As they sat together on the bench, holding hands, Luke realised there was nowhere else he would rather be right now. He wasn’t exactly sure how Rosie might respond if he opened up in the way that she had. But at least they seemed to be on the same page. Then she leaned over to kiss his cheek and her grip on his hand tightened. His heart was racing with excitement as he wondered if he should kiss her properly. It felt as though he was a teenager again, unsure how to make his next move. He wished he didn’t feel like this but he was stuck and had no idea what to do next.
‘Well, I was not expecting you to be here and us to be having this conversation,’ said Rosie finally. ‘And I was just having aSliding Doorsmoment as I walked up here. I was thinking how different my life might have been if I hadn’t met Dermot. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it? But it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done and I for one wouldn’t be without Ben. I do think life has a way of happening the way it should.’
He nodded thoughtfully. ‘True,’ he said softly. ‘Life has a funny old way of working itself out.’
‘That is exactly what a wise friend of mine told me earlier,’ said Rosie. ‘Whits Fur Ye’ll No Go By Ye. That means, what’s for you won’t go past you.’
His breath caught in his throat as Rosie turned towards him and leaned in to kiss him. Her lips brushed very softly against his, hesitant at first and then more probing. This time Luke didn’t hesitate to return her kiss. Eventually, they pulled apart and grinned. Rosie’s cheeks were flushed and he traced the curve of her face with his hand. ‘I think we should head back, don’t you? Unless you want the neighbours to start talking.’
Rosie giggled and stood up, grabbing his hand. ‘You are the neighbours.’ She reached up on her tiptoes to kiss him again and he pulled her close.
‘Still,’ he said with a groan. ‘I think we should take this inside. I don’t want to be charged with engaging in lewd behaviour outside.’
Rosie sniggered. ‘True. You don’t want to get done with breach of the peace.’ She grasped his hand and tugged Coisty’s lead with the other and they walked briskly down the hill towards the cottages.
But as they approached Creel Cottage, he sensed a shift in Rosie’s energy. She seemed nervous and fidgety and paused at the lavender filled wheelbarrow next to the front door. She scuffed her shoe against the gravel. Luke realised what was wrong and when he suggested that she come next door instead, a look of relief crossed her face.
‘Thanks, Luke. It just feels a bit weird to be taking you back to mine, if you know what I mean . . .’
He reassured her with a nod then a lingering kiss.
‘Let me just pop Coisty in,’ she said, her cheeks still pink.
‘Sure thing,’ he said. ‘Though only if you are sure . . .’
She answered him by kissing him firmly.
Luke had just opened the door at Beach Cottage when Rosie appeared behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he walked into the hallway where they stood, awkward at first, until Luke turned round and gently put his hand behind her neck. He pulled Rosie towards him. Then he paused. ‘Are you sure about this?’ He traced a finger across her lips and then down her neck to her collarbone.
Rosie raised an eyebrow then cupped her hand around his. ‘I most certainly am.’
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The following morning Bella was scrolling through Instagram, and felt her chai seeds solidify in her mouth when she saw a post Ben had been tagged in. It looked as though Mabel from Bali was still very much on the scene if the many pictures she had posted were anything to go by. There were photos of them together in a crowded bar, grinning into the camera, lounging together against a palm tree with an orange sky behind them as the sun set in the distance, sipping cocktails on the beachandshe had even taken a selfie of them in a swimming pool. Who even did stuff like that? Wasn’t that a bit tacky? Bella knew that if she ever tried something like that, she would most definitely drop her phone in the pool. Ben clearly didn’t think it was tacky though as he was grinning from ear to ear and had his arm draped around Mabel’s shoulders in most of the pictures. The same way he had put his arm around her shoulders yesterday. Maybe he did that with all the girls? There were plenty more pictures — she had clearly done a massive photo dump and, according to the date, it was the day before Ben had arrived back on Arran — but Bella had seen all she ever needed or wanted to. The message from the pictures was very clear. They were very much an item and verytogether, despite Ben claiming that she had moved on. Yeah, right. Perhaps she and Ben were just friends and Bella was reading too much into it. She dumped her breakfast in the food bin, rinsed her dish and then stomped over to the spa building ready to start her shift.
She must have been frowning as she walked into the spa entrance and Chantelle took one look at her and gently placed her hands on her shoulders and spun her back towards the door. ‘You’re a bit early, Bella, and I think it might be an idea for you to go outside and walk for five minutes and then come back and start your day again.’
Bella didn’t think it was a good idea to argue with her new boss, and so she gave her a small nod, then turned on her heels and went back outside where she paced around the grounds of the hotel, staring at the grass at her feet. But she soon felt her heart rate start to slow down and when she saw Becky and her twin brother, Tom, in the distance she caught up with them and had a quick chat before they needed to be poolside. They made loose plans to meet at the beach bar later in the week and by the time she walked back to the spa most of the rage she felt had dissipated.
‘Feeling better now?’ said Chantelle.
She nodded sheepishly. ‘Yes, I am. Thank you. And I’m sorry for arriving in a bad mood.’
‘Everything okay?’ Chantelle was now behind the desk and she glanced down at the screen.
Bella shrugged. ‘Nope. I just saw something on Instagram that annoyed me. But I’m fine now.’
‘You do know that you should never believe what you see on social media,’ said Chantelle kindly. ‘Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?’
Bella chewed her lip. ‘I saw someone I like tagged with another woman. I thought he liked me, but clearly I’ve misread the situation.’
‘Is this the guy that I’ve seen you with here? Because I can tell you that the way he looks at you tells me that there is no way he has a girlfriend elsewhere.’ She gave her a knowing look.
Bella smiled shyly. ‘Thanks Chantelle, and thanks for suggesting I go and get some air. And I am sorry. I don’t normally arrive at work in a cross mood.’
Chantelle laughed. ‘That’s okay. I just didn’t want you taking your frustration out on the clients. I know having a bit of strength can be good for doing Swedish and sports massages but your first client is a facial and it is one of our more senior clients.I’m not sure that she would have appreciated you pummelling her cheeks in a rage. It wouldn’t do our reputation much good if people come for a relaxing facial treatment and leave with two black eyes and a bruised face.’
Bella laughed. Chantelle was right. And she knew that by the time she started the facial she would feel a lot better. Strangely, she always found work really calming and knew the time would fly by. She had a full day of appointments so there wouldn’t be any time for her to think about Ben and Mabel at all. Anyway, she would much rather focus on what Chantelle thought. Did Ben really look at her in that way?
