Page 106 of One Night in Edinburgh

‘Fine by me.’ He kisses me tenderly and nuzzles his face against mine, sending a wave of wonderful tingles right to my toes. ‘Although… I have an idea for today – a surprise – and it would involve leaving you for a short time to arrange it.’

I purse my lips and make a show of weighing this up.

‘I suppose now I know where you live, I can allow that. I could probably do with a shower and a change of clothes anyway.’

‘OK, great. I’ll come get you at your apartment when everything’s all sorted.’

‘Sounds like a plan.’ I’m about to go and gather my stuff when Jamie playfully pulls me back towards him.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’

‘I thought we just agreed our plan for the day.’

‘Doesn’t mean we have to do it right this second.’

‘Oh… well in that case…’ I allow myself to be pulled against his torso and melt into a delicious kiss that makes it very clear what the plan is for the next half hour or so.

Chapter 34

At twelve p.m., the buzzer to my apartment goes and I grab the handset eagerly.

‘Hello?’

‘It’s me.’ Jamie’s voice crackles through the receiver. ‘You ready?’

‘Am I ever.’

I put the receiver back in its cradle and lock up the empty apartment – Connor stayed at Lukas’s place the previous night and has not yet returned home. As I make my way down in the lift, fluttery butterflies flap around in my stomach. I’m not sure I’ve ever been this excited about a date, especially with the added mystery of where we’re going. Stepping outside into the unseasonably warm and sunny autumn day, I immediately feel warmth on my face and can see right across the calm, sparkling water to the coastal towns of Fife. Putting on my sunglasses, I look around for Jamie, but don’t see him. Then a horn honks and I spot him sitting behind the wheel of a small red hatchback car parked in one of the spaces lining the breakwater.

‘I didn’t know you had a car now.’ I slide into the passenger seat and close the door.

‘I don’t.’ He leans over and greets me with a kiss. ‘But I do know a place that does cheap car hire.’

‘We could have used my car and saved you the money.’

‘I know. But I wanted to do something for you today. Plus, I haven’t driven in ages. I miss it.’

‘Fair enough. So where are we off to?’

‘You’ll see.’ Jamie gives me a secretive wink.

We drive through the north of the city onto the A90. At first, I’m convinced we’re heading up to Fife, perhaps to St Andrews or one of the cute little coastal villages up that way. But as we near the Queensferry Crossing, Jamie leaves the dual carriageway and heads for South Queensferry.

‘Are we going back to the Dalmeny Estate?’ I ask.

‘Correct. But that’s all I’m saying until we park up.’

I do my best to sit on myself and not ask any further questions, while Jamie navigates the car through the narrow town centre and parks on the hill below the imposing rail bridge, same as last time. Once he’s parked the car, he turns off the ignition and looks at me with a serious expression.

‘Steph, when we broke up, one of things I felt most guilty about – apart from breaking your heart – was that I ruined this place for you. You had these great memories of a time when your relationship with your family was much happier and easier, and I felt that I had taken that from you.’

‘Oh, Jamie, no, you didn’t.’

‘I did. We came here and you asked me perfectly reasonable questions and I shut down, leaving you with a new memory – a bad one – that would always taint this place for you. Be honest. Have you been back here since?’

I shrug reluctantly. ‘Well, no.’

‘And would you have normally had a couple of trips out this way, say… in the height of summer?’

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