Page 31 of Summer Escapes on the Scottish Isle

Neither did Mack, and his response was gruffer than it should have been. ‘You were all for it a minute ago.’

‘I was. I mean, I still am, but I’m not dressed for it.’

Mack stopped and turned to face her, trying to keep his gaze neutral as he scanned her from head to foot. Damn, but she looked good in those jeans. ‘You’re dressed fine.’

‘I’ve only got trainers on.’

He wished that was true. A naked Freya Sinclair would be a sight to behold.

Och no, he shouldn’t have thought of her naked, because now his libido had woken up and given him a prod.

‘Trainers are OK,’ he replied, his voice coming out somewhat strangled. Dear Lord, if this was what thinking of her naked did to him, God help him if he actually did see her without clothes on. He suspected he might spontaneously combust.

Thank God she couldn’t read his mind, because she’d either think he was some kind of lech, or a teenage boy who hadn’t kissed a girl yet. Neither image was one he wanted to convey, and he hoped his expression wasn’t betraying his thoughts.

‘But you’ve got rubber boots on,’ she pointed out.

‘I’ve just been hosing the boat down.’

‘Ah, yes, OK.’

Acutely conscious that his chest was bare and that she was staring at it, Mack was about to resume his march to the lock-up, only for her to say, ‘Shall we arrange it for another time?’

Hell, no! ‘We may as well do this now. Cal will want a decision from me soon.’

Without looking, she called to Cal over her shoulder, ‘You can wait a couple of days, can’t you, Cal?Cal?’

She turned around and her huffed-out sigh told him she’d finally noticed that Cal had left. Something Mack was already aware of.

‘He’s gone,’ she said incredulously. ‘You’re going to have to give me a lift home.’

Oh, was he now? He didn’t think so. ‘No can do. Not yet.’

‘When?’

‘After I’ve taken you out in the boat.’

‘What if I refuse to go?’

‘Then you wait on the quay until I come back.’

‘You’d go out anyway?’

‘I would and I will. It’ll give me a chance to think about what these creative types might want to see, if some of the largest creatures on the planet aren’t enough for them.’

‘It’s not so much about the wildlife. It’s more about the—’

‘Seaweed,’ Mack finished for her.

Freya’s expression was defiant. ‘Have you looked at seaweed? I mean,reallylooked?’

‘I’ve been up to my backside in the stuff,’ he said. ‘And it’s all over the place, so… aye, I’ve seen seaweed.’

‘Seeing isn’t the same as looking,’ she retorted.

‘I thought you taught ceramics, not semantics,’ he shot back.

‘I do,’ she replied slowly. ‘Which is partly why I know the difference between the two. You see, I’ve been heavily influenced by Skye. I still am, to an extent. But…’ She smiled, and it lit up her face. ‘I think I need a refresher course.’

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