‘I’ve just had three cups at the pub.’
‘Then another won’t make much difference, will it?’
Nate loved the way she shifted the attention from herself over to someone who needed it more.
‘I don’t want to put you to any trouble.’ Jeremy could barely look Morgan in the eye.
‘You’re not. Now park up again and come inside. I’ll throw in a few biscuits, too.’
When Jeremy went over to move his car from the middle of the road to one side, Nate checked whether Morgan really was all right.
‘I am, thanks to you. But that was bloody close.’
Nate smiled at her curse. ‘Very bloody close. But I don’t think we can blame Jeremy’s driving. Marley really did just walk out as though he was strolling across a garden rather than a road.’ He hadn’t meant to but as he stroked Marley, still in her arms, his hand lightly brushed her collarbone and he was sure she felt the same bolt of electricity.
‘Any ideas how I can train a cat to be road savvy?’ she asked, looking up at him for answers.
‘Not a clue, but I’ll let you know if I ever do.’ He bent down, picked up the loaf and handed it to her.
She looked over to see Jeremy at the gate to Forget-Me-Not Cottage. ‘I’d better go.’
‘I’ll see you tomorrow at Snowdrop Cottage.’
‘You can come in too if you like?’
He was tempted, more than a tiny bit. ‘I won’t, but thanks for the offer. I’ll let you calm Jeremy down; I don’t think he needs too much of an audience.’
‘Thanks again, Nate. For saving the day.’
‘It was my pleasure.’ And with Branston trotting at his heels, Nate set off for Oak Cottage.
He was glad he’d bumped into Morgan tonight. And he’d meant it earlier when he said about kissing her, even though they’d both swept the remark aside as though it had been nothing more than a joke. He was ashamed for feeling that way when she was very much attached to someone else. Then again, he felt sure she felt the same connection as he did. The way she looked at him sometimes at the markets, or at the Bookshop Café, even on the bridge that first night and again just now, told him that maybe her doubts about Scotland weren’t just about moving away from the village.
He was beginning to wonder how much her doubts had to do with him.
12
After Jeremy had had a couple of sweet biscuits and enough tea that Morgan was confident he was over the shock, she made sure Marley was inside and walked him out to his car.
Back inside Forget-Me-Not Cottage, she leaned against the closed front door. Marley’s little stunt tonight had been a shock but the bigger surprise was how she was feeling right now.
Had she been a fool not to see this coming?
Even at the market stall, there’d been signs – prolonged eye contact, her watching Nate for longer than she should and vice versa, shared jokes that had bonded them in ways she hadn’t foreseen. And then, the way he’d jumped in front of a car to save her cat had been a true testament to his character.
Tonight, she’d realised that what she’d seen as a friendship was already so much more.
What was she doing? She had a fiancé who was miles away, who was loyal, who was waiting for her and eager to start their future together. A man she thought she loved.
Glancing at her engagement ring, she was catapulted back to the moment Ronan had got down on one knee in a fancy wine bar to ask her to be his wife. There’d been a round of applause from onlookers when she’d said yes. The night had been full of dizzying excitement it had taken days to come down from. They’d eagerly talked about what they envisaged for their wedding day – the castle venue Ronan knew of in Scotland, the guests they’d invite, a honeymoon in Vienna, perhaps. Ronan had told her he’d wear a kilt exactly like his father and his grandfather had done at their own weddings and they laughed when she said she wouldn’t share any details of her dream wedding dress because it would be bad luck.
Ronan. The man who wanted her for life. And the man who knew nothing about her doubts.
This was all so unfair. She couldn’t do this.
Marley trotted towards her along the hallway and weaved in and out of her ankles. She went into the kitchen and poured some water into his little bowl before making herself a hot chocolate. It might be summer, but she wasn’t in the mood to sit in the garden on the bench and she knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on reading anything. She wanted the comfort of a hot drink and she added the milk she’d warmed in the microwave to a couple of squares of dark chocolate in a mug.
Curled up in the armchair in the living room, cradling her hot chocolate, Morgan gazed out of the window. She could hear excited chatter as a lady with two children walked past. She watched a man head in the opposite direction, most likely on his way to the Rose and Thatch. And then her mind was back to Nate’s suggestion earlier that he kiss her to give Betty something to talk about. It had been a joke, but the way she’d reacted inside definitely wasn’t. It had been easier to focus on Branston and throwing a stick for him as they talked rather than on Nate himself. Effortlessly sexy Nate in the jeans and t-shirt he wore so well, the man who was genuine and honest and shared his feelings, a quality she found endearing.
