Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,64

give up on me.” She paused. “I’m probably not going to be Elspeth’s favourite person when she finds out about us.”

Nick trailed his fingers across her shoulder. “Why?”

“She won’t like it.” Lexie imagined how Elspeth would react. And Leana too. They’d definitely be shocked. And she was sure they weren’t going to be thrilled by the news.

“Elspeth will be happy for us,” Nick said idly.

Lexie dropped her gaze to her lap. “No, she won’t.”

“Why?”

She chewed on her thumbnail. “I’m sure they all think you can do better than me.” The look that flashed across Nick’s features didn’t go unnoticed. “Elspeth already told you that, didn’t she?”

“Maybe, but it was ages ago and I don’t think she really meant it. She meant I could do better than chase someone who wasn’t interested in me.”

“Everyone likes you a lot more than they like me,” Lexie said.

“That’s not true.”

“It is.” She wasn’t looking for reassurance. It was a fact, and it wasn’t surprising. She’d spent a long time keeping people at a distance to avoid getting hurt. That didn’t make her the most likeable person. Nick, on the other hand, was the sort of person who always went out of his way to help others. He was friendly and cheerful. Of course he was well liked.

“Don’t say anything to Elspeth until I’ve talked to her,” Lexie said. “It’ll be better if she hears it from me. And I want to tell Leana. I don’t want her hearing it from someone else.”

“Okay.” His features fell serious. “They’ll be happy for us. I promise.”

Lexie took a deep breath. “I wish I had your confidence.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Even though she’d see him the next day, Lexie felt emotional when she said goodbye to Nick and set off back to Skye. The week in Fort William had been an odd one. She’d had no idea what she was doing when she’d arrived less than a week ago, but she left with a sense of clarity. Life was going to be different from then on.

Opening up about her past felt like leaving some of it behind. It was a long time since she’d felt optimistic about anything, but she was sure she was moving into a new chapter of her life. The fact that Nick would be in it made her smile at regular intervals on the journey home.

As she reached Lannick, the setting sun had bathed everything in an orange glow, which lifted Lexie’s spirits even further. Slowing through the village, she glanced at Nick’s house. The front door was open and Logan stood chatting to an older-looking guy in the front garden.

After parking her car at the bunkhouse, she walked back down the road.

“What’s going on?” she asked Logan as she pushed the front gate open. It swung easily on the hinges and the wood looked brand new. The guy Logan had been talking to was getting in his car.

“We’ve been doing a few more jobs.” Logan rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead. “I’m a bit nervous about how Nick’s going to react. It’s all stuff he’d talked about doing but still …”

“What have you done?”

“We fitted the kitchen last weekend. Then I was just going to put the new bathroom in but a few of the guys from the college called, volunteering to help and offering materials.” He paused, glancing around and looking completely exhausted. “I just kept doing jobs over the week. Some painting, and a new front door. A guy came and cleared the chimney, the garden’s all neat and tidy. And I put a deck at the back.”

“Wow!” Lexie said.

Logan shifted his weight. “Isla and Elspeth kept saying Nick will appreciate it and it’ll be a nice surprise for him to come back to, but I’m a bit nervous I’ve overstepped.”

“He’ll love it,” Lexie said, slightly overcome with emotion. “You’re such a nice guy.”

“Shut up!” He gave her a playful shove. “Don’t start spreading rumours like that. It’s going to ruin my bad-boy image.”

“Not sure you have a bad-boy image, Logan.” She grinned. “And you always made out you weren’t a big fan of Nick.”

“He’s a geek,” he said with a smirk. “I don’t like him.”

“Yeah, right.”

“How was your trip?” Logan asked, changing the subject.

“Fine.” She had a flash of panic that he was going to ask her about it and she wouldn’t know how to reply.

“You can go in and have a look, if you want?” He tipped his chin towards the house. “The girls are all in there somewhere.