Chapter 4
The flight was cramped, and Bex’s mood wasn’t helped when a man with a chronic cough took the seat behind her.
As the crew were getting ready to take off, said man alternated between kneeing her in the back and coughing loudly as he lent forward so that his mouth was practically by her ear.
In an attempt to block it out, she slipped in her AirPods and put on her eye mask and, as such, was surprised when what felt like only minutes after she’d closed her eyes, her body jerked upwards as the wheels hit the tarmac.
Not wanting to keep Lorna waiting, she was on her feet and pulling her suitcase down, ready to leave as quickly as possible.
As much as Bex knew that even taking a man’s number would complicate her life more than she could deal with at the moment, she couldn’t help but keep an eye out for the handsome stranger.
But, as always, first class was long gone by the time she stepped outside.
Part of her wondered if he’d linger a little, waiting for her to catch up.
But then why would he when she’d made it very clear that she wasn’t interested?
This was better. Flirting could wait till she was back in London and her wounded heart had finally healed.
As the automatic doors opened and she stepped into Inverness Airport, a familiar face with piercing green eyes framed by long red hair waved at her.
‘Oh my God, I missed you,’ Lorna said, wrapping her arms around Bex and squeezing tightly.
And for a moment, Bex let herself breathe in her friend.
Lorna gave really good hugs. Not that her other friends didn’t, but there was something about Lorna’s that completely engulfed you, which was even more incredible when you considered how petite she was.
Bex always thought it had something to do with her half-American side, though she’d never said as much.
‘How are you doing?’ Lorna asked when she finally let Bex go.
‘Shocked. Definitely shocked. And you?’
‘Same.’ Lorna nodded. ‘The village is in mourning, as you can imagine. I mean, it wasn’t a surprise, but I think so many of us just thought he’d go on forever. You know what I mean?’
‘I do,’ Bex agreed.
She couldn’t possibly have imagined that the last time she hugged Fergus goodbye, while he’d sat in his chair by the fireplace, would be the last time she’d ever see him.
If she had known, she was sure there were things she would have said to him.
Even if it was just thanking him for accepting her into his home.
‘Where are you staying tonight?’ Lorna asked as she made a motion towards the exit, with Bex stepping in line with her.
That was a good question. It seemed silly that she hadn’t even thought about it until now.
‘Well, my plan was just the castle. My old room, I guess.’
The way Lorna’s eyebrow rose implied this probably wasn’t as straightforward as she’d thought.
‘I don’t know if you’ll be able to,’ she said, an apology in her voice and expression, not that it had anything to do with her. ‘The castle’s locked up. They’ve been waiting for Kieron to arrive. I’m not sure when he’s getting here.’
‘Of course, I didn’t think about that.’
Kieron was Fergus’s nephew, and heir to the estate, but despite all the time Bex had spent at Highland Hall, she’d never met the man.
It was safe to say that Duncan hadn’t been his biggest fan, and from what he’d said, the feeling was mutual, and so any of his visits had conveniently coincided with Duncan coming down to London to visit her, rather than her heading up and meeting the source of his dislike.
‘And to be honest, I’m not sure you’d want to stay in your room,’ Lorna continued. ‘The fires won’t have been lit, and the weather’s really turned these last couple of weeks. It’s biting at the castle.’
‘Right,’ Bex said, her mind working through other possibilities. Obviously, Duncan’s wasn’t an option, but there were some B it was amusing, the way he’d hopelessly flirted with her, not even sure whether it had just been to get back at Katty, or if he’d genuinely liked her.
But back then, Bex had been furious that he’d tried to use her that way.
It had almost erased the attraction she’d felt for him.
Almost. He’d been too good-looking for that.
Not to mention charming. And kind. And generous.
But then, thinking about Duncan’s good characteristics was the last thing she needed to be doing right now. She was here for work. That was it.
‘Do you want to send Niall and Eilidh a message?’ Lorna said as she drove. ‘See if they want to meet us for food. As long as you want to, that is.’
‘Absolutely. It’ll be good to see them,’ Bex said, before firing off a text in the friends’ group chat, which they immediately replied to.
For the rest of the journey, they talked about bits and bobs; how the village was coping without Fergus, what was expected to happen to the castle.
That sort of thing. Mainly, though, they kept the conversation away from both Duncan and Fergus.
At least with Lorna, that was easy to do.
She had so many adventures and plans on the go that she could easily talk your ear off about them.
The journey by car always took longer than expected. The ice on the road had made it even slower, and it was well past midday. So by the time they reached the village, Bex had learned all about Lorna’s current plan: to move to America and open a traditional Scottish restaurant.
‘Good, I’m famished,’ Bex said as they stepped out of the car. Given that it was a Sunday and the White Hart was over half of LochDarroch’s go-to pub, Bex only hoped that Niall and Eilidh had managed to grab a table before it got too busy.
Taking her time on the slippery ground, Bex began making her way to the door when Lorna’s phone started ringing.
‘Oh, it’s Niall. They must be running late.’
She picked up the phone, but rather than speaking, she remained silent, obviously listening to whatever Niall was saying. As he spoke, Lorna bit down on her lip and glanced at Bex, her smile dropping as she did. Something in Bex’s gut tightened. She somehow knew they were talking about her.
‘Do you know what?’ Lorna said as she hung up the phone. ‘The guys were thinking that maybe we should go to The Haven instead to celebrate you being back. We haven’t seen you in ages.’
‘The Haven?’ Bex raised her eyebrows.
The Haven was the most expensive restaurant on the outskirts of town and part of a hotel.
Duncan had taken her there for their first date, and there hadn’t been any prices on the menu, which in itself was an indication of how extortionate it was.
The food had been incredible, but this wasn’t a Haven kind of situation.
‘What is it?’ she asked, looking Lorna straight in the eye. ‘Why don’t you want to go into the White Hart?’
‘I don’t mind, it’s just, you know. Cold. And musty. And the fires in there are so strong.’
‘I thought you just said it was cold.’
‘Right. Right.’
Lorna was a terrible liar. And although she was only Duncan’s stepsister, they had a surprising number of traits in common, including blushing. With Duncan, it was the tops of his ears that went red. With Lorna, it was her whole face, which flushed bright pink.
‘He’s in there, isn’t he?’ Bex asked, suddenly piecing it together. ‘Duncan is in there.’
‘Look, we can go eat at the Boar, or we can make cheese toasties at mine. I’m sure I’ve got some food.’
A sad laugh escaped Bex’s lips. She shook her head.
‘Honestly, it’s okay. Duncan and I said we were going to be friends. There was no bad blood in our breakup. It’ll be nice to see him.’
Lorna’s face remained crinkled with concern. ‘I’m sure you think that now, but when you—’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Bex said, turning around.
Before Lorna could protest, Bex put her hand on the pub door. ‘Now, are you coming, or am I going in on my own?’
She swung the door open, steeling herself with her best smile. She and Duncan would get on. They would be the perfect exes. She could feel it. Or at least, while she was here, she would play the part and then she would wait until she was back in London before she broke down in tears.
With her shoulders still pushed back, Bex stepped inside, just as a loud laugh rattled through the pub.
‘Oh, you’re just hysterical!’ The voice had an Australian twang – probably one of the tourists who visited frequently.
Bex’s attention was immediately drawn to the corner, where two women were sitting and laughing. Her jaw dropped.
The women weren’t alone. Sat in the middle of them, with one arm around each of the young blondes, was Duncan. Drinks in front of him, their hands on his lap.
So much for thinking he’d become a recluse again.