She was there! He could see her hunched over the workbench, and he took a long, deep breath, blowing out his cheeks as he exhaled.
Then he opened the door, went inside and—
The woman wasn’t Giselle!
She looked up with a smile, her expression open and welcoming, then her eyes hardened abruptly and her full lips tightened.
‘Um, I was looking for Giselle?’ he said, glancing around the studio as though he expected her to be hiding somewhere.
‘You’re Rocco.’
‘I am.’ His reply was guarded as he tried to work out who she was and why—
Then it came to him! This must be Giselle’s sister! He should have realised immediately, as the similarities were obvious.
Izzy didn’t look at all pleased to see him.
‘Is she here?’ he asked.
‘Why?’
Taken aback, he didn’t have an answer. Why was she being so aggressive? What on earth had he done, or not done, to deserve it?
And when she spat, ‘Haven’t you done enough damage without sniffing around her again?’ he was at a total loss.
She cocked her head, studying him as though he were some kind of nasty insect.
Thoroughly perplexed now, he said, ‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘I don’t appreciate anyone playing with my sister’s affections. And under your girlfriend’s nose, too. You broke my sister’s heart, you scumbag. Shame on you.’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ he protested. ‘What girlfriend?’
‘Claire.’ Giselle’s voice came from behind him, and he whirled around, his heart leaping.
‘Giselle,’ he breathed. His chest tightened at the sight of her and his pulse stumbled.
Her expression was stony. ‘What do you want?’
Hell, this was going badly, but he didn’t know why. He thought he’d cleared up the nonsense about Claire being his girlfriend. And what had Izzy just said? Something about breaking her sister’s heart?
‘To tell you I’m not selling the castle,’ he said, playing it safe until he could work out what was going on.
‘That’s why your girlfriend and an estate agent are here, is it? Tonotsell it? Pull the other one,’ she scoffed.
‘Back up a second! Not only do you still think Claire is my girlfriend despite me categorically telling you she isn’t, but you think she’s here, inDuncoorie?’
‘Right on both counts.’
Rocco was so tense his jaw ached. On the long drive to Skye, he’d run Giselle’s every possible reaction through his mind, but not one of them had featured her being angry. Or accusing. And certainly not delusional. She must have got the wrong end of the stick. Maybe Claire had informed Cal that someone official would be along shortly to value the place for probate. He wasn’t entirely sure what probate entailed, and maybe he should have taken Claire up on her offer to discuss her progress so far (although not over dinner), but all he’d wanted was to go home, pick through Mhairi’s boxes and lick his wounds.
He said, ‘Claire is in London; I’m assuming she’s organising an official valuation, but that’ll be purely for probate.’
‘Wrong on both counts,’ Giselle snapped. ‘Claireishere, and she’s got an estate agent with her. He’s already got a buyer in mind.’
‘What? That can’t be right.’
‘Which bit?’
