Page 40 of A Scottish Island Summer

I found my attention lingering on him a little too long.

I suspect he noticed because he arched one brow.

Oh bugger! I gave my head a mental shake. ‘So, dare I ask, Mr Burns, if you’re prepared to give me any clues as to what’s on the agenda today?’

He threw his rucksack effortlessly over one shoulder and made his way towards the truck. ‘You can ask, but I’m not going to tell you. You’ll know when we get there.’

Part of me—a significant part—didn’t like the element of surprise.

‘Then we can grab some lunch and make our way back to Portree. Unless you fancy finding another location to camp in.’

‘I’d rather remove my own fingernails with a screwdriver.’

Logan held up one hand. ‘OK. Fine. I’ll take that as a no then.’ He tugged open the passenger side door for me and I dumped my stuff on the backseat.

‘I like the sound of lunch, though.’

Logan shook his head in mock exasperation. ‘Och, you Londoners. Where’s your sense of adventure?’

‘I don’t have one,’ I replied. ‘Well, I do, but I prefer luxurious adventure.’

‘You’ll learn.’ He fired up the ignition and appraised me. ‘You must be knackered after wrestling with Flipper at 5am this morning.’

I tried to stifle a yawn, but it broke free in one long, unladylike moan. ‘I’m fine.’

Logan laughed, making his silvery eyes feather out at the corners. ‘Yeah, looks like it.’

I checked my watch.

Good grief. It was only ten o’clock in the morning and I’d been awake for hours already. ‘I need to get some good research and material today for the travel guide.’

‘You will,’ he assured me. ‘And some quality material at that. I’ll show you how colourful Skye is, even at this time of year.’

I wasn’t convinced.

Logan drove us back the way we came. ‘I was going to get you to climb a Munro, but seeing as you’ve had such a traumatic experience this morning, I thought I’d go easy on you today.’ There was another of his cheeky grins.

My neck began to blotch. I gave it a self-conscious rub. ‘You don’t need to go easy on me,’ I protested, even though secret relief was coursing through me.

He waggled a brow. ‘Be careful, or I’ll remember you said that.’

While Logan focused on the road, I scrolled through my social media accounts and dashed off a few replies to Instagram and TikTok messages.

After a few more minutes, I found my eyelids were beginning to flutter…

* * *

‘Hey, Rip Van Winkle, wake up. We’re here.’

I shot bolt upright, like someone had just dropped several ice cubes down my back.

God, I hoped I hadn’t been dribbling!

I tugged down the mirror and gave my face a quick rub with my hand. Some of my makeup had slid off.

I grimaced and quickly set about fixing it so I was camera ready.

Outside the passenger side window, Dunvegan Loch snaked in a tantalising, icy blue stretch. The sun was out, sparking off the top of the water like scattered diamonds. It looked magical.