Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,76
they were kissing when I came back in. They jumped apart so quickly. I asked Meghan afterwards and she claimed nothing happened and they’re just friends, but that’s not the vibe I was getting.”
Lexie took a long sip of wine. “You do realise they’re grown adults and can probably manage their own love lives?”
“Some people need a nudge,” Elspeth insisted. “Besides, that wasn’t the date I was talking about.” She paused, glancing at the clock behind the bar. “Meghan and Nick are having dinner together as we speak.”
“How’ve you managed that?” Leana asked as Lexie’s heart rate went haywire.
“I asked Nick to meet me for a quick dinner in Portree before he set off back to Fort William for the weekend. Then I thought I’d see if Meghan wanted to join.” She beamed at Leana. “And then, would you believe it, I had some customers arrive at the cafe right when I was about to set off. And what with business being slow at this time of year, I couldn’t bring myself to turn them away.”
“There were no customers, were there?” Leana asked, amused.
“No. Unless Nick asks.”
“Are you sure interfering with people’s love lives is a good idea?” Lexie asked, trying not to think about Nick and Meghan out for dinner together. “If Nick finds out you’re meddling, he won’t like it.”
“By the time Nick finds out, he’ll be all loved up with Meghan and will thank me.”
“I’m not so sure,” Lexie said, wishing she’d gone straight home instead of hanging around to chat to Elspeth.
“You should be thanking me too,” Elspeth went on. “I think I’ve finally cured him of his crush on you.”
“It never really bothered me,” Lexie mumbled.
“He had you on a pedestal,” Elspeth said. “And it was probably more a case of wanting what you can’t have. No offence.”
Lexie couldn’t even be bothered to hide her irritation. “Do you realise people only add ‘no offence’ to a sentence when they say something really offensive?”
“Sorry,” Elspeth said with a shrug. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Nick hasn’t called to shout at me so he can’t have been too bothered about me leaving him to have dinner with Meghan alone.”
“Are you okay?” Lexie asked Leana, who was staring into space.
“I’m thinking about wolverines.”
“What about them?” Lexie asked, then took a sip of her wine.
“I was just thinking it would make a great pub quiz question … I could print out a picture of one and see who knows what it is. I bet hardly anyone knows. Do you think Mary and Angus would let me resurrect the pub quiz? It might drum up a bit of business.” She looked pointedly around the quiet room.
“Maybe,” Lexie mused. “They never did very well in the past.”
Leana’s eyes sparkled as an excited grin spread over her face. “I have the best idea! I’m going to run it by your mum now.”
“Well, I’m going home,” Lexie said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Don’t leave me to drink alone,” Elspeth complained.
“Meghan’s here now,” Lexie said as she stood to leave.
Elspeth turned on her stool. “Sorry, I missed dinner,” she said to Meghan.
“Don’t worry about it,” Meghan said. “Nick’s so sweet. We had a nice chat.”
Lexie forced herself to smile as she continued to the door. “Have a good night,” she called behind her.
When Nick phoned later that evening, Lexie muted the volume on a documentary she was watching about the Amazon rainforest. It was surprising to her that she’d turned into the sort of person who adopted their boyfriend’s interests and wore his clothes when he wasn’t there. The hoodie was extremely comfy, though. And the Amazon rainforest was a fascinating place.
As soon as she heard his voice she thought about the fact he’d had dinner with Meghan and felt a stab of jealousy. It was completely irrational and was one of the reasons she’d always been happy to keep people at a distance. Letting Nick in had meant she’d opened herself to a whole load of heartache.
“You made it to Fort William okay?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“How’s your mum?”
“She’s doing okay. I noticed quite a difference. The physio’s really helping her. She’s much steadier on her feet now. She seemed more cheerful too.”
“That’s good.”
“It’s a relief. How’s everything with you?”
“Fine. I’m just chilling out in front of the TV.”
“What are you watching?”
She grimaced as a sloth crept along a branch on the TV screen. “Wolverine,” she said slowly.
He laughed. “The X-Men film?”
“That’s the one.”
“So I haven’t converted you to nature programmes yet?”