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Get what I want? I can’t think of anything more awkward than spending an hour on a small raft with this woman. R2 rafting—two-person rafting—is a pretty intimate thing.
Thankfully, Emily doesn’t jump at the offer. She stalls. “Er . . .”
“It’d be free of charge, of course,” Aidan goes on. “Like I say, we’ve not set up a company yet, so it’d just be an informal thing, like two friends going out. We don’t have all the paperwork and insurance and stuff like that in place yet, but Ally knows what he’s doing. He knows every turn of the river. We’ve been going down it since we were kids.”
What is he playing at? Behind the reception desk, I give him a kick in the shin, but his damn cocky smirk doesn’t falter for even a moment.
“Oh, well . . . would you be okay with that?” Emily asks me. “I don’t want to impose, but I think . . . I think it’s exactly what I need. And . . . well, it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been out on the river together, if you remember?”
Going white-water rafting with the pretty girl from London? Of course I remember that. It’s a treasured memory and something I was hugely proud of at the time. I try not to give any emotion away in my gaze, though. Instead, with a neutral expression, I say, “Aye, I remember.”
Aidan glances between us, puzzled. “You two know each other? How? I thought Emily was just a guest here.”
“She visited the hotel when we were kids.”
“And you went rafting with her? Wait . . .” Aidan frowns, like he’s trying to dredge up a memory from long ago. He leans close to me and whispers, “She’s not the lass you took into the secret den, is she? The one you—”
I elbow Aidan to shut him up.
“No way!” He laughs then looks between us again, like he’s still trying to get his head around this. “What’s going on here? You two shared a childhood holiday romance, and now you’ve reunited after twenty years? This is fantastic!”
“Seventeen years,” I correct, struggling to keep my voice level. I’m close to losing it at Aidan.
He must pick up on my tension, but he carries on regardless. “Emily, Ally used to go on and on about you. Personally, I thought he was making you up. I never met you, and I’m trying to think why that was. Hmm, maybe I was away on holiday with my family when you came here. Aye, I think that was it. Anyway, when I came back to Bannock, Ally kept on going on about how he’d kissed some lass. I was sure he was lying: there was no way in hell Ally McIntyre could have had his first kiss before me. But then he showed me the secret den—our secret den, the place Ally and I liked to hang out—and there it was, carved in wood till the end of time: a and e. Ally was so bloody smug.”
“All right then, Aidan, sorry again about your wrist.” I place a hand against his back and try to guide him away. “I’ll catch up with you sometime later, eh?”
“Pfft, you’re not getting rid of me that easily. You violated the sanctity of our secret den—our childhood hangout—for Emily here. Afterwards, whenever we went in there to play video games or whatever, I saw those initials. I half thought you’d made it all up and carved it yourself while I was away. Now, though, after all these years, there’s proof it happened: here she is, in the flesh. There’s so much I want to ask!”
Despite her looking wet and frazzled, Emily’s cheeks redden. I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s mortified by what Aidan is saying.
“Mate . . .” I try, but again, I’m ignored.
“Why did you come back? Was it for this oaf?” With his uninjured hand, Aidan slaps my stomach.
Emily tucks some hair behind her ear. “No, it wasn’t. In fact, yesterday, when I arrived, Alasdair told me the hotel was under new management, and that threw me off. I didn’t recognise him at first.”
“Aye, well, my parents aren’t running this place anymore. I’m in charge now.”
“I see. That’s a shame because I preferred it how it was before. Are they retired?”
“Dead.”
Emily’s eyes widen in horror. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Aidan waves his good hand. “This has turned south fast. Let’s get this back on track. You two are going to go out rafting. Today. You’ve done it together before, so it may even reawaken some happy memories from last time. I reckon Emily should fit into Cat’s wetsuit”—at this he runs an appraising eye down Emily’s body, which for some reason I don’t appreciate—“but if not, you’re welcome to try my sister’s old one. Now, there’s no time like the present, so chop-chop!”
I try to remind myself why I’m best friends with Aidan. He can be so . . . meddling. I love him, but sometimes he deserves a clip on the back of the head.
Still, scratching my neck with embarrassment, I meet Emily’s gaze. “I’m sorry about him, I really am. But, er . . . what the hell, let’s get you kitted out, eh?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
EMILY
“Aye, I think this should fit you.” Alasdair holds up his little sister’s wetsuit, looking between it and me.
“Good.” I snatch it out of his hands, flustered by his critical gaze. “I’ll go get changed in my room, then.”
