Page 103 of Journey to the Scottish Highlands

Evan fell quiet and listened. ‘OK, cheers, mate. Speak to you soon, and please say hi to Livvie and the kids for me.’

I waited until Evan had wrapped up the call and popped his mobile back down on his writing desk before I rapped on the door.

‘Hey. Come in. Have you recovered from your staircase escapade from earlier?’ He tugged off his spectacles and trained his attention on me.

I tried to pull my emotions together as I took a couple more steps into his bedroom. ‘Yes, thanks to you.’

Evan winked. ‘Not all heroes wear capes. It was just lucky I was in the right place at the right time.’

My breath caught. He even had a sexy wink.

Through a chink in Evan’s curtains, I caught a sliver of milky crescent moon and a toss of blinking stars like pieces of broken glass. ‘You busy?’ I asked, noting how this man managed to turn my insides into knots for the hundredth time.

‘Yes, just spoke to a friend who runs his own public relations and marketing company. He owes me a favour.’ Evan stood up and stretched. His T-shirt tightened against his chest.

I averted my eyes.

‘He can help us promote the tour. He’s very innovative.’

‘That’s good. That’s just what we need!’

I loitered, glancing at Evan’s silver laptop.

There was a crackling silence. ‘I just bumped into Louise downstairs, who said she hasn’t forgotten about looking at more of her late father’s journals to see if there’s anything else that might help us.’

‘That’d be great.’

I pushed both hands into my sundress pockets. ‘Ok then, well, goodnight, Evan.’

I turned and started to make my way back towards Evan’s half-open bedroom door.

‘Daisy. Wait.’

I turned. ‘Yes? What is it?’

Evan studied me. A myriad of emotions crossed his face. ‘What’s going on here? Between us, I mean?’

My heart spun. Had I heard him properly? ‘I… I…’

He took a couple more strides towards me. Outside, I could hear an owl hooting through the trees in the darkness.

‘You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?’ He let out an agonised sigh. ‘We can’t keep dodging it; pretending it’s not there. That there’s no attraction between us.’

I could feel myself sinking into deep water. I was struggling to keep myself afloat. My feelings were drifting away from me, and as for my commonsense, well, it was as if that had already sailed off towards the horizon, and I’d waved it goodbye.

‘And yes, I did deliberately drive up to the woodland that day when Dane took you out.’

‘Why?’ I asked in a hushed voice.

‘Why do you think?’

My heart thumped harder. My thoughts drifted to Sacha. ‘And where does Sacha fit into all this?’

Evan studied me. ‘What about her?’ A teasing smile hinted at his lips. ‘Wait. Are you jealous?’

‘Don’t be so ridiculous!’ I scrambled for something to say. ‘It’s nothing to do with me if you’re seeing her or not.’

Evan gave me a steady look. ‘Then why mention her if you’re not bothered?’