Page 17 of Heirs and Graces at Highland Hall
‘I’m not going to say no to someone making me food,’ Lorna said. ‘I’ll nip in the shower while you’re at it, if that’s okay?’
‘Sure thing.’
After changing out of her smart clothes into something far more comfortable, Bex went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Unlike the one at the castle, Lorna’s was well-stocked, though whether everything was still within its sell-by date was debatable. Still, after a little rummaging, Bex found some cheese and pulled out the chopping board. Then she opened the bread bin and found a fresh crusty loaf. She had just cut the first couple of slices when the doorbell rang.
‘Lorna!’ she called. ‘Someone’s at the door.’
The only reply Bex got was the sound of running water and, being fairly sure that Lorna wasn’t going to suddenly leap out of the shower just so that she was the one to welcome her visitor, Bex set the knife down, brushed off her hands and headed to the door. She expected to find Niall, Eilidh or possibly both, as they were generally inseparable, despite their ‘just best friends’situation. But when she opened the door, she found herself facing a man’s back. A back, covered in a very expensive coat.
‘Kieron?’ she said.
Fergus’s nephew turned to face her, the slightest crease folding the skin between his brows.
‘Rebecca,’ he said, a hint of a smile flickering on his lips. ‘Can I come in?’
15
Bex wasn’t sure why she was so taken aback by seeing Kieron there. Perhaps it was the abrupt way he’d turned his back on her at the castle and taken a seat in Fergus’s chair. Or maybe it was just the unexpectedness of finding him in Lorna’s little cottage when she was now wearing fluffy slippers, ready to make cheese on toast. Or maybe it had been the way he had said her name. Locking his eyes on her as he did.
An unexpected hot flush flashed through her as she cleared her throat.
‘Lorna’s in the shower at the minute. I can go get her. If you want to come in and wait?’
Of course he wanted to come and wait, she thought, cursing the stupidity of her question. It was bloody freezing outside. The only way he wouldn’t want to come in was if he had some strange affinity with frostbite, and she was fairly certain no one in the world had that.
Though, rather than accepting her request, Kieron remained where he was.
‘Actually, I didn’t come here to speak to Lorna. I wanted to speak to you.’
‘Oh.’ Bex felt her jaw drop and hurried to bring it back up to its normal position. ‘Okay, then. Yes, come in. Come in.’ She stepped aside, letting Kieron into the cottage before closing the door behind him.
Kieron remained conspicuously silent as they walked down the hallway towards the living room. Once there, Bex wasn’t sure if she should sit or stay standing. She felt too nervous to sit, but standing made her worry she’d shuffle her feet or start pacing, which wouldn’t look good either. But why was she nervous? She hadn’t been nervous while they had breakfast together this morning, but then maybe that was because she’d known why they were both there. She couldn’t for the life of her fathom why he would want to speak to her now. Unless it was to ask what she and Gordon had been doing today. Yes, that made sense, but it didn’t ease her nervousness. They had already decided that Gordon would field any questions from the potential future laird, but maybe he had tried that avenue and was now coming to her hoping to prise out more information.
‘Can I get you a drink?’ she asked. ‘Tea? Coffee?’
‘No, no, it’s fine. I won’t be long.’
‘How did you find me?’ she asked. ‘Not that it’s a problem. I just don’t remember telling you I was staying here.’
‘Right, of course. No, you didn’t,’ he said, stuttering slightly, as though he was as nervous as she felt. But why would that be? He was the one who had turned up here, after all. ‘Lorna mentioned it when I bumped into her in the café today. She said you were staying with her.’
‘Right, of course. That makes sense,’ Bex said, nodding. ‘She mentioned she’d seen you. She also said something about Burns Night.’
‘Yes.’ Kieron exhaled sharply before his eyes finally met hers. ‘Look, I wanted to apologise to you about earlier.’
‘Earlier?’ Bex said, feigning innocence. But the quirk of his smile made it obvious he didn’t buy it.
‘I’m a bit of a control freak,’ he admitted. ‘I think it comes with my job. Or maybe I’ve always been that way. Mummy is somewhat of a wayward spirit. My father is much more measured, thank goodness, but being the only son and all…’ He shook his head, letting the words fade into the ether. ‘I don’t want to bore you with my history or baggage. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for the way I reacted about not being included. It triggered some things for me, and that’s silly because you were just doing your job. Gordon was just doinghisjob. And I was outright rude. I’m really sorry.’
‘Oh.’ Bex blinked, surprised by his openness. Not to mention the fact he called his mother Mummy still. ‘Well, thank you. Apology accepted.’
As she spoke, a memory stirred in the back of her mind; Duncan, apologising after that disastrous night at the pub when his ex-girlfriend had shown up. She had been surprised then by how easily he’d owned up to his mistake, but it felt even more unexpected now, coming from someone like Kieron. London men didn’t apologise that easily. At least, not the ones she’d dated.
‘I get it,’ she said. ‘It must be a pretty stressful time for you.’
Kieron let out a light chuckle. ‘That’s one way of putting it. I’ve got the whole work thing to sort out. I mean, I should be back in London. It’s the busiest time of the year for me, but…’ He shook his head. ‘Again, I don’t want to bore you. I just wanted to apologise. And, since you already know about Burns Night, I wanted to invite you to join me. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to one before?’
‘No. No, I haven’t,’ she said. His eyes twinkled at her response.
