been first on the dance floor and would twirl around laughing and beckoning him to join her.

Although life of late might have dampened her enthusiasm slightly, he could still see flashes of the old Rosie in the way she twirled around the beach with Coisty and grinned whenever Isobel cracked a joke.

She had been similar then too which was why he had fallen for her.

‘Righto,’ he said, in mock fear, slightly disappointed that their time today was coming to an end.

But much as he wanted to hang out longer with Rosie, he knew she was right.

He needed to remind himself he was here for one reason only and that was to write his blooming book.

The last thing he needed was to become emotionally involved with someone.

She was in a vulnerable place, too, after her marriage breakdown and he was glad she felt able to open up to him when they were on their walk. Her husband was clearly a twit.

As they got out the car, she shut the door and blew him a kiss.

‘Off you go. I’ll check in on you tomorrow,’ she said, more softly now.

‘And thanks for today, Luke. I really enjoyed your company. And the coffee and cake . . .’ She looked as though she was about to say something else then thought the better of it.

‘Remember, I want you to have made progress. Or else.’ She wagged her finger at him, and her gaze seemed to linger for a moment, before she turned and crunched across the gravel to the front door of Creel Cottage.

He had burst out laughing and turned on his heel and done as he was told.

Now as he stood in the garden, he knew that he needed to follow her advice.

Being with Rosie was intoxicating but what he needed to do now was focus.

Luke allowed himself one more smile, then, glancing at his watch he saw it was just after five o’clock.

He would work for a couple of hours and then his reward would be some dinner and a cold beer.

It was handy having the small village shop which he had managed to buy some essential supplies from.

At some point he could do with heading to one of the larger villages for a bigger shop, but for now he would make do.

* * *

Four hours later, Luke was still sitting at the oak kitchen table with his laptop open.

He leaned back in his chair and yawned, then stretched his arms above his head.

Now he knew what Rosie was talking about when she said he needed to get into the zone and just write.

He had been concentrating so intensely that he had lost all track of time.

But he had written loads. He picked up his phone and pinged her a quick text.

I got in the zone! Loads of writing done. Fancy a beer in the garden to celebrate?

Then he deleted it without sending it, feeling a bit foolish and self-absorbed.

She still had her friend, Isobel, there visiting and he had already taken up loads of her time.

He walked to the fridge and took out a bottle of beer and took it outside trying to keep his eyes averted from next door.

He didn’t want her to think he was being totally dependent and weird.