Chapter Fifteen
Monty
M onty made his way from the annex to the farmhouse, picking a path over the soaked yard in his boots; big puddles had collected in the uneven ground. His skin chafed a bit as he hadn’t bothered to put on socks after showering. He knocked on the door and waited, ignoring the discomfort on the soles of his feet. So much for a nice early morning run. What had it achieved? If it was helping him to stay fit, then that was about the only positive, because as well as getting soaked, he now had sore feet, and he’d upset Iona. Again. He really had a bad habit of doing that – but she had a very annoying habit of getting grumpy with him. And he didn’t really get why. What had he done wrong? Or did he just have a face that annoyed her?
He’d been on many holidays in his life and normally didn’t meet local people other than those who served him in shops or restaurants, but the folk here had really got under his skin. Especially Iona. Her being cross bothered him… In fact, everything about her bothered him more than it should.
‘Hi.’ Catriona opened the door and gave him a quizzical look. No doubt he looked a fright. He hadn’t dried his hair after the shower and had just thrown on a t-shirt and sweatpants. ‘Are you ok?’
‘Not exactly.’ He mussed up his wet hair. ‘I can’t seem to get the radiator in the annex working. I need to dry out my trainers and running shorts. I’ve been fiddling about with the controls, but nothing is happening. Am I missing something?’
‘Maybe the main power isn’t switched on. Sometimes guests switch it off if they can’t work out how to turn off the radiators. I usually check, but I can’t remember if I did this time,’ Catriona said, leading the way. ‘It’s not the easiest system to work out. We tend to leave them on all winter and turn them off in the summer but obviously on a day like this, you need to dry stuff, and warm up.’
‘Yeah. I might need my trainers again soon.’
‘Absolutely.’
‘Um… Have you seen Iona recently?’
‘Yeah, she’s in the house, working. I was just with her. Why?’
‘I hope I didn’t upset her this morning.’ Monty opened the door to the annex.
Catriona gave him a sideways glance. ‘Why would you have?’
‘I don’t know. I just seem to have a way of doing that, even though I don’t mean to.’
‘Don’t worry about it. She’s just got a lot on her plate right now with the festival and she’s easily stressed.’ Catriona shook her head. ‘I think doing office work is a trigger for her. It reminds her of her old job that she hated. She ends up procrastinating and leaving everything to the last minute. Then she gets angry. Don’t take it personally.’
Monty nodded; Catriona was such a sensible soul for someone so young. ‘Ok.’ If it wasn’t personal, then good, but still, why had he asked her about the man she’d come back with? That was a stupid move if ever there was one. Why did he even care? But he did, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from asking. Why? Oh, why? She’d got well and truly lodged under his skin and he couldn’t get her out.
Catriona opened a little box on the wall and pressed some buttons. ‘That should do it. The radiators should start to come on straight away.’
‘Thanks, I appreciate that.’ Monty placed his trainers by the radiator.
‘No problem.’ Catriona headed for the door. ‘If it’s not warm enough in here for you, feel free to come into the main house. The breakfast room is free.’
‘Thanks. If the weather holds, I might head out for a bit.’ He peered out of the window. ‘Do you think I could speak to Iona? I feel bad, but I don’t want to disturb her.’
He did want to ask her something though. Something that had been growing on him more and more. He really wanted to go back to Kisimul Castle at least once before his time was up.
‘Well, it might be best not to disturb her, but I can ask her if you like.’
‘Yes, please. I’ll come over with you and if she says no, I’ll go away.’
‘Ok, fair enough.’ Catriona marched back to the farmhouse. ‘Poor Iona. She’s a free spirit who doesn’t like being tied to a desk. Normally, she’s off chasing waves, riding her bike, or having fun… in other ways.’
‘Hmm. Yeah.’ Monty cleared his throat, not sure exactly what Catriona meant. Did she mean having flings?
‘Right. If you just wait two minutes, I’ll ask her if she can spare you a sec.’
