Page 12 of Wishing Under a Starlit Skye
Lyle placed a steaming mug of tea before her on the granite worktop. ‘Oh no, you mustn’t give up so easily. I haven’t been to many, but they’re not all bad, I promise you. Unless you’ve decided to give the apps a go?’
Caitlin scrunched her face. ‘Oh god, no. I’m of the school of thought that actually meeting the person in real life beats being catfished any day. Like you said about Cindy Crawford and Michael Crawford.’
He laughed. ‘Aye, I agree totally. Give me a real person rather than a touched-up, airbrushed photo any day. I don’t get why people do that. If any of them ever went missing, they’d never be found from their photos!’
Caitlin laughed. ‘Oh, I know! And what’s with the pouting trout faces?’
‘Och, don’t get me started!’ He took a sip of his tea, then paused before speaking again. ‘Look, I was wondering…’
Caitlin held her breath. Was this it? Was he going to ask her out?
He cleared his throat. ‘There’s a singles night over in Kyle of Lochalsh at the weekend. I’m thinking of heading there myself. Do you think… I mean… Will you… erm, give it a go, do you think?’
Dammit. Feeling a little deflated, she nodded and tried to hide her disappointment. ‘Oh yes, my friend, Archie, mentioned that one. He’s offered to lift share.’
She thought she saw a hint of disappointment flash in Lyle’s eyes. ‘Oh, right. Well, there you go then. I might see you there.’
‘You possibly will,’ Caitlin replied. She took a sip of her tea and glanced around the room. Desperate to change the subject, she said, ‘You have a really lovely home.’
Lyle asked, ‘Is this the first time you’ve been inside?’
Caitlin nodded. ‘Yes, it is. It’s very modern, not what I expected.’
He shook his head. ‘Cora was right. She said I’d never invited you in and that I was rude. I can’t believe that in all the time our girls have been friends this is the first time you’ve stepped foot inside. I’m really sorry. It hasn’t been intentional.’
Caitlin waved a dismissive hand. ‘Oh, don’t worry. I don’t think I’ve ever invited you into my home either. In fact, you’ve only ever come into the bakery to collect Cora.’
He chewed his lip and smiled. ‘I might have had an ulterior motive there. Notice how I always sneak a wee bit of shortbread to eat in the car?’
Caitlin laughed. ‘Ah, it was all about the baking.’
‘Aye. You see when Fenella and I were together she was always complaining about my weight. She was a health nut and I’m not; probably why we split up really. So, your shortbread was my treat. My saving grace from all the salad. No pun intended.’ He said with a wink and Caitlin felt herself blush again.
‘Did I hear my name mentioned?’ Grace asked as she appeared in the doorway with Cora.
Lyle grinned. ‘Aye, I was just telling your mum how badly behaved you’ve both been.’
Cora gasped and whacked her dad’s arm playfully. ‘Don’t listen to him, Miss Fraser. It’s not true.’
He held up his hands. ‘Okay, okay, you got me. They’ve been good as gold, Caitlin,’ Lyle said with mock reluctance.
Grace eyed the mug that Caitlin was clutching. ‘Ooh, Mum, if you’re having a cuppa, can me and Cora go practise our dance really quickly, pleeeease?’ she asked, tugging her mum’s sleeve, and sticking out her bottom lip.
Caitlin glanced at Lyle, who nodded, so she told her daughter, ‘Okay, but we’re going as soon as I’ve drunk my tea. I need to get home to sort tomorrow’s baking out.’
Grace and Cora squealed and disappeared back in the direction they had arrived from.
‘You’ve made their day,’ Lyle said with a smile.
‘Aye, so it seems.’ She sipped at her tea again. ‘So, who’s the interior designer then? You or Fenella?’ It was a slightly strange question and one, with all the questions in her mind, she was baffled to find herself asking.
‘That would be me, I’m afraid. I had the kitchen ripped out as soon as Fen left. We still lived together for a year after we separated, which was an absolute nightmare. Her in our bedroom and me in one of the spare rooms. She hogged the bloody kitchen and it drove me mad, so having it redone was kind of a poke in her eye, if you get me? It was always her domain, even though I’m a bloody good cook, if I say so myself. But my recipes were “too carb-loaded and high in bad fats”,’ he said in a mock whine.
Caitlin was shocked to hear how negative his ex-wife had been towards him. ‘Pfft! Give me a pie and chips over salad any day.’
He nodded. ‘Right? Life’s too bloody short to worry about how you look in spandex.’
She grinned. ‘Exactly. Well, I think you have very good taste. In décor, I mean. This kitchen is great. Very sleek.’
