Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,71

tomorrow.” He planted a kiss on her forehead before leaving.

Lexie felt her mum’s eyes on her as she went back behind the bar. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m just a bit worried you’re going to make the regulars nervous if you keep smiling like that.”

“Leave me alone,” Lexie said lightly. “I’m happy.”

Mary gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “It’s nice to see. Have you told Leana and Elspeth yet?”

“No. I’ve been here all day. I might go over to Leana’s in the morning and have a proper chat with her.”

“I don’t know why you’re putting it off. Leana’s your best friend. She’ll be delighted for you.”

“I’m not putting it off,” Lexie said. “I’ve hardly had a chance to talk to Leana since I got back.”

That wasn’t entirely true. She should have told her the truth when Leana asked how her trip was. Her mum was probably right – Leana would be happy for her. But she couldn’t shake the niggling doubts. If Leana wasn’t happy for her, it would really put a dampener on Lexie’s good mood. Part of her wanted to keep it a secret so she didn’t have to deal with other people’s opinions. Contrary to what Nick had once said to her, she really did care what other people thought. At least those closest to her anyway. She was certain not everyone would be happy for them, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to defend her feelings.

After her shift, she was tempted to go to Nick’s place and snuggle up with him instead of getting into her cold, empty bed. She almost laughed at herself. Who would have thought she’d be the clingy one in the relationship? If anything, she’d have guessed Nick would be the one to come on too strong, but she felt as though it was her who’d need to slow things down a little. The trouble was, now that she could finally show him how she felt, she couldn’t get enough of him.

Lexie was due to work at the pub at lunchtime on Tuesday. It gave her time for a walk around the loch in the morning. She was going to visit Leana and tell her everything. It would probably be an emotional morning, but she was feeling positive about getting their friendship back to the way it had been when they were teenagers and shared everything. That had all stopped when Lexie had returned from her stint living with Stephanie. She’d kept everyone at arm’s length for so long, but she was ready to move on from that chapter of her life.

Leana looked a little taken aback when she opened the door to Lexie. To be fair, it was unusual for her to call over unannounced.

“Morning!” she said brightly. “Is this a good time?”

“Yes!” Leana smiled and stepped aside. “Come in. We were just having a late breakfast. Do you want a coffee?”

“Please.” Once again, Lexie marvelled at her friend’s home as she followed her down the hall to the large, airy kitchen. No matter how many times she was there, she was always amazed by the stunning house. It really did look like a show home.

“Hi!” Alasdair said as he munched on toast.

“Sorry,” Lexie said, standing by the window to take in the view through the trees. The leaves had fallen since the last time she’d visited and you could easily see through the bare branches to the loch now. “I didn’t mean to disturb your breakfast.”

“No worries. We’re just finishing anyway.” Alasdair stood and crossed the room, pausing in the doorway to look at Leana. “I’ll call Josh quickly, then we’ll go, shall we?”

She nodded as she poured a coffee for Lexie.

“Was he talking about Josh Bane?” Lexie asked when Alasdair disappeared upstairs.

“Yeah.” Leana smiled as she handed her the coffee. “That’s still a bit weird, isn’t it?”

“That your boyfriend is friends with a rock star?” She grinned. “I reckon that will always be a bit weird. Are you going out?” she asked as they moved through to the living room.

“We’re going over to Inverness for the day. We need to get a few more things for the house. We’ll have dinner over there, make a day of it. I feel like I need a change of scenery, even if it is only for a day.”

“Leana!” Alasdair called, before wandering in. “If you’re not working until tomorrow evening, do you want to stay overnight in Inverness? I can have a look for a hotel. That’ll be