Page 87 of Summer Escapes on the Scottish Isle

Freya screamed, the sound echoing in the byre, and she whirled around to find Mack smirking at her from the doorway.

‘I hate you!’ she cried. ‘You scared me half to death.’

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to.’ He didn’t sound in the least bit sorry.

‘Liar.’

‘You didn’t reply to my message, so I thought I’d ask you in person. And you still haven’t answered me.’

‘Yes, Thursday is OK.’

He cocked his head to the side. ‘I didn’t expect you to still be here.’

‘I was just about to leave, actually. I lost track of time. Dad will be wondering where I am.’ She picked up her keys and as she walked towards the door, she noticed he had dark circles under his eyes. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Tired, that’s all. I’ve had a busy couple of days.’

Impulsively, she said, ‘Dad and I are having chicken and peanut stew. There’s plenty, if you don’t feel up to cooking this evening.’

Mack ran a hand through his hair and looked away.

She thought he’d refuse, but instead he said, ‘That would be great, thanks. I’ll need a shower first, though.’

‘I’ll go on ahead. Be at mine for six thirty?’

He nodded and she hurried off, thinking she could do with a shower herself.

‘Mack is joining us,’ she told her father when she arrived home. Hiseyes lit up and she knew she was in for an evening of boats, tides andfishing talk.

As she prepared the stew, he told her about his afternoon.

‘Norman came to see me while you were out. He brought me a couple of bars of chocolate. That was nice of him, wasn’t it? And Rhona knocked on the door to tell me she was off to the mobile library and ask if she could fetch me something. I told her anything by James Patterson. What are you making?’

‘Chicken and peanut stew.’

‘What’s that?’ He pointed at the jar she was holding.

‘Peanut butter.’

‘You’re putting it in astew?’

‘I am.’

‘I don’t like the sound of that.’

‘It’s really tasty,’ she assured him. She put the lid on the pan and turned the heat down to a simmer. ‘I’m going to have a quick bath while this is cooking.’

Freya could feel his eyes on her as she walked out of the kitchen, and she hoped he would like the stew. Their tastes in food didn’t necessarily align, but she was getting bored with cooking the same old meals.

She was also getting fed up with having to have a bath, and she grumbled to herself as she waited for the tub to fill. There were a great many things she missed about London and one of them was the power shower in her flat. She enjoyed a bath as much as anyone, but only when it involved scented bubbles, candles and soft music. As a quick freshen-up, it left a lot to be desired.

It did the trick, though, and soon she was dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt, contemplating the contents of her make-up bag.

She got as far as taking the lid off her eyeliner, before wondering why. Eyeliner wasn’t something she usually applied, so why was she thinking about doing so now?

Freya replaced the lid and dropped the eyeliner back in the bag. This wasn’t a date. This was a friend coming to tea. Nothing more. But her pulse leapt every time she thought of Mack, and she was thinking about him far more frequently than was good for her.

A knock on the door sent her hurrying downstairs to answer it, and after letting Mack in, Freya ushered him into the sitting room to keep her dad company while she finished cooking.

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