Chapter 1
One
Kenna
Present day
Christmas Eve, Ardnoch
Having lived in Scotland my whole life, I knew it was just the luck of the draw whether we got a white Christmas or not. For the first time, I wished for no snow.
So, of course, as I sat in Flora’s, the most popular café in the village, I glanced up from my phone to see white flakes dropping from the sky.
Oh, vomit on cow turd. Eff my life.
“Mom, it’s snowing!”
I turned toward the slightly accented voice to see Callie Harrow, a pretty blond in Michael’s class, gaping excitedly out the window.
“Yeah, it is!” Her mom high-fived her, just as excited.
Our eyes met, and despite my worries, we shared a grin.
Sloane Harrow and her daughter were California transplants.
We’d shared friendly hellos at the school gates and I’d bought delicious baked goods from the bakery Sloane owned across the street.
She was engaged to a dauntingly massive fellow Scot, and I had it on authority from the gossiping mums at school that my boss, Haydyn, had shown an obvious interest in the gorgeous American before her fiancé won her over.
I’d tried to ignore the flare of jealousy I felt at that information, just as I’d tried to ignore any romantic feelings I had for Haydyn.
It seemed he and Michael shared taste, however, because I was pretty certain Michael had a crush on Callie, who was a mini version of her mum.
He teased her constantly and was highly competitive with her.
More telling, however, was that before I came along, word had it he and Lewis Adair were pretty friendly.
But the two boys had gotten into fights over Michael’s teasing of Callie, who was Lewis’s best friend.
I smelled jealousy on Michael a mile away, but he was too young to understand that’s what he was feeling.
Time would only tell, and I’d keep my eye on the situation.
It shocked me that ten-year-olds were talking about crushes and boyfriends and girlfriends, but when I thought back on it, I’d had a wee boyfriend in my last two years of primary school.
In P7 we used to kiss behind “the huts,” the mobile classrooms where they taught religious education. The memory made me snort inwardly.
“First snow?” I asked Sloane and Callie.
Sloane ruffled Callie’s hair, the stunning diamond engagement ring on her finger winking in the light. “Second snow, but it’s still pretty exciting for us.” A look crossed Sloane’s face that I didn’t understand until she asked, “Will you be all right? If the snow gets heavy?”
Understanding dawned. The downside of living in a village was that everyone knew everyone’s business.
When I moved to Ardnoch, I’d planned to get out of my cousin’s flat and into my own home as soon as possible.
The problem was that property was scarce in Ardnoch, and the only homes that had come up for sale were way too big.
I could afford them, but I didn’t need that much space.
However, Una, my cousin, had proven impossible to live with.
She didn’t know how much money I’d inherited, but she knew I had money, and I’d noticed money going missing from my purse.
Then she’d started asking for more money than I owed in rent and utilities.
From there, she began raiding my closet and wearing my clothes without asking.
It just got so weird and strained between us that I ended up securing a caravan on a caravan site out by the water.
It was owned by a retired businessman. Gordon.
He was lovely. And he’d given me a good deal on renting a caravan for as long as I needed it.
I’d been in the caravan since late October, and it was bloody Baltic.
Something I lied about every time Haydyn asked.
A bungalow had come up for sale just yesterday, though, and although it needed renovating, it was perfect for me. I’d viewed it, put in an offer right away, and it was accepted.
I told Sloane as much.
She frowned. “But that means you’ll still be in the caravan over Christmas? While it snows?”
Not wanting to explain to her that I was spending Christmas alone and would be freezing if it kept snowing, I told her the same lie I’d told Haydyn. “I’m staying with family for Christmas.”
She relaxed immediately.
I’d told Haydyn the same lie because things were strained between us too. I blamed Halloween, too much truth, too much bonding, and the electric chemistry that had zipped between me and my boss since he’d opened his door to me.
I knew he was a mistake as soon as I saw him.
Dr. Haydyn Barr. A professor of civil engineering at the University of Highlands and Islands in Inverness.
Handsome, clean-cut, chiseled jaw, almost pretty with his large dark, thickly lashed eyes and full mouth.
Laughter lines around his eyes gave him some rugged weathering I found way too attractive.
He was six feet tall, stylish, classy, intelligent, warm, a doting father—and ten years my senior.
The whole time he’d been interviewing me, I knew, despite how desperate I was for a new job and a new beginning, that I couldn’t work for him.
