Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,75
How did she not know this? And did everyone know there was an animal called a wolverine or was it just Nick’s extensive knowledge about nature?
“Is it like a wolf?” she asked, still half expecting him to say he was joking.
“It’s like a small bear.” He sank back into the couch. “Technically it’s a large weasel.”
Lexie continued to stare at him as the programme started.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.
“Do you think I’m really stupid?”
“No.” He pulled her back onto the couch and draped an arm around her.
“I had no idea a wolverine was an animal.”
“Well, now you do.” He planted a quick kiss on her cheek and she shuffled to get comfy against his chest.
An hour later she smiled up at Nick. “I can’t believe I never knew they existed.” He grunted and blinked his eyes open. Lexie gasped. “Did you just sleep through that?”
“I might have nodded off for some of it.”
“So now I know more about wolverines than you!”
“You look very happy about that,” he said with a smirk.
“You’re kind of a know-it-all,” she said. “It’s nice to think there’s a subject I know more about than you.”
“I’m sure there are loads of things you know more about.”
“It’s also slightly disturbing that you fell asleep for the nature documentary while I stayed glued to it.”
“I think I’ve spent about three years telling you that you’d love them if you gave them a try.”
“How does it feel to be right about everything?” she asked, entwining her fingers with his.
“Similar to how it feels to know about everything!”
She ran her thumb across the back of his hand. “Did you know that baby wolverines are called kits?”
“Yes. Because they’re a member of the weasel family, so that’s kind of obvious.”
“Now you’re being obnoxious!”
Grinning, he pulled her closer. “I might already have known that, but I didn’t know how hot it is when you start spouting facts.”
“Wolverines also have a thick water-resistant coat,” she said, affecting the tone of a wildlife presenter. “Because of that, they were once hunted almost to extinction for their fur.”
She laughed when he pushed her back onto the couch, kissing her deeply.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Lexie had just finished her shift on Friday evening when Elspeth hurried inside, shivering and bringing a blast of cold air with her.
“Stay and have a drink with me,” she said when she saw Lexie with her coat.
“Go on then.” Lexie went back around the bar and poured them both a glass of wine to save Leana a job. Not that it was busy. Her dad had gone upstairs in the middle of the afternoon when there was nothing to do, and her mum sat with a friend at a table by the fire.
“Did you know a wolverine is a real animal?” Lexie asked as she slid onto the stool beside Elspeth.
Leana raised her eyebrows to a puzzled expression as she pulled a pint for a guy at the end of the bar.
“Aye,” Elspeth said. “They look like small bears.”
Lexie sighed. “Nick mentioned that he’d watched a documentary about them, and I felt really thick because I didn’t know it was an animal.”
“I would have said it’s a character in the X-Men films,” Leana said. “I’ve never heard of the animal.”
Elspeth pushed her red hair over her shoulders. “To be fair, I think I only know from spending too much time with Nick.”
“It’s a bear?” Leana asked. It was a relief to see her looking completely confused.
“Look.” Lexie showed her a picture on her phone.
“Wow!” Leana took it for a closer look. “They’re cute. I thought it would be something a bit scary-looking.”
“I did a bit of research after Nick mentioned them,” she said.
Elspeth twirled the stem of her wine glass. “For a moment, I thought Nick had finally convinced you to watch a nature programme with him.”
“They might actually be okay,” she said slowly. “I mean Nick’s knowledge is pretty amazing…” She trailed off. Why couldn’t she just tell them? Or they could make it easy for her and guess. Surely now they should tease her about coming around to the idea of watching nature documentaries with him and then she could tell them.
“Speaking of Nick,” Elspeth said, “I set him up on a date with Meghan.”
Lexie frowned. “Leana told me. You invited them both over for dinner then subtly left them alone.”