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The only exception to his absolute radio silence was the arrival of a small package with her name on it and a Scottish postmark. Although there was no note, she assumed it had to be from him, particularly when she saw was what inside. She stared at the contents in shock. The navy leather box held a necklace and matching earrings, the ones she had seen in a shop window on the Royal Mile. The amber pendant seemed to glow. The gold chain and the gold trim on the earrings was delicate and feminine.
It hurt to look at them.
Stoically, she had shut the box and stuffed it on the back of a high shelf in her closet where she wouldn’t have to look at it. Her tears were all used up. Now, all she felt was a deep, aching regret.
She abandoned the memories and dragged her attention back to the task at hand, refusing to go forward into the holidays with a maudlin mood. As she entered final semester grades in her laptop for the freshmen who had taken her European History course, she glanced out the window now and again. Snow fell in blustery gusts. Soon it would begin piling up. The forecasters predicted six inches by morning. Bella was prepared. She had a fridge full of food and was looking forward to a weekend of binge watching television and wrapping Christmas presents. In a week, she would be joining Finley and McKenzie in Atlanta for the holidays. Finley and his bride had made the decision to split the year between their respective homes. April through September in Portree, the fall and winter months in Georgia.
It felt odd but nice to have nothing looming over her head. Her dissertation was finished. She had defended it with flying colors. Though she’d chosen not to participate in tomorrow’s mid-year graduation ceremony, she was now officially Dr. Craig.
Oddly, that didn’t give her the boost of excitement it once had. The goal seemed anticlimactic. Even so, come mid-January, she would be teaching a full load of classes. The head of the department had hinted strongly that with one of the two ill faculty members choosing to retire, the future looked bright for Bella’s career aspirations.
She wasn’t at all sure how she felt about that prospect. Her novel, barely begun, still beckoned. Perhaps like her relationship with Ian, though, it was no more than an unlikely pipedream.
At last—her immediate responsibilities completed—she closed her laptop and decided it was time to head home. She didn’t want to be caught in the worst of the snowfall. She put the out-of-office message on her phone and was seconds away from walking out when a firm knock broke the silence.
Sighing, she arranged her face in a pleasant expression and called out in a cheerful voice. “Come in.”
When the door swung open slowly and she saw who it was, her heart sank to the floor, shot to the ceiling, and fell again in dizzying succession. She cleared her throat. “Hello, Ian. What brings you here?”
* * *
Ian saw in an instant that Bella was perfectly at home in her surroundings. Much the same way he flourished in a lab, Bella reveled in academia. The ivy-covered buildings, the beautiful quad turning white with snow, the gentle, steady pace of learning and growth.
He faltered only for a moment. “Hello, Bella,” he said quietly. “I checked your schedule online. I was hoping you were finished for the day and might be free to join me for dinner. I’d like to talk.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he held up a hand. “You don’t have to say a word. Honestly. But I have some things I need to get off my chest.”
Her gaze was guarded, even tense. “Is it really so important, Ian? You and I have been apart twice as long as we actually knew each other, more than that actually.”
She was right. In some ways he felt like he had lived a lifetime since he walked out of Finley’s house. In other aspects, the wound was raw.
“Please,” he said. “I owe you an apology. I’d like a chance to explain.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“It is to me.” For several long agonizing heartbeats he thought she was going to kick him out. It wouldn’t have mattered. He had no plans to go anywhere else until he settled things with Bella.
“Okay.” She surrendered gracefully, though her face gave nothing away in regard to her true emotions.
“Thank you,” he said. Was she at all glad to see him, or had he killed whatever affection existed between them?
“Let me get my coat,” she said, reaching for a hook on the back of the door. “I don’t know what you had in mind for dinner, but in case you aren’t aware, the forecast is nasty.”
“Yes,” he said, helping her into her camel-colored wool jacket. “I rented a Range Rover to be on the safe side.”
“That’ll work.”
At last she gave him a faint smile. He felt as if he had won the lottery or climbed a challenging mountain peak. Waiting patiently while she gathered her things for the long holiday, he then took most of it from her arms and stepped into the hall as she locked the door.
He wanted to dump everything on the floor, shove her up against the wall, and kiss her. He had given up that right, though, when he walked out of Finley’s house without saying good-bye. Had he ruined things beyond repair?
When they made it outside, he wanted to wrap an arm around her and shelter her from the icy wind. Her body language warned him to keep his distance. Bella was proud and resourceful and strong. She didn’t need a man to play out some macho fantasy.
He had already scoped out the route to the restaurant. After putting Bella’s things in the back of the Rover, they both climbed in, and Ian shut the doors. Now they were enclosed in a bubble of intimacy.
Doggedly, he started the engine and backed out. This afternoon was turning out to be much more difficult than he had anticipated.
“Are you warm enough?” he asked.
“Yes.”
