Page 27 of Kilts and Kisses at Highland Hall (Kilts and Kisses #1)

The conversation with Fergus left Bex in a foul mood for a multitude of reasons and not just because the only coffee she had had that day had been a very weak instant that she’d picked up at the village shop which did nothing to curb her caffeine needs.

The first reason she was angry was because he’d had the audacity to tell her not to play games with Duncan when he knew absolutely nothing about her.

Nothing at all. And if he had known anything about the situation, he would have known that Duncan was the one who had played games with her – or at least tried to use her to make his ex jealous.

He was the one actively pursuing her, and she was being the professional.

Which led to the second reason she was so angry.

She was a professional. A highly skilled, highly educated woman, and yet he was treating her like what?

A cleaner? That was what it felt like. Her brain was desperate for numbers.

She was missing her friends, and it was clear that this job was far bigger than he had let on to Nigel, and she was just supposed to act okay with it all.

She was so angry, all morning the blood was whirring behind her ears, and she took to slamming the ledgers down on the piles one after another, with any delicate touch gone.

Every drawer she opened with a sharp tug and every cupboard she slammed closed.

So much so that more than one rattled on its hinges.

That made her cool her touch just a fraction, because the last thing she needed to add to all this was the pain of shattered glass to clear up too.

Still, she was busy kicking the side of a filing cabinet because the bottom drawer wouldn’t open when a voice made her jump.

‘You okay?’

That lilting tone from the doorway caused her stomach to both simultaneously flip and sink. Of course Duncan would choose today to reappear at lunch, just as Fergus had given her the unsubtle warning to keep away.

‘Not really,’ she said truthfully. ‘I’m pissed off.’

‘With?’

‘With all this,’ she said. She waved her hands in the air, indicating the entirety of the study at the same time as driving her toe into the bottom of the jammed filing cabinet drawer.

It was stupid – for the last four days she had worked solidly on trying to clear this space, but on the face of it, it was still a disaster. ‘All of this.’

In the corner of the room, Ruby let out a light whine before moving across to Bex and nuzzling against her knee.

‘Well, obviously, I’m not pissed off at you, girl,’ she said, rubbing the dog’s ears. ‘But I won’t lie. It would be helpful if you could help me sort some of this stuff out.’

She didn’t realise that Duncan had moved until she felt him beside her, his hand slipping into hers. An unwanted tingle spread through her palm.

‘Come on, you’ll get through it. I might not know you well, but I sure as hell know you’re not going to let a load of paper beat you. Besides, I’m free this afternoon. I can help you for the rest of the day.’

‘You can?’ she asked, aware of just how high her voice hitched when she spoke.

‘Yes. Actually, I’d like to. It’s a darn sight cooler in here. Now tell me, where do you want me to start?’

It was a difficult question to answer. All the obvious pieces of rubbish had already been binned – now everything had to be checked thoroughly to see if it was some sort of statement, bill, or receipt, or just a takeaway leaflet.

She let out a long sigh when her eyes fell on the coffee in Duncan’s hand.

She’d already had two cups today, but the instant granules weren’t anywhere near as good or as strong as she needed right now.

‘Well, you can start by handing me that coffee,’ she said, at which point she took it from him and practically inhaled a third of the cup in one go. ‘And this only counts as one day of helping me, got it?’

‘You’re really going to make me work for that date, aren’t you, Barker?’

‘Yes,’ Bex said. ‘I am. And it’s a drink, remember. It is not a date.’