Page 61 of A Scottish Highland Hideaway

“I thought … we were getting on,” he said. “I’ve shared things with you, haven’t I?”

Yes, about Astrid, I thought. And as endearing as that had been, he’d hardly divulged truly personal information. I battled my conflicting thoughts. On the one hand, there was nothing I wanted more than to feel I could confide in this tall, drop-dead gorgeous man. On the other, I still couldn’t be sure he was playing up the chemistry, the connection between us, so that he could get the information out of me he wanted. Not to mention him finding out who I really was. I decided to turn the tables on him.

“It’s a bit rich of you,” I said. “Wanting me to open up to you. Because every time I ask about your background, you shut me down.” I shook my head. “You’re fine delving into other people’s lives and exposing private things, but you won’t talk about your own. Hypocritical, wouldn’t you say?” I fiddled with my water glass. “There are two women here who could find themselves thrown into the spotlight and they didn’t ask for it. They don’t want that. Why are you so determined to expose them when they’ve done nothing wrong?”

Zach’s chiselled expression was serious. “Listen. You have my word. Whatever you tell me right now, is strictly off the record.”

I stared across at him. I wanted to believe him. More than anything. “Yeah. Right. How often have you said that?”

“Bailey, I promise you that whatever you tell me, stays between us.” His warm, autumnal eyes never left my face. “I couldn’t… I wouldn’t betray you like that…”

The atmosphere in my flat had shifted. It was crackling. What was going on here?

I bit my lip. Could I trust him? Maybe it would be a relief to unburden myself of the secrets?

I heaved a sigh, then pinned him with my gaze. “If any of what I tell you gets published, I will hold you personally responsible.”

Zach nodded. A soft, understanding smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Understood.”

I clasped my hands together on top of the kitchen table. I felt like I had one foot over a precipice. I swore I’d never trust anyone again after what Declan did to me. And yet, here I was, about to open up to Zach.

“Bailey. I promise you. Whatever you tell me right now, stays in this room.”

I closed my eyes for a few seconds and leapt. “All right. Yes. Ezra King did decide to escape from London.” My fingers laced and unlaced themselves. “We became friendly and he offered me a floristry commission to create flower arrangements for his home.”

Zach’s brows waggled up and down. “Ok. I sense there’s a but coming?”

I rubbed at my face.

“Bailey?”

I felt like I was teetering on the brink. I took a long breath. “Then two young women showed up here at Flower Power. They told me they believed they were Ezra’s daughters, but that he had no idea they existed. They managed to track him down to the area.” I paused and carried on talking. “I said I didn’t know him but if he were to come into the shop, I would pass on their details to him. Then I went to see Ezra and told him about his two daughters. He was furious and pulled the plug on my commission. He’d been planning to hire me to arrange the flowers for a private party as well, but that’s now dead in the water too. I haven’t seen him since.”

Zach sat and listened, his arched brows lifting higher.

I sank back in my kitchen chair. “Caroline and Laura only discovered that Ezra might be their father recently.” I left out the detail about their mothers and the affairs Ezra had had with them. “It was in Ezra’s autobiography.”

Zach listened and gave a brief nod of understanding.

“Ezra thought I was meddling and I guess I was. Perhaps I deserved it.” I shut my eyes for a few seconds. “I should’ve left well alone, but I only wanted to help. I didn’t want word getting out about his daughters.” A wry smile flashed across my mouth. “Things haven’t turned out well.”

Zach digested what I’d just told him. He leant forward, scanning my face. “I think you’re being too hard on yourself. I don’t think you interfered.”

“You don’t?”

He shook his luscious, dark sweep of hair. “What else were you supposed to do? Ignore them? Like you just said, you did what you felt was right at the time.” He offered a small smile that made my heart zing. “If you hadn’t made an effort to speak to Ezra about Caroline and Laura, you might have been denying a family the opportunity to reunite.” Zach leant both arms on the edge of the table. They carried a smattering of dark, wiry hair. “Just imagine how you’d have felt if something had happened to Ezra and you hadn’t done anything? You would’ve regretted it.”

My mouth flipped into a quirky smile. “Blimey. If I didn’t know you, I might start to think you’re trying to make me feel better.”

Zach gave me a look. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m still irritated at you for not coming clean about Ezra at the beginning. It would’ve saved me so much time and hassle.” He hesitated. “But I understand why you did it.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I was perfectly within my rights not to tell you. It’s your problem if it annoyed you.”

Zach laughed. “Fair enough.”

I gazed across at him, dumbfounded. There was another side to this man that I had no idea existed. But in a way, I felt even more wretched. What would Zach say if he found out who I really was?

While we cleared away the debris from our meal, Zach told me he’d heard Ezra’s autobiography was a juicy read. “Apparently, Ezra King started off as a successful fashion model before breaking into acting.”