Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,12

been busy enough but things slowed down in the afternoon. She finished her shift but was hanging around to have a drink with everyone for Logan’s birthday. She’d seen Leana the previous day, who’d told her they were having a few drinks in the Old Inn before heading into Portree to continue celebrating there. Lexie planned to bail when they went to Portree and get an early night instead.

“Change of plan,” Leana said when she wandered in with Alasdair. “We’re going to Nick’s. There’s beer and wine there.”

“Why?” Lexie asked, cocking her head.

“Elspeth’s idea,” Alasdair said.

Leana grinned. “She says we never have house parties any more.”

“Because we’re not fifteen any more,” Lexie said.

“We were all keen for a nosey around Nick’s house anyway. Have you been in there yet?”

“Nope.” Lexie walked around the bar, pausing to say goodbye to her dad.

“Are you getting changed?” Leana asked when they walked out of the pub together.

“No,” Lexie replied, curling her lip slightly. “Why would I get changed to hang out at Nick’s?”

“We’re still going to Portree later.”

“I’m not.”

“You’ll change your mind after a couple of drinks,” Alasdair said.

She shook her head but couldn’t be bothered to argue the point. There was no way she was risking another day of being hungover at work. And she’d find it difficult to stay sober surrounded by so many couples. Then there was the thought of bumping into Craig. She’d definitely rather have an early night.

“I thought Logan didn’t like Nick,” Lexie said as they approached Nick’s place.

“Apparently they’ve bonded over the house,” Leana said. “A renovation project is heaven for Logan.”

After knocking on the weathered wood of the front door, Alasdair tried the handle. “Locked.”

“Hang on,” Nick’s voice called from inside. The handle wiggled and the wood shifted slightly in the door jamb. Then the door burst open and Nick stumbled backwards. “There’s a knack to it,” he said, sounding slightly out of breath.

“Nice place,” Leana said with a grimace as they walked into the kitchen.

“It definitely needs some work,” Nick said.

Alasdair sniffed. “What’s that smell?”

“Not sure.”

“It smells like something died,” Leana added.

“I keep opening windows.” Nick pushed the window above the sink open wider. “But the smell won’t go. You sort of get used to it after a while. The upstairs doesn’t smell, so that’s one good thing.”

Lexie gazed around the drab kitchen. A couple of cupboard doors were hanging at angles and the lino floor was a grisly shade of grey. It was sticky too. There was a squeak any time anyone lifted a foot.

“I don’t have wine glasses, so I just got beers.” Nick opened the fridge and handed out bottles. “Hope that’s okay?”

“I got roped into driving to Portree,” Alasdair said, declining the beer. “My car’s in the pub car park.”

“Beer’s fine with me,” Lexie said as she took one. She forced a smile.

Nick looked a little flustered. “I tried to tell Elspeth it wasn’t a good place to hang out.”

Elspeth’s voice drifted from another room. “At least if we trash the place it’s not going to look any worse.”

As Nick led them through to the living room, Lexie’s eyes darted around. She’d heard the place was a dump but somehow she’d thought that was an exaggeration. Now it felt unfair to dumps. It was awful. And Nick said he’d been doing some work on the place already. It was hard to imagine what exactly he’d done. In the hallway, wallpaper was peeling off the walls. The brown carpet had a yellow patch that looked like someone might have spilled bleach.

“It’s going to look amazing after a few adjustments,” Logan said. He was perched on the arm of a chair beside Isla. Lexie crossed the room and hugged him as she wished him happy birthday. To be fair, the living room didn’t look as though it needed quite so much work. The large beige rug taking over most of the floor looked new. On one wall, a large fireplace made a nice feature.

“I’m telling you,” Logan continued after a round of greetings. “Once the carpets are out of here and the wallpaper’s been stripped, the place will look great. When the new kitchen’s in it’ll be unrecognisable.”

“Ever the optimist,” Leana remarked.

Alasdair dropped onto the couch beside Elspeth. “When’s the kitchen arriving?” he asked.

“Week after next,” Nick said.

Alasdair nodded. “If you need any help give me a shout.”

“Thanks.”

“What about putting a deck out the back?” Logan suggested.

“Ooh, that’s a brilliant idea,” Elspeth said.

Nick looked thoughtful. “A deck would be great, but considering