rain check on that drink?” he asked Jonathan.
“Not at all. I’ll be over to visit Mum tomorrow anyway so I’ll see you then. How’s she doing today?”
“Okay,” Nick replied. When he made for the door, Lexie said a quick goodbye to Jonathan and followed him.
“That’s so weird,” she said as she caught up to Nick. “I should have guessed he’s your brother. You’re so alike.” It wasn’t so much the looks but the mannerisms and the way they spoke. “I even told him that he reminded me of a friend. I should have known you were related.”
Nick gave her a smile that was so forced it made her uncomfortable. “Are you going back to the apartment?”
“Yeah.” She held up her shopping bag. “I bought myself a sandwich for dinner.”
Nick continued walking without speaking. He seemed annoyed, but Lexie couldn’t figure out why. Was he annoyed that she’d been talking to his brother? Surely he didn’t think she’d been flirting with him? “Do you want to walk me back?” she asked, trying to stay upbeat and hoping he’d snap out of his bad mood.
“Sure,” he said with a sigh.
It was a painfully quiet walk. Lexie tried to strike up conversation but Nick seemed completely uninterested. When they reached the door, he clearly had no intention of coming inside.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Aye.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I’ll see you back on Skye sometime I guess.”
Lexie hated how detached he sounded. She snatched at his sleeve as he made to walk away. “What did I do now?”
“Nothing.” His gaze met hers before dropping to the ground. “It’s just weird to find you telling my brother about the guy you like.”
So he’d heard that. She smiled sadly. To her it was so obvious she’d been talking about Nick, but apparently that didn’t even occur to him. “Come inside for a minute,” she said, nodding in that direction.
He shook his head and shrugged her off.
“Please,” she said desperately. “Give me a few minutes to explain.”
After a moment’s hesitation he followed her in. Lexie’s heart pounded as she walked into the middle of the living room. After all the effort she’d put in to making sure nobody suspected her true feelings, she was about to undo it all. Nick perched on the arm of the couch while she paced. If she didn’t explain herself quickly, he probably wouldn’t hang around.
“I didn’t know he was your brother,” she said. “I thought it was just a random guy. I would never have talked to him like that if I’d known who he was.”
“It wasn’t who you were talking to that bothered me. And I know I’ve no right to say anything but––”
“Stop,” she said, cutting him off. “Just let me talk for a second, please.”
His eyes bored into her as he waited for her explanation.
Lexie’s mouth was dry and she swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t have said that stuff if I’d known Jonathan was your brother because I was talking about you.”
His features didn’t change. There was no reaction at all.
“The guy I like is you,” she said, trying a smile.
Nick’s cheek twitched and he opened his mouth to speak, then closed it without a word.
“Can you really not see that?”
“No.” His eyebrows knitted together. “Because you’ve made it very clear you don’t like me in that way. We spent the night together, then you regretted it so much that you kicked me out of your house.”
“I regret kicking you out,” she said firmly. “But I don’t regret that night. I loved it. And I think about it all the time.”
He dropped his gaze. “I’m very confused.”
“You shouldn’t be. Why on earth do you think I’m in Fort William?”
“I don’t know.”
She moved to sit on the couch. “I missed you. And I knew you were hurting. I couldn’t stand the thought of it. I needed to be near you.”
Nick rubbed at his temples, a look of complete bewilderment on his features. “You always knew I liked you. And you made it very clear it wasn’t mutual.”
“It was always mutual.” She couldn’t quite pinpoint how long she’d had feelings for Nick, but it had been a long time. “I just didn’t want you to know.”
“Why?” he asked, gazing at her intently.
She shook her head. “I didn’t think I could cope with a serious relationship. Or any relationship, really. I’m still not sure I can.”
He stood and paced the room. “You know I can’t be in a casual relationship.”
“I know,” she whispered. “That’s why I thought