Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,86

“We’re just finishing but I can put more on if you’re hungry?”

“I’m fine thanks.” Her gaze flicked to Leana. “Have you got time for a chat?”

Leana swallowed her mouthful. “Just let me finish my coffee. I really need the caffeine.”

“Sit down, love.” Keith offered Lexie his chair as he stood and began to clear the plates.

“Do you want a coffee?” Christine asked.

“No, I’m okay.” She looked down as something grazed her leg under the table. For a moment she thought it must be the dog before she remembered seeing him outside.

“Hello!” Arran beamed at her when she peeked under the table.

“Hi,” she said, leaning back in the chair as he crawled onto her lap. He poked her cheek with a sticky finger and she couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“Leave Lexie alone,” Elspeth said, her voice low as though it was an effort to speak. “Who wants to look after him today while I go back to bed?”

“You realise you have to open the cafe?” Christine said.

“Not sure I can manage it.”

“I guess Nick will be getting a permanent gig with the quiz night,” Logan said. “Profits must have been way up last night.”

“Next time I’m not drinking,” Elspeth groaned.

Christine rolled her eyes. “I’ve heard that one before.”

“Meghan just messaged me,” Elspeth said, squinting at her phone screen. “She’s blaming me for her hangover. Which I think is a bit unfair.”

“I’d say it’s all her fault,” Leana said. “If she hadn’t been so good at the quiz, you wouldn’t have won the vouchers and carried on drinking.”

“I should probably take some of the blame then too,” Logan said with a grin. “I was quite good at the quiz.”

The rest of them erupted with laughter.

“It’s a shame Nick left so early,” Elspeth said. “I had a plan to get him to walk Meghan home.”

The room fell oddly silent and Lexie focused on Arran, who was twirling her hair around his finger.

“Meghan’s not interested in Nick,” she said quietly. “You may as well give up.”

“I don’t like to give up.” Elspeth had a hint of mischief in her eyes as she looked at Lexie. “And I’m sure she does like Nick. Who wouldn’t? He’s lovely.”

“Yeah.” Lexie tried to smile at Arran as her chest tightened. “He is lovely. I like him.”

The silence in the room was horrible. If it weren’t for Arran on her lap, Lexie would have been tempted to bolt.

“What?” Elspeth asked.

“I like Nick.” Lexie’s chin wobbled and her eyes filled with tears. “So I’d appreciate it if you stopped trying to set him up with Meghan.”

“You like Nick?” Leana asked.

“Yes.” She sniffed. “And I realise you all think he can do better for himself, but that’s not for you to decide.”

She pushed tears from her cheeks and felt like a complete idiot.

The silence was broken by a chair screeching on the tiles as Alasdair stood up. “We should probably get on with that thing,” he said, looking pointedly at Logan.

“I’m sorry,” Lexie said, turning to Christine as Logan and Alasdair slipped discreetly out of the house. “I’ve barged in and disrupted your breakfast.”

Keith put a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze which made her eyes fill up even more. He lifted Arran from her lap. “You’ve got nothing to apologise for,” he said. “It’s my daughters who need to say sorry. And possibly us for not raising them better.” He glared at Leana and Elspeth as he crossed the room with Arran on his arm. “We told you to stay out of it.” He shook his head and left the room with Christine following after him.

“What does he mean?” Lexie asked, licking salty tears from her lips.

“We don’t think Nick can do better than you,” Leana said with a pained expression. “I promise we didn’t think that.”

“But you wanted to set him up with Meghan. And you made it clear that you thought he should be with someone like her.”

“Of course he shouldn’t be with Meghan.” Elspeth bit her lip. “They’d make a terrible couple.”

“But …” Lexie trailed off, completely confused.

Leana came and sat beside Lexie. “We wanted you and Nick to get together.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m so sorry,” Elspeth said. “I thought that if I pretended to get him and Meghan together, you’d finally realise how you felt. We were trying to get you together with him the whole time.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

Leana’s forehead creased. “It’s been so obvious that you like him, but you always denied it. And you looked so jealous whenever Nick