Monty thrust his hands into his pockets and looked at the paintings along the wall of the hallway depicting island scenes, all turquoise waves and white beaches. His mind wandered along a beach much like one of them, landing him back to the other evening when he’d kissed Iona. Why had he done that? That was when her bad mood had restarted. What a stupid thing to do. Maybe he was playing with fire now in even wanting to speak to her again.
Catriona poked her head around the door. ‘You can go through. She says she can give you one minute.’
‘Thanks.’ Monty went through the breakfast room, and then a little hallway next to a staircase that he assumed went to the private bedrooms. At the back was the sunroom, where he and Catriona had worked on her business plan. Iona sat at the desk, leaning her forehead in her hand, her long ponytail hanging to one side. She raised her eyes as he came in.
‘What is it that you want?’
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘No.’
‘Ok.’ He huffed out a laugh. ‘That was the world’s shortest conversation then.’
‘Look, I’m really busy.’
‘I can see that. Maybe I could help you out, as I still haven’t paid for the boat trip. I’m good at’ – he gave a little shrug – ‘you know, boring stuff.’
She straightened up and tossed her ponytail over her bare shoulder. She had on a strappy top and Monty noticed for the first time she had a tattoo on the back of her shoulder. ‘Why would you want to help me?’
‘Because I’m trying to be nice.’
She raised an eyebrow.
‘And I have a favour to ask you.’
‘Oh, yeah? What kind of favour?’
‘I know this is not the time, and it probably won’t be a good time until you’re finished, but I’d really like to go back to Kisimul Castle.’
Iona leaned her chin on the back of her hand. ‘Why?’
‘I just feel like it. It’s important. This might be my only trip here, and I want to have good memories of the castle. I wasn’t feeling great, and I was a little emotional the last time, and I don’t want that as my only memory.’ Monty leaned against the doorframe, watching Iona.
‘Ok, fine.’ She checked her phone. ‘I suppose if I get all this done by the afternoon, maybe we could go to the castle at dinner time and have a picnic or something.’
‘Sounds great. And do you want me to help you? Or would you rather I bugger off?’
She raised an eyebrow and smirked. ‘You can stay for a trial period and I’ll see how you get on.’
‘Fair.’ He held out his hands. ‘Just tell me what you want me to do. I’ll be your servant for the day.’
‘Yeah?’ She gestured to the mess of papers and the laptop in front of her. ‘Ok, fine. But don’t blame me if you end up regretting it.’
Monty pulled a chair next to hers and sat down. Their thighs brushed, sending a jolt of energy through him. He glanced at her, but she was already pointing at the screen.
‘These are the emails I need to respond to,’ she said. ‘And here are the vendor contracts I need to finalise.’
Monty nodded, focusing on the screen. ‘Well, let’s get going then.’
‘What do you think I’m doing?’ She started typing, her fingers moving swiftly over the keys.
Monty watched her, saying nothing, but heavily aware of the closeness of her shoulder and her legs. Maybe he shouldn’t have chosen to sit this close, but he needed to see the screen. Scratch that. He wanted to be this close. Something about her pulled him and he didn’t have the power to resist.
He watched her long slender fingers skimming the keyboard. What was he actually doing here? She didn’t seem to need his help at all. She was getting on just fine.
Turning to him, she smiled.
‘I’m not really doing anything, am I?’
‘You’re holding me to account. That’s all I need really.’
‘Well, that’s easy enough.’ He leaned into her a little. ‘And you’ve got a spelling mistake. He pointed to the screen where a red line had appeared under a word.
‘Obviously I would have gone back and fixed it before I sent it.’ She rolled her eyes, then gave him a little nudge.
‘Of course you would.’
She grinned as she carried on typing. ‘Ok, that’s the last email.’ She leaned back with a sigh. ‘I got them done really quickly.’
‘What’s next?’ Monty took off his glasses and cleaned them on the edge of his t-shirt. When he looked back, she was eyeing him.
‘Um… We need to send reminders to the vendors.’ She picked up a stack of papers. ‘Can you read through them and check if anyone has questions or issues in the “other information” box while I sort out the logistics for the surf gear?’
