Page 71 of A Scottish Highland Surprise

But Xander didn’t move. He remained standing at my shoulder, his eyes searching mine. They carried an echo of something akin to disappointment. Dragging them away, he transferred his attention back to Jake, who sat there, his mouth twitching with amusement.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” ground out Xander after a few moments.

Saffy pushed out her bottom lip. “But I thought you wanted to try this place.”

Xander’s jaw was stiff. “There’s always another time.” He placed one hand at the small of Saffy’s back and the simple, intimate movement made my heart deflate. He turned his broad back on Jake and me, throwing an “Enjoy your evening” over his shoulder.

I swivelled around in my seat, watching them leave the restaurant, with the confused maître d’ hurrying after them, asking if they were all right and insisting he could find them an alternative table closer to the alcove, if they would prefer it.

I swung back to face Jake, who was grinning like a Great White.

“Well, what do you know? It’s a small world, isn’t it?” His demeanour was victorious. Gone was the tense body language and fascination with the restaurant car park.

“Sorry about being so distracted earlier,” he oozed. “Now, let’s take a look at this gorgeous menu, shall we?”

While he persisted in reeling off small talk and exclaiming at the array of seafood dishes on offer, I found my fingers reaching up to touch my lips. Jake was now describing how wonderful the Scottish salmon was said to be here, but my brain was too preoccupied with what had just taken place.

The sudden and unexpected change of restaurant venue; Jake’s constant monitoring of the car park; his surreptitious observation of the restaurant entrance; then that theatrical kiss and the sudden hand-holding, which just happened to occur as Xander and Saffy were coming through the door…

Jake was pointing to something else on the menu. “I am rather partial to prawns, as well. What do you think, Soph?”

The way he called me “Soph” made my fingers ball in the lap of my dress. It was all so obvious and contrived. He had used me to get one over on Xander. I struggled to keep my voice level. “You must think I’m stupid.”

“Sorry?”

I leant in closer to the edge of the table. “You planned this, Jake.”

He was sitting in his chair, chest puffed out with self-congratulation as though he had discovered a cure for the common cold. “Planned what? I don’t follow.”

“I do,” I ground out. “You wanted to annoy Xander, so you arranged for us to come here.”

I folded my arms across my chest, making the silky material of my dress rustle.

A waiter appeared at the table to take our order, but Jake dismissed him with an arrogant jerk of his head. “Not now. In a minute.”

The waiter gave him a chilly stare and vanished again. Jake flipped back to his charm offensive. “Oh, don’t be silly. It was just a coincidence, that’s all.”

He reached one hand across the gleaming white tablecloth, gesturing for me to take his, but I didn’t. Instead, my teeth clamped together.

My bracelets rattled against my wrist, as I tightened my folded arms. “That’s why you’ve been all jumpy and that’s why you kissed me. You did all this to rile Xander.”

Jake let out an unconvincing laugh. “Of course I didn’t. How would I know Frozen North and his lady friend were going to stroll in here?”

“You tell me. It’s very odd you changed our restaurant venue at the last minute.”

Jake’s shoulders stiffened under his stripy shirt.

“Is that why you were late picking me up tonight? Because you were busy ferreting out where Xander and Saffy were going and wanted to make sure we happened to be at the same place?”

Jake shuffled in his chair, like a mischievous child. He opened his mouth to protest and then snatched back whatever excuse he was about to make, when he picked up on my blazing anger. There was a resigned sigh, which fuelled my embarrassment and annoyance even more. “Yes. All right. You got me.”

I fought to control my annoyance, keen not to make an entertaining scene for the surrounding diners. “I thought as much. I know you have history with him. You told me so yourself.”

My thoughts travelled back to Xander’s eyes searching mine when he saw us sitting here. He must have seen Jake kiss me. It would have been difficult not to, the way Jake lunged across the table. The thought of him seeing that made my heart wither. “There was no need to involve me in your stupid games.”

“It was only a bit of fun,” snorted Jake. “The guy is so full of himself, he deserves taking down a notch or two.”

He shot forward in his chair again, a pleading edge to his features. “Look, I admit I did time that kiss so North would see it, but if it’s any consolation, I enjoyed it.”