Page 117 of Journey to the Scottish Highlands

But as I watched him now, flashing me long looks and tapping his feet nervously in his canvas trainers, I realised he was a changed man to the one I’d met a few weeks ago.

He was pensive.

‘Dane? What is it?’ I asked.

He rubbed his peppering of blond stubble. ‘I’m not known for being lost for words. I’m normally the mouthy, confident one. Hard to believe, I know.’ Dane tossed back his hair and coughed. ‘Christ, this is tough.’

‘What is?’

He levelled his powder blue gaze at me. ‘Like I said, I should’ve chosen a much better time, but now I’m here with you, I’m worried that if I don’t seize the moment and say it now, I might not get another chance.’

He took a gulp of air. ‘I like you, Daisy. I like you a lot.’

My eyes widened.

Grandpa had been right. He’d noticed Dane looking at me in a certain way and had commented on it, but I’d dismissed it.

Dane resumed talking. He was actually blushing. ‘You aren’t the usual sort of woman I meet. You’re…’ He flicked one ringed hand. ‘You’re special, Daisy. You made me look closely at myself. You think of other people. You’re kind and caring, and you’ve got the most amazing eyes.’

I didn’t know what to say or do. I looked everywhere around the room, finding the curtains swishing in the gentle evening breeze so fascinating. I was flattered. Very flattered. But…

The silence crackled.

‘Can you say something?’ joked Dane. ‘You’re giving me a complex.’

I shuffled forward on the bed, so that my feet were almost touching the carpet. ‘I don’t know what to say to you. I mean, I’m very flattered. You’re a gorgeous guy, but…’

‘But I’m not Evan.’ His voice was resigned.

‘No, that isn’t what I was going to say. I was going to say that now is not the time.’

He appraised me with a sad but knowing look. ‘You’re in love with him, aren’t you? My darling, big brother. The one who can do no wrong.’

If only you knew, I thought inwardly, my stomach clenching. I rubbed my arms. ‘No. I’m not in love with him.’ The words rang empty in my ears. If I was struggling to convince myself, how could I convince anyone else?

‘Don’t kid a kidder,’ replied Dane with a resigned twinkle, stretching his legs out further. ‘I hate to say it, but there’s so much chemistry between you two, you could blow up an entire laboratory.’

Shame-faced at Dane pointing out the obvious, I watched him play around with a couple of his leather wristbands. He raised his eyes. ‘You’re something else, Daisy Madden, do you know that?’

I let out a self-conscious laugh. I was worried I’d burst into tears any moment now. Dane was being so lovely to me, and his kindness and attention were stirring up a huge pot of emotions. ‘That’s really sweet of you to say so.’

‘It’s true. You’re selfless. Look at how you’re trying to help Mum and Dad with this place. Not to mention that teenage girl who was having a crisis of confidence. Louise told me about that.’

He flicked me a toothy smile. ‘When you first rocked up here, I thought you were just this cute little thing I could impress.’ He paused. ‘But then you gave me that mouthful – and quite right, too – after our disastrous walk, and boy did you give me a verbal dressing down!’

‘Sorry.’

‘No, don’t be, I needed them.’ His mouth lifted. ‘And then I saw first-hand you getting stuck into arrangements for the tour. Kind of ironic, really. I don’t tend to have much trouble attracting the attention of women, and then the one girl I genuinely do like fancies my brother.’

He stood up. ‘Like I said, you two definitely have the Romeo and Juliet vibe going on.’

He strode towards the door and opened it. He turned around and studied me from under his brows. ‘Yep, karma I guess for the way I’ve treated girls over the years. Evan is one hell of a lucky guy.’

Then he was gone in a haze of streaming hair and rock T-shirt, leaving me feeling even more confused. Out of the two brothers, was Dane the good guy after all?