‘Sure.’ Monty took the papers from her.
They worked quietly, only occasionally exchanging comments or questions. The close proximity seemed to contain a pulse of energy. It built around them, intensifying with every little look, every brief touch, every word exchanged.
‘Amazing. I think we’re done.’ Iona shut her laptop and looked at Monty, her eyes bright, but her pupils very dark and wide. ‘Thanks for your help. Appreciated.’ She patted him on the knee, and he inhaled but didn’t let the air out. ‘Shall we make a picnic and head to the castle then?’
Monty nodded. ‘Yeah. Let’s.’
An hour later, Monty and Iona returned to the marina. The raised walkway from the land to where the boat was moored still gave him a queasy sensation – the fact that it felt flimsy and was open enough to see the water below didn’t make it easy. But he trusted that it was a lot stronger than it looked, took a deep breath and went for it, marching along behind Iona, who was going at her usual hundred-miles-an-hour pace.
The wind picked up and tugged at his jacket as he made his way down the metal steps. Fluffy white clouds raced across the bright blue sky.
Iona uncovered the boat and jumped on. She went straight to the little compartment at the front and pulled out the buoyancy aids and the wristbands as he climbed aboard. ‘Here you go.’
‘Thanks.’ Monty strapped himself into the buoyancy aid and slipped on the bands. Hopefully they’d work as well as the last time. ‘Is this going to be bumpy?’
‘Probably.’ Iona untied the boat and started the engine. She reversed out of the space, then pulled away from the shore, the boat bouncing on the waves. Monty gripped the sides, trying to keep his balance. Iona stood at the front, steering, not looking too bothered by the waves. He forced himself to breathe and not watch the swell on either side. Water lapped up almost high enough to come over.
Iona glanced at him. ‘You alright?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ The bands seemed to be helping keep the nausea away, which meant he could look about him this time and not panic about being sick. But he wasn’t used to boats or being out on the open water, and every little jolt felt like he was being walloped by a mallet.
When the boat hit a particularly large wave, a spray of seawater spattered over them. Iona laughed, but Monty clung on tight. Just let’s get there soon. He sent up a silent prayer, not sure he would ever get used to this or properly enjoy it.
As they approached the castle, he steadied himself and took out his phone. He needed some photos of this, maybe even a film. The ancient stone walls of Kisimul rose up from the sea and Monty took some pictures, trying not to lose his balance or drop his phone overboard. Iona guided the boat to the slipway, cutting the engine.
‘Ok, we can either find a spot on the rocks for the picnic or eat on the boat.’
‘I think I’d prefer it if we were off the boat.’ He removed the buoyancy aid.
‘Ok, cool. I have this.’ She tossed a folded-up rug to him and grabbed a bag full of food she’d raided from Catriona’s fridge and cupboards.
They climbed ashore, the wind still swirling around, but in the lee of the castle it wasn’t so bad. Monty scrambled over around the castle, until they found a large flat rock with a view of the sea, the waves crashing all around them.
‘This looks great.’ Monty unfolded the blanket and spread it out. The edges flapped, and they sat down quickly in case a fierce gust swept it away.
Iona opened the bag. ‘So, I’ve got rolls, cheese and stuff we can chuck together. Hope that’s ok.’
‘Sure.’ This was a picnic Iona-style. Very DIY. Sophie wouldn’t have approved of this, but right now, who cared? Who even was Sophie? If Monty got together with her again sometime in the future, he could look back on this as a wild moment in his life. Maybe he should go the whole hog and have a holiday fling. With Iona?
He watched her hacking at some cheese with a blunt knife. Would she want that? She’d been the one who suggested the kiss. But who was he kidding? He was Monty MacNeil, a respectable Edinburgh banker, and he didn’t do holiday flings.
He lifted a roll and pulled it open.
‘Thanks for helping me earlier,’ Iona said. ‘I don’t know why I work better with someone there. I guess it stops me running away and doing something else.’
