Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The waves were dancing against the shore as I stuffed my hands deeper into the pockets of my fleece. I had my rucksack on and was marching, trying to clear the cobwebs suspended in my mind. There was a quiet Sunday-morning aura, with only the excited bark of a dog rolling in on the breeze.
I hadn’t slept well last night. Every time I thought about Blake being the Scarlet Highwayman, my emotions contorted in disbelief. What if he was? My own great-great-great-grandfather!
I shoved my sunglasses further up my nose.
While my feet carried me towards the end of the beach, I found my whirring thoughts conjuring up Mason.
I coloured at the thought of him, too.
Why had Mason suggested I act the part of his girlfriend? I gave my head a shake to clear it. Well, it was obvious. He’d only done that to get his matchmaking mum off his back.
You would have thought that after Nick, I would’ve learned from my mistakes. I just hoped Mason would summon up some courtesy and keep both his parents away from me. The sooner Orla and Jack departed on their Highland road trip, the better. Then things could revert to how they were.
That notion made my shoulders slump, but I shook it off.
I nodded a greeting to the dog walker and tapped up the stone steps that were brushed with a carpet of sand. The harbour boats slapped and slid under the sleepy July sunshine.
I reached the top of the steps. The stiff, salty breeze made my hair flap out behind me like a gold flag, and the cobbled streets were deserted, except for the odd customer weaving in and out of the newsagents.
I shook the sand from my trainers and made my way back through the main street to the cottages. I walked in a dream-like state, churning thoughts about Mason, Alex Lapley, Blake and the cottages on a continuous merry-go-round circling in my head.
With ruddy cheeks and rather breathless from the invigorating sea air, I unlocked the office door and stepped inside knowing one thing for certain. There was no avoiding it: I would have to tell my father about Lapley’s threats.
Katie had taken the day off to work her magic on her kiln, so it was just me at the helm, with the offer of assistance from Caleb, should I need it.
I vanished into the bathroom at the rear of the office for a moment to brush my hair and secure it in a ponytail. Then I battled to tone down the flush in my sea lashed cheeks.
After dabbing and blending on some foundation, pink lipstick and mascara, I surveyed my image in the square mirror. My blue eyes carried an air of disappointment and my mouth dipped downwards.
After rustling myself up a hot chocolate, I sat there, cradling the warm mug, glancing at our small window display of Katie’s ceramics and a few of my watercolours.
Ideas began to form in my mind for what other themes we could feature.
I recalled four of her other recent designs, a set of kitchen bowls in russet, brown and beige, as well as two other teapots she was working on; one was red and white, painted with orange squirrels, and the other was cream, dotted with cute snowy owls.
That colour scheme, together with some more of my autumnal sketches, would be great to feature for a refreshed changeover in September, the winter season.
As I took another mouthful of my hot chocolate, I reached down into my rucksack for my mobile. I’d forgotten to switch it on. When the screen shimmered into life, my jaw clenched. There were two missed calls from Mason.
I grunted. He only seemed comfortable talking to me when he was flirting or discussing the highwayman.
I stuffed my phone back into the pocket of my rucksack. I couldn’t quite believe I was thinking it, but right now, the last thing I wanted to dwell on was the Scarlet Highwayman. All I wanted to do was concentrate on something creative instead which I could lose myself in.
I grabbed my sketchpad from my rucksack and began doodling.
White Willow Cottages; making a success of the business; proving to Mum and Dad that I could deliver; progressing my art career. They were all things I could control.
I lifted my head up from the white paper and let my attention drift out to sea. These were the things I had to focus on; these were the issues in my life I had to channel.
Frustration gripped me when I thought of Mason.
Yes, I confessed, I did find him irresistible – even if he was a guarded, temperamental sod!
But what about the way he kept me at a distance sometimes, yet was happy to flirt, grin, twinkle and even kiss me in front of his parents?
And then there were the other mystery women he was seen with…
I gripped my pencil harder and made deeper, sweeping strokes on the pad. Something told me I was about to make the same mistake as I had done with Nick: put all my love, faith and trust in someone who wasn’t prepared to return it.
I stabbed the artist’s pad with my pencil.
Nope. I couldn’t allow that to happen again.
Mid-morning swung around and a honeymoon couple heading home to France who checked out of Falcon hadn’t been able to resist my painting of McKerron Castle drizzled with snow and one of Katie’s teaspoon rests in a gold-and-brown leaf design.
