Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,33
find Nick humming along to the radio as he cooked.
“Good morning,” he said without turning from the stove.
The kitchen table was set with plates, cutlery and a glass of orange juice each. Lexie smiled to herself before her stomach twisted into a tight knot. Her heart raced.
What had she done? She wasn’t supposed to get involved with anyone. That was her rule. She never deviated from it, and as a result she never needed to worry about getting hurt. But she’d slept with Nick. She liked Nick. How had she let that happen?
Her hands were sweating, and she wiped them on her pyjama trousers. She was going to get hurt and she couldn’t stand the thought of it.
“Are you hungry?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Not really.” She swallowed hard. Her appetite had disappeared in an instant.
“In that case, I hope you don’t mind watching me eat?”
“I don’t do breakfast,” she mumbled.
“I feel as though I should point out that it’s the most important meal of the day.”
Lexie squeezed her eyes tight shut, wishing she was anywhere but there. Then she took a deep breath and pulled herself together, searching for the tone of indifference that she’d spent years perfecting. “I mean I don’t eat breakfast with guys I sleep with.” She forced herself to keep her cool as she waited for him to look at her. When he did, she nearly cracked. His puzzled expression was almost too much to bear.
“This whole domestic arrangement is a bit much for me,” she went on. “Usually I’d get up and leave but we’re at my place so …” She trailed off and tipped her head in the direction of the front door.
“What?” He stared at her as though waiting for her to say she was joking.
“I’m subtly hinting for you to leave.”
“But last night …”
“Last night we had sex.” She shrugged. “That’s all.”
“I thought …”
She rolled her eyes. “You thought I was your girlfriend now?” Standing straighter, she folded her arms across her chest. “No. It was just sex. And I’ve got stuff to get on with so I need you to leave.”
He stared at her for a painfully long time. As she held his gaze, her cool expression didn’t flicker. Finally, he turned back to the stove and turned the hob off before pushing the frying pan to the back burner. The clatter as it hit the back wall rang around the room, cutting through the silence and making Lexie wince. He didn’t look at her as he grabbed his jacket from the chair and shoved his feet in his shoes. The sound of the door slamming behind him cut to Lexie’s core.
She let out a long breath and took a seat at the table. For a moment, she stared at the flowery pattern on the plate in front of her. If she let herself feel anything she’d start crying and wouldn’t be able to stop. So she quashed her emotions, refusing to let anything hurt her.
After a few gulps of orange juice she fetched the plate of pancakes from beside the stove. She cut a large piece with the side of her fork and opened her mouth wide to fit it in. They were light and fluffy and delicious. After drizzling an obscene amount of syrup over them, she continued shovelling pancakes into her mouth. When she focused on the pancakes it distracted her from thinking about anything else. And that was what she needed – one distraction after another until enough time had gone by that throwing Nick out of the house was a distant memory.
At the activity centre she threw herself into every task with gusto. There was a chance she was teetering over to the manic side of cheerful as she interacted with the customers. It didn’t matter, though; she just needed to keep her mind from Nick and not let herself dwell on what she’d done. Somehow she managed that for the whole day. Only when she was at home and standing under the warm shower did her mind begin to drift.
Quickly, she stepped out from the water and got dressed.
Rain was falling in a fine drizzle when she hurried over to the pub.
“You can’t keep away, can you?” Leana remarked from behind the bar.
“I thought I could take over so you can have the evening off.”
“You want to take my shift?” Leana asked with a puzzled expression.
“You’ve taken enough of mine over the years. Thought it might be time I repaid the favour.”