Not after what happened at my last job. However, Michael had blasted into the house, adorable and smart, and so desperate for female attention.
I’d later learn that his mother abandoned him when he was a baby and hadn’t reached out again until last year.
Haydyn had taken the reconciliation with Deena slowly for Michael, but Michael wanted to get to know his mum.
It was going well so far, though I knew it was still a worry for Haydyn.
When Deena asked to have Michael for Christmas, Haydyn had wanted to say no, but Michael pleaded to go and won.
I was nervous about it too. Deena was married to a solicitor and they lived in Inverness.
They had no children of their own, and the guy seemed nice enough, but I wasn’t convinced he was interested in Michael.
Only time would tell.
So Michael was in Inverness for Christmas, and I’d told Haydyn I would be as well. That I had a friend back in the city who’d invited me to stay. That wasn’t true. All my friends were back home in Aberdeen, and not one of them had thought to invite me for Christmas.
Even though they knew it would be my first alone.
Tears thickened my throat and I fought them back. “I better get on the road before the snow gets too heavy.”
Sloane and Callie bid me goodbye and I waved to Flora, the owner, before I ducked out of the café. The cold white flakes weren’t falling fast, but they were starting to stick.
Oh, bugger.
I burrowed into my scarf and hurried across the street to Morag’s to pick up some last-minute groceries. I planned to watch a marathon of romantic comedies on my laptop and try very hard not to think about the fact that I was all alone.
Morag, a lovely middle-aged lady with pink-rinsed hair, owned the deli and grocery store. We chatted for a bit before I bid her a happy Christmas and opened the door to leave with my bag of premade meals I could heat up in my microwave, as well as wine, chocolates, and other snacks.
I hurried outside and smacked into a hard body.
“Oof.” I staggered back, dropping my bag, as gloved hands grabbed my arms to steady me.
Blinking rapidly, my stomach flipped as I looked up into familiar dark brown eyes. Eyes that narrowed on me. “Kenna?”
“Haydyn,” I squeaked out, looking and sounding like I was caught in a lie. Avoiding eye contact, I lowered to my haunches to pick up my fallen wares.
Unfortunately, so did Haydyn. He shoved my meals and the thankfully unbroken wine bottle into my bag and handed it to me.
“Thanks,” I murmured.
“Shouldn’t you be in Inverness?” he snapped with uncharacteristic belligerence.
“I-I’m just leaving,” I lied.
Haydyn scowled. “And you’re taking premade meals with you?”
“I—”
He held up a hand to cut me off. “I swear if you lie one more time, I’ll … I’ll …”
Amusement cut through my embarrassment as he failed adorably to find an appropriate punishment for me. Suddenly, the image of him taking me across his knee filled my mind and I squirmed, my cheeks flushing.
As if he read my mind, Haydyn’s gaze turned low-lidded as it fell to my mouth.
And this was absolutely why he’d been avoiding me since Halloween. Every time we were alone, this sexual chemistry sparked between us, and it didn’t take a lot to ignite it.
Seeming to shake himself, Haydyn straightened and cleared his throat.
He wore a scarf knotted stylishly and tucked into his fitted black peacoat.
The man dressed like he’d just walked off the pages of GQ, and it really did it for me.
I’d never shown much interest in the way a guy dressed, but since meeting Haydyn, it was something I noted about the men I met.
“You lied. You’re staying in that damn caravan over Christmas. Alone.” His full mouth pressed into a disapproving hard line.
I shrugged. “You’re staying alone.”
“In a fully insulated home. Not a tin can off the coast of the North Sea.”
I rolled my eyes. “Exaggeration.”
“It’s snowing!” he yelled and then seemed to remember we were in public.
“I’ll be fine,” I promised, not wanting his or anyone else’s pity. “And it’s temporary. My offer was accepted on a bungalow yesterday. Happy Christmas.” I darted around him before he could stop me and practically ran toward my parked Audi.
However, I couldn’t resist looking up the now snow-crested street.
Haydyn stood under the dim glow of a streetlight, staring in my direction.
An ache of pure longing filled me as I remembered how he’d been on Halloween.
How our night together was the first night since my life blew apart that I’d felt happy. Like I’d found home again.
Blanching at how wrong I’d been, I dove into my car. Yet as I made my way carefully through the falling snow toward the coast, the memories cascaded over me, anyway.