Page 51 of A Scottish Christmas Hideaway
Murray raised an eyebrow and gave her a knowing look.
‘Stop it,’ she said, growing flustered. ‘Stop looking at me like that. I know you’re jumping to conclusions. But we are just friends.’
He raised his hands defensively and laughed. ‘You are protesting a wee bit too much.’
Jessica stopped to catch her breath just as they reached the summit of the hill. ‘Will you be quiet and look at that view.’
They stood and admired the sight below of the string of islands in the loch which were in the exact line of the Highland Boundary Fault. She took a few gulps of fresh air and exhaled.
‘It’s obvious you both like each other,’ said Murray, looking at her curiously.
His words caught her off guard and she felt her heart start to race. ‘How so?’ she said trying to sound super casual.
‘Because I know my friend. He’s a pretty laid-back guy. But when we were all together the other day there was a definite tension between you both.’
Jessica looked at him and frowned in disbelief. ‘Really?’
He gave a small shrug, his lips curving into a smile. ‘Yup. What’s the story? Come on, Jess, spill the beans!’
She brushed her hands down over her jacket and tried to keep a neutral smile on her face. ‘Nothing’s going on. Except . . . Well, he’s been a bit off with me since last week.’ She paused, thinking back to the fun she thought they’d had, until Reubensuddenly started acting strangely. ‘But that’s all on him,’ said Jessica briskly. ‘I don’t know what I’ve done wrong.’
Murray rolled his eyes as if she was completely clueless. ‘It’s maybe about self-preservation, Jess.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Look at you. You’re a successful lawyer living in London and you’re only here temporarily. If there is something between you and believe me there is,’ Murray said teasingly, ‘perhaps he’s backed off because he’s afraid of getting hurt or making a mistake again.’
Jessica sighed. ‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I swore I would never again get involved with a married or separated man, and the baggage that brings—’ Jessica froze. What had she said?
‘What do you mean, again?’
She paused while she plucked up the courage to say the words out loud.
‘Because Tim was married,’ she said, her tone flat as she spoke. ‘But I didn’t find out until after he’d died. I had no idea.’
Chapter Thirty-Three
Jessica blinked back tears as they made their way down the hill. But this time the tears were caused by the cold wind nipping at her eyes rather than sadness or frustration. She felt as though she had now done all of her crying for Tim. She rubbed her hands together, glad she had worn gloves.
‘How did you find out?’ asked Murray gently, his face full of concern.
‘When I found out he was dead, I was in a state of shock and didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I should go to his funeral or if there even was a funeral. I hadn’t ever met any of his family or friends and all I knew was that he lived in Boston and travelled a lot with work.’ She paused so she could navigate a tricky bit of the steep descent. ‘Then I realised that all I knew was his name and the company he’d worked for. I started obsessively checking online funeral sites for details of a service or an obituary. I was all set to book myself a flight to Boston and go. I was in love with him. At least, I thought I was.’
Murray shook his head in sorrow. ‘Oh, Jess, you poor thing. What an awful thing to go through.’
She thought about the days where she was online from early in the morning until last thing at night, constantly refreshing pages she had checked and checked again in the hope she could find out something about his funeral. She was worried that, because of the delay, she might have missed it. But she knew because of the time of year that things might have slowed down. ‘Eventually, I did find an obituary. The funeral had been a private service so Ihadmissed it. And when I read the tribute to him, I realised I didn’t know him at all. That was when I learned he was survived by hislovingwife.’
Murray groaned. ‘That’s awful. What a way to find out.’
‘I know. I felt terrible. I had absolutely no idea.’ They had now reached the bottom of the hill and were making their way down the path back towards the car park. ‘I can’t believe we’re back already. And I haven’t even finished telling you the rest of the story.’
Murray’s eyes widened. ‘There’smore— what else could possibly have happened?’
‘You can buy the coffees and scones and I will tell you more.’
‘You’re on.’ He slung his arm around her and pulled her in close for a hug before they headed to the café.
As she pulled out one of the chairs she had sat on with Reuben, she felt a sudden pang of longing for him. Especially as that afternoon with him had felt quite intimate. It was when she had opened up properly for the first time.