‘Have you always had trouble concentrating?’ He spread some butter on his roll.
‘Yup. I suspect I have ADHD, but I’ve never been tested or anything. I’ve read a lot about it, and I seem to fit.’
‘You do indeed.’ Monty smiled, and she returned it. For a moment, they looked at each other, eyes unwavering. A deep jolt caught him low, and he really wanted to bend in and kiss her on those beautiful, full lips again.
She leaned back on the blanket, her eyes drifting to the horizon. ‘I’m so glad I don’t have to do it anymore.’
Monty frowned. ‘Do what?’
She sighed, fiddling with a loose pebble. ‘Put up with the daily grind. I told you about my cock-up when I worked for the civil service.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Even before that, it was bad. I went to a boarding school and always resented being sent away. Expectations were always sky high. My family is full of high achievers, and I was supposed to be one of them. But it’s not really me.’
‘I can see that. This is you. Wild seas, the wind in your hair.’
She nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s me. My family… well, they didn’t really get over me splitting with my ex. They worshipped him. He’s the golden boy, the one who never did anything wrong. Oh, apart from cheat on me, which they seem to think was justified.’
‘Really?’
‘Oh yeah. I’ve kind of withdrawn from them since then. But it’s hard, you know? They still talk about him like he’s some kind of hero.’
Monty nodded. ‘I get it. My mum loved Sophie. She would be over the moon if we got back together. She’s always comparing me to other people, wondering why I can’t be more like them.’
Iona looked at him and grinned. ‘Listen to us, would you?’
‘I know.’ Monty took a bite of his roll and chewed it. ‘We’re not defined by what other people think of us, but it’s hard to deal with when it’s family.’
‘Exactly.’
They sat in silence for a moment; the waves crashed against the rocks below, filling the gap with their soothing beat.
Iona broke the silence by opening a bottle of Fanta, then whipping it out of the way to stop it bubbling all over the rug. ‘I guess that got a bit churned up on the way over.’ She wiped her hands on the rug, then took a sip. ‘So, what do you want to do here? Do you want me to disappear back to the boat and give you some time alone?’
‘I don’t mind you staying. And I don’t have any plans. I just want to be here, existing in this place.’
‘We could collect some loose pebbles and build a little tower if you like. A memorial to your dad.’
‘Won’t it get washed away?’
‘It certainly will, but that’s ok. It’s transient art. The joy comes from making it, not keeping it. Process not product.’
Monty huffed out a laugh. ‘Ok, let’s do that then.’
They finished their food, packed away the blanket and made their way down to the edge of the rocks, looking for loose stones and pebbles, the crash of the waves growing louder as they approached. Monty crouched down, lifting a couple of flat stones, then returning to the picnic rock with them. He attempted to stack them, but each time he added another stone, his tower wobbled precariously and eventually toppled over.
‘You’re hopeless.’ Iona winked. She was also making one. It was perfectly balanced and looked in no danger of falling down. ‘Here, let me show you.’
She reached over and their fingers brushed together as she handed him a perfectly flat stone. The touch sent a small jolt through him, and he glanced at her, noticing the way the sunlight caught glints in her thick golden-brown hair. Her hand lingered for a moment longer than necessary before she pulled back.
When he made to put on another stone, she placed her hand on his, steadying it. This time the spark was unmistakable. Both pulled back, not wanting to meet the other’s eye.
‘I’m not very good at this kind of thing. Let me take a picture of yours. It can be the memorial cairn.’
‘It’s not that good.’ She shuffled back so he could get a clear shot.
‘I can post it on social media. I’ve been doing that a bit more recently.’
‘Have you? You don’t strike me as a social media lover.’
He scrolled through his phone to the site and uploaded the photo. ‘I’m not really. Hmm…’ He frowned. ‘I don’t think there’s any reception here.’
‘Do you get a lot of people looking at your photos?’
‘A few. Friends and some cousins.’ He let out a breath and stared into the distance. ‘I only started posting again to try and get Sophie’s attention. I thought the post about bodyboarding might have got her notice, but I don’t think she even looked at it.’
