Page 48 of The Scottish Island Inn

Another message flashed up on the screen.

No, Sorrel replied, but as soon as she had pressed send, the phone rang.

For god’s sake.

‘I just said it wasn’t a good time,’ she answered the phone tersely. Thanks for respecting my wishes. Consent was just a vague concept to this man.

‘Hello, Sorrel.’ It was a shock to hear Simon’s voice. It was so familiar, but she hadn’t realised how much better she’d felt not having to hear it every day. It had been so healing, not having to see him or be immersed in his negative energy.

Despite the difficulty of being back home again and the emotional situation with her parents, Sorrel still felt a thousand per cent more herself just by having her feet grounded on the honest earth of Skye and being away from Simon’s energy.

‘Hello, Simon,’ she replied politely. Not because she felt like being polite, but out of habit. You had to be polite at all times to him, otherwise he would escalate quickly into a full-on mood.

‘Finally. You’ve been ignoring me for days. I thought I’d hear from you.’ He sounded petulant.

‘Did you?’ she asked, in a sweet and curious tone.

‘We need to talk,’ he said, self-importantly.

‘You should have heard from my solicitor regarding the business,’ Sorrel replied. ‘This is not a good time to talk for me.’

‘It’s about the solicitor, among other things. Your demands are unfair,’ he began. ‘And I miss you. I want to get back together. Phil’s company has offered us a big contract. I can’t do it without you.’

Ah, now we get to it, she thought.

‘My demands are not unfair. I requested what’s mine,’ she replied, coolly. ‘If you disagree, then you can submit a counter-offer. And I’m not interested in working with Phil. I’ve told you, either we dissolve the company or you buy me out.’

‘Well, I don’t want to dissolve it.’ Simon sounded like he was pouting. ‘I think we should go to counselling. Get back to where we were.’

‘I think Teresa would be a bit uncomfortable with that,’ Sorrel said, airily. ‘Don’t you?’

‘You’re wrong about Teresa,’ he said, brusquely.

‘Oh?’ Sorrel found herself tempted to laugh. ‘Am I wrong about the twenty thousand pounds you gave her out of the business, too?’

There was a silence at the end of the line.

‘You don’t understand,’ he said, in a small voice.

This time, Sorrel actually laughed out loud.

‘Oh, Simon. I do understand. It’s not hard,’ she said.

‘Sorrel. Please. I made a mistake. More than one. I’m so deeply sorry.’ He changed tack so quickly that Sorrel looked at the phone in her hand in surprise. ‘Listen. I’m on my way to see you. I know you’re on Skye. I’m going to be there in a couple of hours,’ he continued. ‘I’d really appreciate us thrashing all of this out. I can’t deal with not seeing you. Not talking to you in person.’

‘What? Simon. I didn’t ask you to come after me. You don’t get to just turn up without permission.’ Sorrel was furious, but also scared. Again, Simon had absolutely no consideration of her boundaries. She didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want to see him so much that she’d travelled twelve hours away to be apart from him. How did he know where she was?

‘Well, I’m coming. So, you can see me, or I can just wait outside your parents’ house until they let me in,’ he said. He was so matter of fact that it took her breath away.

‘My parents don’t even know you,’ she said. ‘How did you know where I was?’

‘All the more reason to get to know them,’ he replied. Sorrel realised that she could hear interference in the background: the faint hum of Simon’s car engine. ‘And I can see on your phone where you are. Your tracker is switched on. Plus, Ava told me you were in Scotland.’

Sorrel swore under her breath. She kept her phone registered with an app that Simon could consult to see where she was, in the event that she was walking or driving home alone at night, or so that he could estimate what time she’d get home based on where she was. It was a safety thing more than anything. She hadn’t even thought about it.

‘Are you actually serious?’ she asked.

‘Yes, Sorrel. I’m on my way. I’m coming to take back what’s mine. And that includes you,’ he said. ‘I should never have let you go. I see that now. I’m sorry for everything I did. Let me explain. I need us to forgive, forget and move on. I’ll see you in two hours at your parents’ house.’