Page 72 of A Scottish Highland Surprise

There was that testosterone-filled smile again. “Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind a re-run, if you have no objections.”

He had to be joking. Was this idiot for real? Couldn’t he hear what an utter knob he has? It was like he had no filter. What the hell was I doing, still sitting across from him?

Catching sight of a taxi gliding into the car park below, I jumped to my feet and snatched up my purse from the table. A family of four were preparing to disgorge from it. I was aware of inquisitive looks from a couple of tables around us, but I didn’t care.

I wanted out of this restaurant and I wanted to get away from this imbecile.

Jake stared up at me. “What are you doing? Where are you going? Sit down, Soph.”

“Stop calling me Soph,” I hissed. “Whatever juvenile games you want to play, Jake, you sure as hell are not involving me in them.”

“Aww, come on. No harm done.”

That’s where you’re wrong. There was harm done. Xander’s reaction was testament to that.

My fingers dug deeper into the soft leather of my small bag. “Well, if you can’t see that, then I pity you, Jake.” I picked up my copy of the menu and turned to where there was a description of the chef’s specials. An older lady at the next table was drinking in the scene playing out beside her, with her forkful of salad half suspended before her lips.

I turned to Jake and waggled the menu at him. “I recommend the sea bass. It sounds delicious.”

And then I was clattering out of the restaurant and down the steps towards the taxi in my heels, stinging with hurt and embarrassment about it all.

I arrived home, anxious to clamber into bed and sleep away this evening.

God, what a car crash that had been! Jake had turned out to be manipulative, with all the maturity of a five-year-old.

I was tempted to ring Xander and try to explain what had happened, but my pride stopped me. What on earth could I say to him? He was out with Saffy this evening anyway and I was sure she wouldn’t want her night out with Xander interrupted by me. I could sense I wasn’t one of her favourite people anyway.

Maybe it was best just to leave things as they were. It was a tangle of rivalry and resentment between Jake and Xander, and me wading in could make things even worse.

I changed into my PJs and gave the baked beans an aggressive stir in the saucepan, before fetching a huge hunk of Cornish Cove cheese from the fridge. Once my toast was golden, I drizzled the baked beans over the toast and completed it with a dusting of grated cheese over the top. You could never have too much cheese when you felt an utter tit and needed a plateful of comfort food.

I sat at my kitchen table and ate, dissecting how I could have been so stupid as to let my guard down. I cut a square of toast. After Callum, I swore I wouldn’t be manipulated again. Talk about déjà vu!

I kept receiving images of Xander’s wounded expression when he saw me with Jake. Why did he look so hurt? Maybe it had brought back memories of his ex.

I tried to distract myself with thoughts of the tea set and Briar’s letter, but as for Ophelia Walker, that promise of a development seemed to have screeched to a dead end.

I picked up my mobile lying in front of me on the kitchen table as I ate. I grew annoyed at myself when I realised I was checking my messages, to see if Xander had tried to ring me.

But why would he?

There were three missed calls from Jake and then one dramatic message from him, which aggravated me even more. “Come on, Soph! I didn’t mean any harm by it. But you have to admit, Xander North has a poker up his arse.” I listened, my mouth drawn into a tight line. “After what happened with Nadia and the crap reviews he gave my work…” He paused, before his message became more petulant. “I don’t know why you got so aerated over it all anyway. Unless you fancy old Frozen North yourself…”

My fingers dug into my phone, as his muddled Scots-Transatlantic ramble continued. “Well, just a warning. If you do have any ideas, you ought to know that he and that woman he was with tonight have become an item. I hear it’s serious.”

My stomach twisted in on itself. Pictures of Xander and Saffy together lodged themselves in front of my eyes. I’d had enough of this. I’d heard enough. I deleted the message, my fingers jabbing at the buttons on my phone. Why did it matter so much to me what Xander thought or what he thought he saw?

He was with Saffy, for pity’s sake!

I would not be part of their squabbles. I didn’t want to be caught up in their mess.

I took another savage bite of my toast, even though I no longer felt hungry. Xander North. Frozen North. He must have recovered from Nadia and was now moving on with Saffy – and who could blame him? She was very attractive and talented too.

A swift emotional punch landed in my stomach. I clattered my fork down onto the plate and stared off into the distance. What with losing my gran, resigning from Castle Marrian, and the sudden and dramatic acquisition of the shop, there had been so much going on in my life. A tsunami of events which I had been trying to control, but which had left me knocked breathless on the shore.

My thoughts insisted on conjuring up more pictures of Xander, even though that was the last thing I wanted or needed right now. Perhaps Frozen North had thawed after all and Saffy had been the one to do it.

Chapter Thirty-Three