They’d just departed, wreathed in satisfied smiles, when I heard the office door swing open.
‘Have you forgotten something?’ I asked, raising my head from the desk. My friendly expression melted.
It was Mason.
‘Good morning, Poppy.’ He was decked out in a loose azure shirt that complemented his navy combat trousers. His sleeves were rolled up, and aviator shades were perched on top of his dark head.
I adjusted the collar of my white blouse for something to do. ‘Morning.’
‘Could I have a word? I did try to ring you this morning.’
‘Yes, I noticed.’
He took a few steps forward. ‘Are you okay?’ Without being invited, he slipped into the chair on the other side of my desk. ‘Why didn’t you call me back? Is there something wrong?’
I tried to flick my ponytail in an indifferent fashion. ‘No … yes…’
Mason’s brows gathered. ‘You look like you’re thinking of saying something.’
‘You don’t know what I’m thinking.’
‘At times, that’s very true.’
I shoved up the sleeves of my ribbed blue cardigan. ‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’
Mason’s jaw tightened. ‘You’re so wrapped up with this Scarlet Highwayman character, I don’t think any real man could compete with him if I tried … I mean, he tried.’
‘Rubbish,’ I bit back. ‘From where I’m standing, you’re just trotting out a list of excuses to try to explain your behaviour.’
‘And what behaviour might that be?’
I started to speak, but the clanging of the office doorbell interrupted.
It was Orla and Jack.
Orla blinked out of her deep brown eyes. ‘Are you two arguing?’
Jack snatched his wife’s arm. ‘Come on. Back outside with you, Orla. Give them a minute or two.’
We watched Jack guiding a reluctant Orla in the direction of the harbour.
I sighed. ‘They’re lovely people, but the sooner they leave Port Starr, the better.’
Mason flicked me a look. ‘I thought you were enjoying our little role play.’
Jumping to my feet, I marched towards the door and yanked it open. ‘I think you should leave.’
Mason continued to sit there. ‘I don’t think you mean that.’
‘Yes,’ I ground out. ‘I do. All this is getting messy and it’s the last thing I need right now.’
He stood up, never taking his attention away from my lips. ‘And what is it you need right now, Poppy?’
I glowered back at him. ‘I need to get on with some work and focus on what’s important. Now, if you’ll excuse me.’
In one swift movement, Mason was in front of me and pulled me into his arms. His eyes, hard and uncompromising moments before, were now soft. He lowered his mouth to mine, murmuring against my lips, ‘This isn’t for their benefit. It’s for me.’
His hungry mouth crushed mine, teasing and tasting. Sparks of excitement lit up in my chest as his tongue caressed mine. I wanted to push him away. I knew what I should do, but as his hands reached around to my back, pressing me deeper against him, my breath became ragged.
Mason’s kiss deepened.
That jolted me back to reality. I wriggled out of his muscular arms. ‘You arrogant sod!’ I blurted, dazzling lights still exploding behind my eyes. ‘Don’t ever do that again.’
He looked dangerous. ‘I know you don’t mean that, Poppy. You enjoyed that every bit as much as I did.’
I couldn’t let Mason in. Not anymore. This was just a pretence anyway. ‘You don’t know anything about me,’ I protested hotly. ‘If your parents weren’t out there right now…’
‘You’d what?’ His charged eyes flickered.
I moved back behind the safety of the desk. My legs felt like water. ‘For their sake, I won’t say anything about our little arrangement, but as soon as they leave Port Starr, that’s it.’
Mason’s mouth twisted. ‘They’ve decided to head off on their road trip tomorrow.’
‘Good.’
‘And I’m heading out of town for a few days on business.’
I ignored a frisson of disappointment. ‘That’s even better.’
I waited for him to fill the silence with some sort of explanation, but he didn’t.
‘I won’t be needing your help with saving the cottages from Lapley,’ I insisted. ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about the situation and I’m going to tell my dad. We can deal with this as a family.’
Mason’s silver gaze turned to flint.
‘And as for the Scarlet Highwayman, I won’t be expecting you to get involved. If you want to continue your own research, that’s up to you.’
Mason’s muscles moved under his shirt. He opened his mouth to speak, then decided against it.
I watched him stalk back towards his car.