Chapter 3
As Bex approached the queue of people, she considered veering in a wide path so that perhaps she could avoid him spotting her, but as he shifted his shoulders and the sparkling eyes landed on hers, she knew it was too late. And damn it if the butterflies weren’t back again.
‘This feels like you might be following me.’ His lips lifted into a grin.
‘I can assure you it’s a coincidence,’ Bex said, grateful that she had managed to speak properly this time. Although from the way the man’s eyes narrowed, he didn’t look convinced.
‘Are you sure? I’m thinking that maybe you’re some kind of secret spy who failed in an attempt to incapacitate me with your suitcase earlier, and now you’ve had to follow me onto my flight.’
As he quirked an eyebrow, Bex laughed. ‘I like that. And to be fair, I think I’d make a good spy.’
‘Is that right?’
‘Well, apart from the different languages part,’ she considered.
‘I’d be rubbish at that. Maybe I’d be better as a computer hacker, one of those masterminds who moves money into offshore accounts.
Extreme tax evasion. Setting up shell companies.
Those kinds of things. I could definitely do a bit of money laundering, I think.
I doubt it would take me that long to learn. ’
‘Wow. That’s not something you’d confess to most strangers.’ He chuckled resonantly as Bex realised just what she’d said.
She shook her head. ‘Sorry. Ignore me. I’m talking nonsense.
’ Her cheeks flushed red. She was talking absolute nonsense, and she had no idea why.
She had spoken to plenty of attractive men in her life and quite often they had been the ones who ended up babbling in front of her.
But there was something about this man’s sparkling eyes that was utterly mesmerising.
And it didn’t help that an aroma of expensive citrus-based aftershave eddied from his body.
She could breathe in that scent forever.
What the heck was wrong with her? she chastised herself.
Was she really that desperate for a man’s attention?
Then again, before Duncan, she had gone from one guy to another, always searching for Mr Right, and each time they’d broken up, she’d bounced right back, ready to continue the search.
But this was different. This was the first time she’d even found a man attractive after breaking up with Duncan.
And from the way he was continuing to keep the conversation going, he thought the same about her.
‘Well, I’m not sure if I’ll ever need a money launderer, to be honest,’ he said. ‘But then again, you never know. Those offshore accounts sound good.’
‘Until you get found out and slammed with an even heftier bill,’ she countered.
‘Maybe you’re right.’ He grinned again. Yup, he was definitely flirting with her. And what the hell? It was time she got back in the game, anyway. A little flirting practice would probably help her. ‘So, are you travelling up to Scotland for something special? To see a boyfriend, maybe?’
Any thought she had of flirting evaporated as her stomach sank. ‘No, actually, a friend has passed away. I’m going up there for him.’
‘Oh God. I’m so sorry.’ It was his turn to look embarrassed. ‘I-I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.’
‘Don’t be silly. Why would you have known that? It’s fine, honestly. And I might actually bump into my ex-boyfriend while I’m there, too.’
‘Ex?’ His voice lingered on the word as he tilted his head to the side, that twinkle returning to his eyes ever so slightly. ‘Well, if he’s the one who ended it, he’s a fool.’
He wasn’t, Bex wanted to say. Duncan would have probably carried on as they were forever, not caring how resentful they’d grow of each other.
Not seeing that it didn’t matter how much they loved one another, it wasn’t going to be enough to make it work.
And God, she really did love him, more than she’d have ever thought it was possible to love someone.
As she looked back at the man, whose eyes were still looking straight at her, something heavy pressed down on her shoulders.
Sure, it was nice that he was interested.
Probably interested enough to give her his number if she wanted, but this wasn’t the right time for that.
Her heart was nowhere near ready for anything else.
Even anything casual. In fact, casual had kind of lost its appeal now she’d had the real thing.
And she may not have known exactly why Fergus had requested she went up there, but it was going to be work related.
Something told her that dealing with the accounts of an estate the size of Highland Hall after a death wasn’t going to be free of drama, and that was before she added Duncan into the mix.
She couldn’t deal with another complication right now.
‘Well, I should leave you to board,’ she said, flashing him a smile. ‘It’s a little while before they let the rest of us on at the back of the plane. Enjoy your flight.’