Page 94 of The Secret Castle in the Highlands

Recognition dawned on me as soon as Mason said his brother’s name.

‘Nice to meet you.’

‘I’ve heard a lot about you,’ confessed Garrett in his warm, Australian twang. He glanced sideways at Mason. ‘And all very complimentary.’

Mason’s silver stare threw me off balance again. ‘Well, if you’ll excuse me,’ I said, starting to edge away.

‘Poppy,’ said Mason, taking a step forward. ‘Could I have a word, please?’

‘I really don’t think…’

‘Please,’ he implored, flicking a look at Garrett. ‘It won’t take a minute.’

I sighed. ‘Okay, but I don’t have long. I need to get back and tidy myself up before I start work.’

Mason’s brow hitched. ‘You look lovely to me.’

I felt a blush crawl over my cheeks and grew annoyed at myself for reacting that way. What was it about this man that he was able to throw me off kilter whenever the whim took him?

‘Garrett, could you take Darwin a bit further up the beach, please, and I’ll catch up with you in a minute?’

Mason’s brother nodded. ‘Sure thing. Come on, boy, let’s go. Nice to meet you, Poppy.’ Darwin seemed uncertain for a moment, glancing between the brothers. Then he trotted off.

‘Good to meet you, too,’ I called after him, noting the set of his chin was pointed, compared to Mason’s more angular jaw.

Once Garrett had located and thrown a stick and Darwin was splashing in the surf searching for it, Mason swivelled his head back to look at me. ‘I’m really sorry about what happened the other day. What was said.’

I shrugged. ‘Please don’t worry about it.’

‘But that’s just it. I was worried. I mean, I am.’

‘There’s no need, Mason. I’m not your keeper.’

He blinked his spidery, black lashes. ‘I know that.’ He raised his hands and allowed them to fall back down by his sides. ‘Something came up and I had to shoot off.’

‘I see. Well, you don’t have to explain.’

He towered over me, his long shadow smudging across the sand. The bank of early-morning sky rolled behind his dark head in crests of pale blue. All I could hear was the thudding of my heart in my ears and the slash of the waves against the nearby rocks.

Tell me, I pleaded silently. Tell me what you’re thinking; tell me what you want.

His mouth opened and he glanced at his brother. Then he took a step back, and an awkward silence wedged itself between us.

‘Right. Well, I’d better be off,’ I muttered with frustration. ‘It’s really none of my business how many women you have staying at your apartment.’

Mason blinked back and was about to answer, but I tightened my grip on the bag of shells in my hand and strode away, with Mason’s gaze following me.

Chapter Forty-One

The end of the week was fast approaching. It had been a couple of days since I’d seen Mason and Garrett strolling along the beach, and Mason hadn’t made any effort to contact me since.

I thought back to the other day, when he’d loomed over me, looking troubled. He’d appeared to be on the verge of confiding in me about something, but then those shutters of his had come rattling down again. I knew Mason wouldn’t appreciate my attempt at psychoanalysis, but I could only think that his mistrust had begun after the collapse of his marriage. Geri, his ex-wife, must have really eroded a lot of his belief in people.

Well, if Mason felt he couldn’t talk to me, then there was no point in even hoping that we could progress things. We’d started off as acquaintances, united by our fascination with the Scarlet Highwayman, and I’d foolishly thought that something deeper might develop between us, but then there were the women he’d been seen with, the memories of Nick and how he’d cheated on me; it was a disaster waiting to happen and I’d had enough of that in my life.

The best thing for me to do was occupy myself with the cottages and my artwork and just hope that I didn’t cross his path too often. As for the Scarlet Highwayman, I was sure I could make progress with that on my own. Okay, so I wasn’t a historian with Mason’s research skills, but I was enthusiastic and had managed to pick up a few tips from him along the way.

I went into the rear part of the office to collect some correspondence I was printing off. Katie and I had been making the most of an unusual quiet spell to catch up on emails and admin. But then an exaggerated cough at the front of the shop attracted my attention and I darted out.