She pressed her lips together.
“Leana just called me,” he said, changing the subject.
“Really? How come?”
“She’s asked me to host a quiz night at the pub!”
Lexie put a hand over her mouth but failed to stifle the snort of laughter.
“Do you think I’ll be good at it? Leana thought I’d be perfect.”
“You’ll be brilliant,” she said. No wonder Leana had seemed so excited by the idea. Nick really would be perfect for it.
“Finally a use for my brain full of trivia. I’m quite excited about it. She said maybe we could try it next weekend, and if it goes well make it a regular thing. I’ll get free food and drinks in the pub.”
“I think I could organise that for you anyway.”
“I don’t need you to now,” he said. “But you could do me one favour.”
“What?”
“Can you please tell people about us? Elspeth seems to be on a mission to set me up with Meghan and it’s getting a bit awkward. She’s not exactly subtle.”
“I heard about you having dinner with her.”
“You can’t complain. It’s all your fault. Just tell them.”
“I will. I’ve been waiting for the right moment, but I don’t think there is one.” She paused. “So how was your dinner date?”
“You’re not allowed to be jealous,” he said through a gentle laugh.
“I’m not jealous.” That was a lie. She was insanely jealous, but he was right – she’d brought it on herself. “I only asked how it was.”
“It was fine. Meghan’s struggling with going through her gran’s stuff. I feel sorry for her.”
“She was telling me about it in the pub the other night.” There was some noise in the background, then Nick’s muffled voice as he shouted something in reply.
“I need to go,” he said. “I’m off out for a drink with Jonathan.”
“Tell him I said hello.” Lexie wished him goodnight before ending the call.
As she leaned onto the arm of the chair, she pondered telling Leana about her and Nick. They were going over to Portree the following evening for dinner and drinks. Going for a night out just the two of them had become a rare occurrence, and Lexie was looking forward to it. It would definitely give her time to tell Leana everything that had happened with Nick.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Shall we go to the Merchant Bar?” Leana asked, slipping her arm through Lexie’s as they walked away from the car and down the main street in Portree on Saturday evening.
“No. We’re going to be civilised and go to a restaurant. We spend most of our time in a pub. Let’s do something different.”
“Who are you?” Leana said in a silly voice. “And what did you do with my best friend?”
“Maybe I grew up,” Lexie said.
“Well that’s disappointing.”
“You never really liked it when I was a party animal anyway.”
“Only because I couldn’t keep up with you. But I really want to go in the Merchant Bar.” She tugged on Lexie’s arm. “There’s always a nice atmosphere in there.”
Lexie stopped on the pavement. “Please tell me this isn’t some matchmaking scheme.”
“What do you mean?” Leana’s attempt at looking innocent was quite pathetic.
“You’re suddenly desperate to take me to the bar where Craig works …”
“I like it in there.”
Lexie pursed her lips. “You better not be trying to set me up. What’s the plan? Is Alasdair going to call you when we get there with some reason why you need to leave? And you’ll conveniently leave me alone with Craig?”
“No.” Leana sighed. “I’m not as good at this stuff as Elspeth. I just thought Craig might be working and we could hang out there …”
“So you’ve not been in touch with him?”
“No. I swear.”
“Good.” Lexie took Leana’s arm again and marched her across the road.
“Where are we going?” Leana asked.
“I don’t care. But not the Merchant Bar. I’ve known Craig for years. If I wanted to be with him, I would.”
“Sorry. I think it’s because I’m so happy with Alasdair that I want to find someone for you too.”
“Well, I may have some news for you. Pick somewhere for dinner and I’ll tell you all about it as soon as we’re out of the cold.”
“How about the Indian restaurant? I haven’t had Indian food for ages.”
Lexie’s mouth began to water at the thought and they turned in that direction.
“I can’t believe you thought you could set me up with Craig,” Lexie said, once they were seated in the middle of the restaurant.
“I’m definitely not as good as Elspeth at matchmaking.”
“No. And I’m not sure why you think Craig