Page 93 of Summer Escapes on the Scottish Isle

He arched an eyebrow. ‘Are you fishing for compliments, Ms Sinclair?’

‘Absolutely!’

‘They aren’t muddy brown. They’re hazel with flecks of amber and gold.’

‘Poetic.’

‘I’m not just brawn and muscle. I have a touch of the Rabbie Burns about me – he’s a direct ancestor, you know.’

‘No, he’s not!’

‘OK, he isn’t. But hecouldbe. We’ve got the same surname.’

Freya rolled her eyes as he pulled out a chair for her. She shook out the linen napkin and draped it over her lap. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you’re daft?’

‘Many times. I try not to take any notice.’

‘My dad thinks you’re fab,’ she blurted, her eyes on the menu.

Mack smirked and said, ‘That’s because I am.’ Then he grew serious. ‘I’ve got a lot of time for Vinnie. Would you mind if I took him out in the boat again?’

‘I wouldn’t mind in the slightest, and I know he’d love it. He really misses being at sea. When he sold the trawler, I thought he would have bought himself a RIB just to keep his hand in and potter around on the loch, but he lost all interest. Going out on theSea Serpentmay spark his interest again, although if he did decide to buy a small boat now, I’d be worried sick – he’s getting too old to go out on his own. It wouldn’t be so bad if Loch Duncoorie was a freshwater loch, but with the currents and tides…’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him for you after you leave, and if he shows any sign of buying a boat, I’ll let you know.’

She smiled. ‘You’re a good friend, Mackenzie.’

‘Och, don’t call me that! Only my mum calls me Mackenzie and even then, only if I’ve annoyed her.’

Freya held back a sigh. From his reaction, it was clear Mack thought of her as just a friend. He hadn’t been flirting, and he’d held her hand in the lounge for no other reason than he thought she might have been fretting about the last time she’d been there, when she’d broken up with Hadrian.

She told herself once more that it was for the best that he didn’t want to take their friendship to another level. The kiss had been an anomaly, her fault for having started it. But she hadn’t been able to resist, clasped in his arms, his heart beating against hers. Thank goodness he’d seen sense, otherwise she would have had her wicked way with him and would be in even deeper trouble than she already was.

Mack couldn’t blame the alcohol this time, because he was stone-cold sober and fully in charge of his actions. It was his thoughts and feelings that he was having trouble keeping in line.

All through the meal (which was delicious), he’d wanted nothing more than to tell her how he felt. He kept having to bite his tongue and avert his eyes, because he was scared she would see the longing in them and guess how he felt about her.

But when it came to the end of the evening, he blew it.

‘I’ve had a lovely time,’ he said, as the truck coasted to a stop outside her house.

‘Me too, right up until I asked for the bill and found you’d already paid it.’

‘My bad.’ He smirked.

‘This was supposed to be my treat.’

He turned his head away to stare out of the side window. ‘I’m not listening.’

Freya scooted to the edge of the seat, grabbed hold of his beard and gave it a tug.

‘Ow!’

‘That’ll teach you not to listen. If you think you’ve got away with it, you haven’t. We’ll go out for another meal and this timeI’llpay.’

‘I’ll tell Mhairi to say no.’

‘I’m not going to ask Mhairi. She’s as sneaky as you. I’ll book somewhere else.’

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