Page 26 of Journey to the Scottish Highlands

‘Och, never mind. You can’t have everything.’

I’d laughed, but my heart had shrivelled in my chest when he’d repeated that he was desperate to get an update on my acting career. I was dreading telling him.

I resolved to reassure him though. I’d just talk around it; say there were a few possibilities in the pipeline. Hopefully, if I sounded convincing enough, he wouldn’t fret.

As I drove along, I allowed myself a brief glance over at Evan. Then I wished I hadn’t.

He was looking across at me at the same time.

I almost gave myself whiplash and drilled my attention back on the road.

‘Daisy?’ His voice washed over me. I could feel the sun kissing the tops of my shoulders through my T-shirt. ‘You ok?’

‘Yes. Fine, thanks.’

Evan brandished his mobile phone in his hand. ‘Just saw the headlines. Seems the airports are back in business, but it’s going to take a good few days to get everything sorted out.’

We drew up to a set of traffic lights.

‘Thank you again for giving me a lift. Really.’ His voice softened. ‘I do appreciate it.’

I turned to look at him. He pulled a pair of aviator sunglasses from his T-shirt pocket and slipped them on. They suited him.

I snapped my face away and waited for the lights to turn to green. ‘You’re welcome.’ Oh, please don’t start being nice to me. I felt all tangled up and despondent inside, and the last thing I needed was empathy.

Now it was my turn to hesitate. There was the sense of a truce unfurling between us. Less of an awkward tension and more of an acceptance. It caught me off guard. I cleared my throat. ‘And I should thank you again, too. For stopping me from throwing that champagne over Fox.’ The light shifted to green, and I moved off. ‘I know you did the right thing. I would’ve looked like such an idiot in front of all of those people, not to mention losing my job when I really needed it. It’s just…’

Evan stretched his legs. ‘I get it. I do.’ A small smile tugged at his mouth. ‘I agree with you, if that helps. That guy deserved a headful of champers and then some.’ He rubbed at his chin, his eyes concealed behind his smoky sunglasses. ‘He was asking for it.’ Now it was his turn to pause. ‘But you’re the better person. Know that, Daisy. Please.’

My cheekbones glowed. ‘Thank you. I appreciate that.’

A flicker of a smile crossed my mouth. Wow. What was happening here? Had we reached some sort of understanding after all?

‘Just try not to pick up any more stray passengers on the way please, will you?’ he joked. His mouth hinted at a smile, as he shook his head at me in mock disbelief.

‘Well, I picked you up,’ I replied back.

‘I’m glad you did.’

There it was again; something zinging between us.

I concentrated on the traffic up ahead. ‘Scotland, here we come.’