AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Was she brave enough to suggest they kept in touch? Or more? Would he want to? He’d shown her enough to infer he liked her, but enough to defy his family? Could she defy hers?
‘Nope.’ She couldn’t stand it if they disowned her. She slammed her pick into the ground. It was hopeless.
Time ticked on. The sun sat high in the sky with a ribbon of scattered clouds trailing across it. In the afternoon the wind picked up. Calum didn’t show. At four thirty, she packed up, grabbed her notes and a pencil and started her write up. Why hadn’t he come?
A message pinged and she grabbed her phone. Could it be him? Reception was so patchy, it could be something he’d sent hours ago and this was it just coming in.
CHA: I hear you have some gossip for me? Spill. What’s happening? Kirsten says you’re resurrecting something I should know about.
Rhona rolled her eyes. Not Calum then. Still, the chance to talk about him was a crumb in a day of slim pickings.
RHONA: I’ve resurrected an old crush. RL still hearts CM… Well, kind of! Lol. Not easy to crush on someone my family hate!
She’d barely set the phone down when a reply popped up.
CHA: Seriously! OMG.
CHA: He’s the bastard who beat up Arran and left school because everyone hated him.
CHA: Isn’t he some kind of Scrooge now?
CHA: What the hell are you doing crushing on him? Don’t let him bully you into anything or I’ll be back to sort him out!
‘You and Arran both.’ Whichever way she flipped it, Calum hadn’t made himself popular. He definitely had a dodgy past but… it didn’t fit with who he was now.
A car engine rumbled, and she glanced up. Calum’s dark grey 4X4. He jumped out and craned his neck over the roof. When he spotted her, he waved, slammed the door and jogged up the hill to the trench.
Her feet dangled over the edge as she watched him; her pulse drummed in her ears. He was so damn hot in that black t-shirt and those tight jeans. Warnings danced around her head. Treat him like an employer, ignore all sensations, however pleasant, however persistent. But it was hard… too hard.
‘Are you in a rush to get home?’ he called from a distance.
‘Not especially, why?’
‘Good. Wait there. I’ve got something for you.’ He turned back to his car.
What was he up to? His boot slammed and he appeared again carrying an old-fashioned picnic basket. He made his way around beside her and set it on the ground. His cushion was rolled up on top of it. Rhona’s lips twitched as he unfurled it and sat beside her. ‘Dinner?’ He opened the basket.
‘Oh my goodness. This is a bit of a posh picnic.’
‘Uh-huh. This is to prove that I can do outdoors too.’
She laughed and held his blue-green irises in hers, gazing at the flecks of light twinkling in them. Her heartrate multiplied. So much for keeping things professional. She was ready to fall on his lips. Nerve ends tingled, urging her closer. He’d done this for her. Maybe to prove a point but he’d still done it. ‘You can, Mr Matheson. In your own special way.’
‘Let’s eat it then, Miss Lamond, and you can summarise the week for me… Inyourown special way.’ He flicked her a pointed look and raised an eyebrow. ‘Sorry, I’m so late. I meant to get here ages ago but I got held up at the flats. I thought you might have gone.’
‘I was waiting for you.’
His brow furrowed. ‘Were you?’
‘You said you’d come.’
‘I did. But you didn’t have to hang about. You could have emailed the summary to me.’
‘I didn’t mind waiting.’
He picked up a roll and opened a container of salad. His eyelids flickered like he was processing too many thoughts at once. Rhona was famished; she’d been so engrossed in her work she’d forgotten to eat lunch. So much delicious food was crammed into the basket. Where to start?
After gorging on sourdough rolls and cheese, she lolled back propping herself up on her arms, palms on the grass, and threw back her head. When she slid her focus to Calum, he swallowed and moved his focus from her chest to her face. ‘So, shall I give it to you?’ she asked.
