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Callum hadn’t bothered showing up for half their dates and he lived down the road. He never would have flown across the Atlantic.
And as for Luke—
Luke hadn’t told her the truth.
What else was he hiding from her?
Snow fell in spiraling lazy swirls, adding layer upon layer to the already-dense carpet on the ground. It was piled in fresh heaps around the barn and stretched up into the mountains. Above the peaks the moon hovered, beaming light down onto the slopes below.
Posy might have admired it, but her vision was blurred.
Tears scalded her eyes and she stopped walking for the simple reason that she couldn’t see where she was going.
She blinked, scrubbed at her face with her gloved hand and breathed in the smell of home.
Leaving this place didn’t feel like such a great idea anymore.
Was that really what she wanted? Maybe not, and certainly not with someone who had lied to her. Her mind, which had been so sure, was now filled with nothing but doubt. Worse, she no longer trusted her own judgment.
Was Beth right? Should she have checked him out in more detail? Was she ridiculously trusting to assume that people were who they said they were?
Light glowed through the win
dows of the barn and she felt a flash of anger as she thought of Luke dropping a bomb into her family, and then guilt that she hadn’t even paused long enough to ask her mother what they’d talked about together and how she felt about it. Her own feelings were too big to leave room for anyone else’s. She’d wanted to run after Hannah and explain that it wasn’t her fault, but she knew her sister well enough to recognize when talk would be useless.
Instead she’d stood in frozen politeness as Suzanne had invited Adam in, the warmth of her welcome a direct contrast to the chill emanating from her eldest daughter. Whiskey had been pressed into his hand and fresh logs added to the fire. Far from being upset, Suzanne had seemed unusually happy. Of course, that might have been because a tall, dark, handsome man had turned up on the doorstep looking for Hannah. Suzanne probably thought Christmas had come early.
Posy stamped her way up the steps that led to the hayloft.
It was going to be another one of those family Christmases that was filled with tension.
What have you done?
Her sister’s accusation still rang in her head. Not in a good way like the church bells on Christmas Day, more like a death knell.
Posy hadn’t hung around to see what was going to happen next.
For all she knew, Adam might already be on his way back to the airport.
Was Hannah even going to tell him she was pregnant?
Telling herself that it was none of her business, she reached her door and fumbled for her keys. She was never, ever, interfering with anyone else’s relationship again. It wasn’t even as if she was an expert.
“Posy?” Luke’s voice came from the bottom of the stairs. “Can we talk?”
“No. I’ve had enough human interaction for one day.” She stabbed her key into the lock so hard that if the door had been a living thing she would have killed it.
Bonnie sprang to her feet and welcomed her with the riotous unbounded joy that was one of the many reasons Posy knew she would never, ever, choose to live her life without a dog.
She dropped to her knees and hugged her, smiling as Bonnie’s whole body wagged along with her tail. “I want to move into your doggy world and never meet a human again.”
“I’m assuming I’m the reason for this new life choice.” Luke stood in the doorway and Bonnie bounded across to him and offered an ecstatic welcome.
Posy reflected on that traitorous instinct as Luke closed the door, sealing out the cold.
The hayloft was her personal space, designed to offer maximum comfort on cold winter nights. Lamps sent soft light spilling across the wooden floors, and thick rugs and warm throws turned the place into a cozy cocoon. The original rustic oak beams were still in place and the vaulted ceiling gave an illusion of space, although in reality the loft wasn’t big. In the summer the views across the trees and the loch were stunning, but in winter it had its own special magic.
Luke stayed by the door, as if expecting her to thrust him back through it. “Five minutes of your time. That’s all I’m asking for.”