Iona looked at him and pulled a pout. ‘Why do you want to get back with her? Is it for yourself or for your family?’
‘Good question.’ He sighed. ‘And I don’t know the answer. I feel like I’ve got something to prove after she called me boring.’
‘But that’s crazy. You’ve proved you’re not boring.’
He picked at a thread on his jeans. ‘I’m not sure I have. So often I wonder if she was right. Maybe I am boring. Not just in my hobbies, but in everything.’ He pulled a face. ‘She said I was too vanilla. You know what that means?’
Iona laughed and covered her mouth. ‘Of course I know what it means. But what the hell was she into that she called you that? Did she have a kink you didn’t like?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe that was the problem. But she didn’t tell me and… I didn’t think to mix it up.’
‘Well, I kissed you, and it seemed fine. After you loosened up.’
‘Yeah, well…’ He swallowed and sat down on a large, flat rock. ‘That’s something.’
Iona sat next to him, blinking slowly, and he gave her a little smile. She looked like she was sizing him up.
‘Have you ever hooked up with anyone? Like casually?’
His cheeks and his neck burned. ‘Um… no.’
‘You should do that. Then it doesn’t really matter what happens. It’s not like you’ll have to see them again.’
‘I’m not sure I want to do that.’
‘How do you know unless you try? In fact…’ She glanced around as if checking for other people, which made Monty grin, because who on earth would be out here with them? ‘This is exactly the right time for you to do it.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re on holiday. Have a fling. People do it all the time.’
‘You want me just to walk into the pub in the village and pick up a random stranger?’
She chuckled and shook her head. ‘You could do that, but you might end up with old Billy and I wouldn’t advise that.’
‘Not funny.’
She gave him a little nudge. ‘I’ll do it. I volunteer.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you having a laugh?’
‘No. It’s not like you’ll be my first.’
‘Oh great. That makes it sound so much better.’
‘Stop it.’ She laughed again. ‘Relax. Enjoy yourself. Life’s too short. If you want to have a holiday fling, I’m your girl.’ She gave him a wink. ‘But if you don’t, then fine. The offer’s on the table. You decide what you want to do with it.’
‘What would you get out of it?’
She glanced at him and frowned. ‘Whatever you have to offer.’
‘What if that’s boring vanilla?’
‘Who cares?’ She threw out her hands. ‘It’s not like I’m wanting to marry you. And I’ll tell you what I like, show you if you want. It could be for your benefit in the future.’
Monty stared at her, not sure he was still awake or even really here. Had he maybe fainted on the boat and this was all a very bizarre dream? Was she propositioning him? He’d never had that before. But maybe she was right. This was the chance to do something different. Once he left, in just over a week, he was unlikely ever to return – not for a long time anyway. So why not?
‘Well, ok… But not out here… I’m not that adventurous.’
‘Neither am I.’ She smiled. ‘Not when so many boats pass by, but how about just one kiss to start us off?’
He cocked his head. ‘Only if you promise not to get grumpy this time.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The last time I kissed you, you were grouchy with me for ages after that.’ Even though it couldn’t have been that long, not in real terms, but it felt like it.
‘Ok. I’ll be a good girl and no grouching.’ She ran her palm over his stubbly cheek. He leaned into it, taking a long, slow breath. ‘You’re going to enjoy this, and so am I.’ She straddled him, took his face in her hands, and their eyes met. ‘You can even pretend I’m Sophie if you like.’ Iona gave him a wink.
Monty’s lungs felt thick, and he couldn’t get enough air. Sophie? Who was that? All he saw was Iona. He couldn’t remember what Sophie looked like.
‘Anything you’d like to try with her, you can practise with me. Within reason. Nothing too kinky.’
‘No need to worry about that.’ His voice was hoarse and distant. He placed his hands on her hips and closed his eyes, leaning in. The moment their lips touched, heat flooded through him, and he groaned, letting himself go. He tugged her closer, deepening the kiss. No holding back this time.