Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,52

cold she mightn’t feel the blisters so much.

When the path became covered in snow, she was sure Nick would insist they give up and turn back. The path was dotted with stone cairns at fifty-metre intervals to mark the way, but even so, she expected Nick to say it wasn’t safe. Surprisingly, he kept on, only stopping when Lexie lost her footing. His arm shot out to stop her from falling.

“Sorry,” she panted, completely out of breath.

“We’re almost there,” he said. “Can you make it?”

“I think so. But if you say it’s not safe I’m not going to argue.”

Nick puffed his cheeks out as he scanned the surroundings. It was slightly dizzying to look down on the small town of Fort William and the rugged green and brown terrain of the surrounding Highlands.

“It seems a shame to turn back now,” he said, a look of concentration on his face as he continued to survey the area. “Sit down.” He pointed to a rock nearby.

Thankful to take the weight off her feet, Lexie did as she was told. Nick shrugged his backpack off his shoulders and began rooting around in it. “Give me your foot,” he said, unfolding a string of metal and rubber that Lexie squinted at.

“You’ve got crampons?” she asked as he secured them to her hiking boots.

“They’re not the best, but they should stop you from slipping.”

She watched with quiet admiration as he put another pair on his own shoes. Then he held out a hand and pulled her up. The spikes made a huge difference. She felt much sturdier on the frozen ground.

“We’ll need to hurry,” he said. “And we can’t hang around at the top. Take a photo, have your epiphany or whatever” – he flashed a cheeky grin – “then we go. Okay?”

She nodded, enjoying the way the crampons crunched into the thin layer of snow. “I thought there’d be more people around. They call it the tourist path, but we haven’t seen many people.”

“I told you, it’s the wrong time of year. The staff at the visitor centre will advise people not to go further than the loch if they don’t know what they’re doing. The conditions can change too quickly.”

“But we’re going up anyway? I’m surprised at you being so reckless!”

He smiled widely. “I thought I’d never hear the end of it if I didn’t get you to the top. Besides, I know what I’m doing.”

Lexie glanced away as she was struck by a memory of the night they’d spent together. As he’d slowly laid kisses all over her, she’d joked that he’d known what he was doing then too. She flushed at the memory, then stopped abruptly and gazed out over the stunning view.

As she watched Nick walking confidently ahead of her, she was filled with longing. She didn’t want him to just be her friend any more. After so long avoiding letting anyone close, he’d got under her skin. He made her want to break her “no relationship” rule. But the previous evening he’d rejected her. If she wanted to be with him, it was clear she was going to have to convince him of exactly how she felt about him. The thought terrified her.

“Come on!” Nick stood a little way ahead, beaming back at her. “A few more minutes and you’ve made it.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lexie’s feet were agony. The muscles in her legs complained too, and her back had some issues with the weight of the backpack, which felt as though it got steadily heavier the more she walked.

None of it seemed to matter when she stood on a rock at the summit of Ben Nevis.

“Is now a good time to say I told you so?” she asked, grinning at Nick as she fought to catch her breath. The final part of the walk had been gruelling but the view was well worth it. It felt so far removed from civilisation. The so-called tourist path looked like a winding line down the mountainside. She could see Fort William and Loch Linnhe below.

“I didn’t doubt you could make it,” Nick said. “I just wasn’t sure the weather was going to allow it.”

“Yeah right.” Lexie inhaled the crisp air, proud of the achievement. “We’re above the clouds,” she said as bright fluffy clouds drifted a little further below.

Nick nodded and looked slightly nervous. “We should get going. You’ll have nothing to brag about if you don’t make it back down safely.”

“I trust you,” she said. “You’ll make sure I make it down in