Page 46 of A Summer of New Beginnings
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After dinner Lachy and Zara sat in the lounge watching the flames dancing in the fireplace and Bess spread herself out as close as she could to the grate without burning her nose. There was something very relaxing and familiar-feeling about the whole scenario and Zara had to remind herself that her bike would be arriving after two more sleeps and she would then be back on the road and headinghome.
Much of what Lachy had said was true. Shedidlove her job, but it left little in the way of time for her to do the one thing she had always wanted to pursue. Maybe she wasn’t good enough to be a novelist, but how would she know if she never tried? Making a huge change was terrifying and she wasn’t sure she was as brave as Lachy had been when he’d left the city to return to the family croft.
She guessed it was the romance of the location that was playing with her mindandher heart. She hoped that when she left Scourie in a couple of days she would forget about the feeling of belonging she had begun to experience. After all, Lachy wasn’t looking for a lodger.
The soporific effect of the wine was becoming difficult to fight and Zara was considering taking herself off to bed when Lachyspoke.
‘Do you think you’ll ever return?’
‘To Scotland? Or… or toherespecifically?’ she asked.
He turned to look at her. ‘To here.’ There was a strange intensity to his gaze that she couldn’t decipher. Was he inviting her to visit?
She shrugged. ‘Maybe. Who knows what Noah will have me doing next? Trekking in bloody Antarctica or something. I wouldn’t put it past him.’
‘I don’t mean forwork necessarily. What I mean is… It’s just…’ His inability to put into words what he wanted to say was endearing. She was seeing a softer side to the brusque man she had first encountered. ‘Well, you’d be welcome. Here, I mean. If you wanted to come back.’
She smiled and her heart fluttered. ‘Thank you. That’s really nice of you. I thought you’d maybe have had enough of me.’
He shrugged andglanced down at his wine glass. ‘It’s been kind of nice having some company.’
A twinge of sadness knotted her stomach again. Getting back to her normal, fast-paced life would be strange. But good… wouldn’t it?
She stood from the sofa. ‘Well, I’m bushed. Time for bed, I think. Thank you for a lovely evening.’
Like a true gent Lachy stood too and he was only inches away from her. ‘Thank you.It’s been good to just sit and eat a proper meal and to talk to another person. It’s been a while. I spent a lot of time at my dad’s bedside when he was ill and then, since he died, I’ve spent too much time here alone. You’re right about people needing people. I think I’d forgotten that until… well, until these last few days.’
Zara had the urge to hug him but then her eyes drifted to his lipsas they parted slightly and the urge changed.No,she told herself,don’t go getting attached. You know it’ll end badly and you’ll get hurt.She swallowed and snatched herself from the brink of a huge mistake. Instead she stepped back and turned towards the door.
As she began to walk away he reached out and touched her arm. It was the lightest contact but she felt her wrist tingle where his fingertipshad met her skin. ‘Goodnight, Zara.’
‘Goodnight, Lachy,’ she whispered.
*
The next morning when Zara came down to the kitchen Lachy was nowhere to be seen. Bess greeted her in her usual smiley manner and skipped round her feet as she walked towards the stove. There was a pot of fresh coffee brewing and porridge in the large pan, as always, so she helped herself. As she sat chatting to Bessas if they were old friends Lachy came bursting in from the lounge.
‘It’s bloody brilliant!’
She scrunched her brow. ‘What’s brilliant?’
‘Your book. You have a serious talent, Zara. It’s incredible. I’ve never read anything like it. Itneedsto be published.’
She wasn’t sure whether to be horrified that he’d invaded her privacy or delighted that he’d had such a positive reaction to her prose;even if the bookwasonhislaptop. The former emotion won.
She glared at him. ‘Youreadit?’
He sat opposite her at the table, an expression of wild happiness on his handsome face like she’d never seen on him before. ‘I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have read it without asking your permission. But you left it open on my laptop and I was just going to read the first couple of paragraphs. I’llbe honest, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it. Romance isn’t really my thing but… it’s notjustromance, is it? It’s dark and edgy. Gritty, like you said. It’s got real passion, Zara. The story gripped me and I couldn’t stop reading. I think a publisher would snap it up. You need to submit it.’
She pushed herself up from the table, anger bubbling up from within. ‘I appreciate your enthusiasm, Lachy,but it’smyprivate work. You shouldn’t have read it at all. It’s an invasion of my privacy. If I had known you were going to do that I would never have agreed to use your laptop. Is that why you read it? Did you feel you had therightbecause it was on your computer?’
He frowned, opening and closing his mouth as if her reaction was a huge surprise to him. ‘I… no… I didn’t mean to invade yourprivacy. I just… it’s really good, Zara,’ he repeated, as if doing so would make her feel less violated.
She didn’t care that his expression had turned from one of excitement to one of confused hurt or that the flush of his cheeks had paled and regret was now visible in his eyes.
She slammed her spoon down on the wood of the table. ‘I’m going for a walk. I’ll thank you not to go through my thingsagain.’ She stormed out before he could speak and Bess, as usual, followed close behind.
