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Zoe rolled her eyes, then settled her gaze on Kristie. It was distinctly disapproving. ‘It doesn’t exactly show you in the best light.’ She waved her hand. ‘And as for that title...’ She gave a shudder and touched his shoulder. ‘I think it’s time a friend helped you get back to where you should be.’
Kristie ground her teeth. Did this woman even know how condescending she sounded? But she didn’t get a chance to say anything. Rhuaridh stepped up right in front of the woman.
He stood there for a few seconds. Zoe cast Kristie a triumphant glance that was short-lived. Rhuaridh spoke in a low voice. ‘Let me be clear. We don’t have anything to talk about. And you’ve just rudely interrupted dinner between me...’ he paused for the briefest of seconds ‘...and my girlfriend.’
It was like someone had sucked the air out of her lungs. Girlfriend. She liked that word. She liked it a lot.
‘Goodbye, Zoe,’ he finished as he gave Kristie’s hand a tug and pulled her with him as he headed to the door, leaving some money on the bar. ‘Sorry about dinner,’ he muttered as he kept walking.
She ignored her empty stomach as she cast a look over her shoulder. Zoe looked stunned. It was probably her best look.
* * *
‘Beans on toast,’ said Rhuaridh. ‘Fine dining. The staple diet of most Scottish students.’
Kristie raised her eyebrows at him. ‘I think we could have got away with taking the plates. No one would have noticed.’
He let out a sigh. She hadn’t said a word in the car back to the cottage. It was as if she knew he needed some time to sort out his head. He couldn’t believe Zoe had turned up here. There had been a few random emails that he hadn’t replied to. But he would never have expected her to show up in the place she’d shown so much contempt for.
There had always been a side to Zoe that hadn’t exactly been complimentary—one she tried to keep hidden. Zoe, at heart, was competitive. Whether that was in her career, in her love life, or in her finances. And it was the ‘at heart’ part that annoyed him most.
He’d been deluged with messages from every direction. Even though he still hadn’t watched the show, he couldn’t fail to notice its impact. Zoe’s competitive edge must be cursing right now. She wasn’t here really because she regretted her actions or her words. No, she was here because she wanted a bit of the limelight. This wasn’t an act of love. This was an act of ambition.
Kristie pressed her lips together as she picked up her plate and walked over to the sofa. It was clear her mind was somewhere else.
‘I’m not sure what you and Thea have planned for footage for this month’s filming. I imagine Thea will need to find her way around the surgery and hospital for now so I’ve not scheduled anything in particular. But I’ve arranged for filming in the school to happen next month,’ he said quickly, trying to pull her away from whatever was giving her that pained expression. ‘There’s a whole host of immunisations coming up. They’re handled by the nurse immunisation team, but I generally try to go along in case there are any issues.’
‘What kind of issues?’
‘There are usually a few fainters. The odd child who might have a panic attack. Consents are all done before we get there, and all the children’s medical histories have been checked.’
‘Mmm...okay.’
He put his plate down. ‘Kristie, what did you want to talk about earlier?’
She pushed her plate away and pulled her legs up onto the sofa, turning to face him with her head on her hand. She gave her head a shake. ‘I’m just tired. It’s nothing.’
‘It’s not nothing. It’s something. Tell me.’
She gulped. He could see her doing that so reached out and took her hand. After a few minutes she finally spoke. ‘I told you about my sister. But what I didn’t tell you was that after she died I contacted the helpline she’d phoned a few times and volunteered. The calls she made were short. She always disconnected. But I felt as if I wanted to do something.’ She ran her other hand through her hair. ‘I couldn’t get it out of my head that when she’d been feeling low, the place she’d called was there, not me.’
