Page 64 of A Scottish Country Escape

Wait. Is that crispy bacon and fried eggs I can smell?

It was, going by the desperate grumble coming from my stomach.

The sight that greeted me as I tapped into the kitchen was one of blissful domesticity.

Grandma was flipping over sizzling rashers of bacon in a pan, while Dexter was tending to thick slices of golden toast. Both of them were also showered and dressed. Gran was in one of her linen trouser suits in a Chinese style print. Dexter’s hair was still damp from his shower and he was wearing fresh clothes consisting of a charcoal V-neck T-shirt and pale-grey jeans.

He caught my puzzled gaze at his clothes. ‘Good morning. Hope you slept OK.’ He indicated his outfit. ‘One of my employees dropped by with clean clobber first thing this morning.’

Sure enough, my muzzy thoughts recalled hearing the faint thrum of a car engine earlier.

‘Cooked breakfast OK for you, darling?’ asked Gran. ‘Did you sleep well?’

I pulled my robe tighter around myself. ‘Yes, that smells good. As for sleeping, it was a bit on and off after what happened.’

I reached up to my bun and fiddled with it. I hoped I looked presentable. ‘How about the both of you?’

Gran hesitated. ‘I’ve had better nights, but having this young man here did make me feel a bit more secure.’

Before he could answer, Dexter’s phone vibrated beside him on the breakfast bar and he excused himself to take the call in our sitting room.

As soon as he disappeared past me, I hurried to speak to my grandmother. ‘What is all this in aid of?’

‘What? Oh, this?’ she lowered the spatula as the delicious rashers of bacon popped in the pan. ‘Well, it’s not every day you have a handsome author for breakfast. And he was so brave and gallant last night.’

‘Yes,’ I agreed, my eyes trailing after Dexter. ‘Yes, he was.’ Thoughts were thrashing around inside my head again.

I promised myself I would go and take a shower as soon as I’d eaten some breakfast. It would help to get things into perspective. At least I hoped it would. My emotions regarding Dexter were beginning to tangle me up in knots.

Dexter’s feet tapping back across the wooden kitchen floor interrupted me.

‘That was my PR team,’ he explained. ‘I left them a message to give me a call back. They’ll be issuing a press release at noon today, publicly announcing my support for the nature reserve and condemning the proposals for development.’

My heart lifted. ‘That’s great. Thank you so much.’

‘I’ll say it is,’ breathed my Gran. ‘That’s very good of you to do that, Dexter.’

He shrugged away our appreciation. ‘It’s my pleasure. You’re helping me with Linda Carlucci, so it’s the least I can do.’

He paused, stuffing his mobile into the back pocket of his jeans. ‘And anyway, I wanted to do something after seeing for myself how stunning that area is.’

Grandma fetched three plates that were warming in the microwave and we all settled ourselves on the stools to eat. I had been so distracted by Dexter’s presence in our house that I hadn’t paid any attention to the time.

I offered my watch a cursory glance while I munched my last slice of buttered toast, thick with a layer of amber marmalade. I did a double-take. ‘Shit! I’m going to be late for work!’

Gran was disapproving. ‘Language, Elle!’

‘Sorry.’

Dexter’s lips flickered with amusement. ‘You’re the boss. You can be late.’

I jumped from my stool. ‘I am, but I don’t want to appear like I’m not committed to my own business.’

I was about to race towards the downstairs shower room when my eyebrows sprang upwards at Dexter’s words. ‘You’re one of the most committed people I know.’

Silence descended in the kitchen; the scent of cooked breakfast still detectable. ‘Thank you.’ I hoped my voice was steady. ‘And again, what you did last night…’

Dexter batted away my compliment, his eyes refusing to move away from my face.