Missed opportunities #4
A few minutes later, they had secured two cosy wing chairs by the fireplace and ordered the hot fish stew that featured on the menu of the day.
“So, back to you and Kendrick,” Hailey picked up on their previous topic. “I want to know everything that went on in Inverness. Kristy told me you matched on Tinder and then danced together all night.”
“Mmm.”
“That’s it? ‘Mmm’?”
“What can I say? You already know the story,” Shona replied defensively and happily accepted her bowl of stew from the waitress instead of looking at her cousin.
“Nonsense! I’m completely in the dark about the whole thing!” Hailey inhaled the delicious aroma of the stew and took a first spoonful. “If dancing was all you did, you wouldn’t be squirming like an eel right now, and you would have told me about it weeks ago.”
Hailey could be remarkably perceptive at times! Shona devoured a few bites of the delicious stew, then sighed and admitted: “You got me there. I didn’t tell you because you were really into him and I didn’t want this to stand between us, whatever it was.”
“Good, then I can reassure you that I have no interest in Kendrick anymore. I like him. I like him a lot, even more so since he stood up for Azzedine as he did. But that’s as a friend and someone I work with around the horses, nothing more.
Zilch! Really.” She looked imploringly at Shona.
“And if you’re as interested in him as he clearly is in you, you better take a chance and not let something good pass you by because of me. ”
“Something good?” Shona almost snorted into her stew.
She had no idea what was going on between Kendrick and her.
She didn’t even know if there was anything going on at all or if it was all her imagination.
“I’ve maybe said a total of ten sentences to him since he moved here.
Most of them arguing.” She shook her head.
Okay, that was an exaggeration, but not a huge one.
They really hadn’t spoken much, but every single time their exchange had put her in a state of emotional turmoil.
Usually a mix of anger, excitement and confusion.
Whatever that was, it was definitely not normal but bloody complicated and exhausting.
And pretty much the opposite of ‘something good’!
“Never mind. You just keep telling yourself that there’s nothing between the two of you. If that’s what you want to believe ...” Hailey shrugged and went back to her stew.
“I don’t know,” Shona mumbled miserably and also ate some more.
It was true, she didn’t know. She didn’t know feelings like these.
She liked her hook-ups fun and straightforward, satisfying and chill.
In other words, exactly the opposite of how it would be with Kendrick, if her previous experiences with him were anything to go by.
She had silently hoped to get the chance to chat with him casually at Isla’s event.
Without hormones going haywire like that night in Inverness or aristocrats going off the rails like the earl in the stable or her having a meltdown like on the first day when he had hit Nessie.
Kendrick had looked beyond handsome in the smart dark blue suit he had donned for the cooking show dinner.
At first, she hadn’t even recognised him, all clean-shaven and hair neatly combed.
For once, he had looked nothing like a pithy, rustic vet and instead rather like one of the cool, smart city dwellers who frequented the London whisky bar where she used to work.
But then he was suddenly gone. To Eskadale, on a sad assignment, as she had found out the next day.
Since then, their paths had not crossed, despite the fact that she spent way too much time at Rupert’s – officially to visit Nessie, but always in the hope of bumping into Kendrick.
“Dance with him tomorrow and see what happens,” Hailey suggested after a while and put her empty bowl down.
Shona had a pretty good idea what might happen if she danced with him. It was unlikely that their chemistry would be different this time ... Was she willing to risk it?
“I thought he was such a great dancer?” Hailey probed when Shona didn’t reply.
“He is.” Shona sighed. “He’s an amazing dancer actually, which is kind of the problem.”
“It’s only a problem if you make it one.”
“I wish it were that easy! Let’s drop it, okay? Talking more about it won’t solve anything. We’ll just wait and see what happens tomorrow. Maybe he won’t even show up because there’s another sick cow somewhere, or someone’s cat has a broken leg or whatnot. Being a vet seems to be a 24/7 job.”
“It can definitely be tough,” Hailey said without elaborating further.
“What do you say, shall we have another drink? I’ve heard Jon has a good selection of gins and a decent whisky or two.
” Without waiting for Shona’s reply, she got up, went to the bar and soon returned with a small tray holding two empty whisky glasses and a bottle of Gordon Gibbs.
“Oh?”
“And now, I want to hear the whole story.”