Page 3
His lips curl up, and like the town itself, that smile hasn’t changed—even his dimples remain intact. You’d think he was harmless—a friendly giant—but I know better. We may have been best friends once, but it’s because of this man I didn’t return to Bannock sooner.
He deposits my things inside then strolls back. “Just like old times, eh? Neighbours again.” He nods at the hotel.
“Yes, well . . .”
His casual tone annoys me. Why does he always pretend like everything is okay between us? It’s not.
He reaches into the boot.
“I’ve got it from here,” I say.
“It’s no bother.” He lifts another load, his eyes roving over me. “I like your outfit, by the way.”
Self-consciously I glance down at my fox-print top and faded jeans. “Er . . . thanks?”
That smile again—then he disappears into Maw’s. Truthfully, with his muscles, he’d make light work of unpacking the car, but I’d rather he just left. I hoist up a heavier box, this one filled with books, but when Lewis returns, he plucks it out of my hands.
“You’ve had a long journey up—let me handle this. If you pop something else on top, I can take that in too.”
He’s not listening to me and I don’t like that. So, in a fit of pique, rather than picking something light, I go for another box of books (yes, I own too many—can’t bear to get rid of them). I dump it on the first, hoping to see Lewis flinch or maybe even stumble slightly, but he doesn’t so much as blink.
As he transports just part of my romance novel collection into Maw’s, I take a moment to gather myself. I can’t let Lewis get to me—I don’t want to give him that power over my emotions. Aye, we’ll be living opposite each other, but I’ll be keeping contact between us to a minimum. I’d hoped he would have understood that without me having to say it.
A car pulls up behind mine then Richard hops out, smiling that goofy grin I fell for a year and a half ago.
“Finally!” I say. “You were right behind me most of the way. What happened?”
“Sorry!” He wraps an arm around me and pecks my cheek. “The scenery was too good not to stop for photos.”
He’s drawing away from me when Lewis returns, and on instinct I tug Richard back to me and give him an especially fierce hug, like I haven’t seen him in weeks. Only after releasing him do I say, “You remember Lewis, don’t you? My . . . childhood friend?”
“Of course.” Richard shakes Lewis’s hand. “Good to see you again, mate.”
“And you. I’m just helping Iona take in her things.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it from here.”
Richard is a friendly sort who’ll get on with anyone, and most people see Lewis that way too, even if I know there’s another side to him. Whenever these two meet, though, there’s a chill in the air.
“All right.” Lewis nods. “See you around.” Shooting one last smile in my direction, he walks across the road to the hotel.
Richard lifts the second-last box from my boot. “Whoa! This is heavy. What’s in here? Books?”
“Er, aye,” I admit, making a mental note to hide some of the spicier ones somewhere Maw won’t find them.
He grins then heads for Maw’s. I grab the last box, close the boot, and follow after.
A long-distance runner, Richard has an athletic but lean figure and his training rarely focuses on upper-body strength. It wouldn’t be fair to compare him with Lewis, and yet . . . I notice he lets out a sigh of relief when setting down the box in Maw’s hall. I doubt Lewis did that, and he carried two at the same time.
I reprimand myself for this thought. I’m not living in a romance novel. So what if Richard’s max load is twenty paperbacks?
“There you are, Richard.” Maw emerges from the kitchen and gives him a warm embrace. “Welcome!”
“Thanks for letting us stay, Elspeth. We’ll try to be out of your hair before long.”
“Och, there’s no rush for you to find a place of your own. Truth be told, now that Aidan has moved in with Grace, the house is too big for just me. Anyway, I’ve made us all tea, and I baked a lemon drizzle cake this morning. You can finish unpacking later. For now, have a seat and recharge your batteries after the drive.”
She ushers us through to the living room, and . . . oh wow! The cake is so good—light, fluffy, its delightful tangy flavour bursting on my tongue with each mouthful. Moving back in with Maw is going to be dangerous. My figure is on the curvier side, and while I’m happy with how I look, I’d rather not put on too much more weight.
