‘I did. My father’s firm. He owned an asset management company.’
‘Do you own it now?’
He could see her assessing him and finding him lacking, but in what, he wasn’t sure. ‘No. My mother does; I work for her.’ Technically true. He did. But he was also a director and a shareholder, and the business would be his one day.
‘Oh.’ She subsided a fraction, and he resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her. She quickly rallied. ‘You won’t be short of a penny or two when you sell the castle.’ She made it sound as though having money was a cardinal sin.
Anger flared. ‘I suppose you’d like to help me spend it?’ he snapped. ‘Exotic holidays, fine restaurants, designer labels?’
She looked pointedly at his leather brogues, now damp from the salt water. ‘Hardly! I don’t need an exotic holiday when I’ve gotthison my doorstep.’ She swept a theatrical arm at the loch. ‘And what use are designer labels on a beach?’ Another glance at his shoes.
His anger ebbed as swiftly as it had arrived, and he felt amusement stirring. ‘How about fine restaurants?’
‘I prefer fish and chips from the chippie,’ she replied loftily.
‘So, if I invited you to dinner at the castle, you’d refuse?’ His lips twitched.
‘Actually, I would.’
Her answer surprised him, but he wasn’t entirely certain she wasn’t calling his bluff. ‘Dine with me tonight,’ he urged.
‘No, thanks. I’m not joking: I really do prefer a portion of chips and a piece of cod from the chip shop.’
‘Fish and chips it is, then,’ he said. ‘I’ll pick you up at seven.’
Her mouth opened and closed like the fish in the rock pool, before she finally said, ‘You can’t; you don’t know where I live.’
‘I can find out. Your address will be on the studio’s lease agreement.’
‘That’s cheating.’
‘I call it ingenuity. See you at seven.’ He didn’t give her the chance to refuse, striding away over the rocks and hoping he wouldn’t twist an ankle.
He also hoped she would be in when he arrived to pick her up, because from the look on her face, he wasn’t entirely sure she would be.
Chapter 8
Giselle seriously contemplated hiding from Rocco that evening. The bedroom area on the mezzanine floor would work. No matter how many windows he peered through, he’d never see her up there if she stayed low.
Or she could simply not be in. That was the easiest option. She could go for a walk on the hillside above the bothy. It was a nice evening, the earlier breeze having subsided, and she wasn’t unduly hungry despite having eaten little at lunchtime, as her appetite seemed to have deserted her somewhat since she’d found Mhairi in the parlour. And discovering that Rocco intended to sell Coorie Castle hadn’t helped.
She didn’t want to see him or speak to him. Even though she could kind of understand why he would want to sell it after talking to Izzy, but understanding didn’t make it any easier to bear. She tried to take heart from her sister’s suggestion that he might sell it to someone who would keep it open. But she still didn’t want to see Rocco.
Avoiding him shouldn’t be too difficult. According to Avril, he’d be leaving in a day or so. She’d simply stay out of his way tomorrow and possibly the next day, then he’d be gone.
At six thirty, she had her hiking boots in her hand and was about to put them on when Jinny phoned.
‘How are you, hen?’
‘I’m fine.’ It was her stock answer.
‘Is everything all right with you and our new boss?’
‘Why do you ask?’ she replied cautiously, hoping Avril hadn’t told everyone about her history with the man.
‘Because he wanted to speak to you somewhere private yesterday, after the funeral. What was all that about?’
Giselle knew she couldn’t keep it secret, and anyway, she’d done nothing wrong and had nothing to be ashamed of – not when it came to her past association with Rocco. However, she continued to feel that itwasher fault he was here. Ten minutes could have made all the difference…
