Page 80 of The Castle in the Bay

A noise from the door made them both look up. Alex had his hand on it and held it open, and Eilidh shuffled in with a glass of water in her small hands.

‘Here, Iona.’ She held out the glass.

Alex’s gaze landed on Catriona. ‘I wanted to make sure she didn’t spill it.’

Catriona looked away. ‘Right.’

‘Come on, Eilidh,’ he said. ‘Let’s give your mum and Iona some space to talk. We can go down to the beach if you like.’

‘Yeah cool.’ She jumped on him and he laughed.

Iona smiled, but Catriona was stony faced.

‘He’s so great with her,’ Iona said.

‘Yeah.’ Catriona got to her feet. ‘You have a rest, then figure out what you want to say to Monty, because I have a feeling this isn’t the end yet.’

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Monty

Adjusting his tie with a sigh, Monty focused on finalising his client’s financial projection report. Once it was done, he was heading out for a lunchtime catchup with his mum. She enjoyed meeting in the city and dining in one of Edinburgh’s finest restaurants – she always chose an expensive one and expected Monty to pay.

‘Nearly there.’ He scanned the spreadsheet on his screen. Rows of figures and charts filled the monitor, detailing revenue forecasts and investment strategies. The clock on the wall ticked steadily, a gloomy sound compared to the dreamy wash of the sea he’d enjoyed last week. How different things were now. He was back to normal, but normal felt odd and like it would never be the same. After his dad died, he’d thought that might be the case anyway, but this was worse than he’d ever imagined, because now he wasn’t just missing his dad, but the open skies of Barra, the smell of the sea, and Iona. Always Iona.

A knock interrupted him. ‘Come in.’ He straightened up in his chair.

Jenny, his assistant, peeked in with a smile. ‘I’m heading for lunch. You want anything?’

Monty shook his head. ‘No, thanks. I’m good. I’m meeting my mum for lunch today.’

‘Ah, how’s she getting on?’ Jenny tilted her head. ‘Is she coping without your dad?’

‘Sure. They were divorced, so it’s not been a big issue for her.’

‘Aw. Sorry. I didn’t realise that. And what about you?’

He gave a little shrug and arranged his papers into a neat stack. ‘It’s strange.’

‘It will be for a while. I lost my dad three years ago, and it takes a while to adjust. You’ll get there. It never goes away, but it gets easier.’

‘Thanks.’ After she left, he grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair and exited the office.

As he walked through the busy corridors, his mind wandered to a different track, making a beeline back to Iona – his favourite subject. He missed her so much. She’d messaged him after he left, saying she was sorry she’d let him go without telling him how she felt, though in rather typical Iona style, she didn’t say exactly what that was. Reading between the lines, he guessed shemeant she returned the love he’d confessed before he left, but that didn’t change the stark reality of his life.

He reached the lift and sighed, pressing the button for the ground floor.

Edinburgh was a beautiful city, but his heart wasn’t here anymore. He walked briskly along the street in the drizzling rain towards the restaurant where he was meeting his mother. One step inside the smart modern interior made him want to turn around and go straight back out the shiny glass doors.

His mother wasn’t the only woman at the table. Sophie was there too, smiling at him in a way that didn’t appease him in the slightest. Why now? It was too late.

He stood near the entrance, vaguely registering a server had approached him.

‘Table for one?’

‘Oh… um, no.’ He frowned at his mother, who had got to her feet. ‘I’m with these ladies.’

‘Of course, sir.’

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