He hooked an arm through hers. ‘Come on, let’s go and warm up. I feel a hot toddy coming on.’
‘Mmm, I like the sound of that.’
Curled up in front of the fire, next to Ross, with a tumbler of whisky, Izzy watched the flames dancing in the hearth, licking and curling at the logs, which crackled and spat. She sighed with rare contentment. She seemed to have been operating at a hundred miles an hour for the last month and it was a relief to rest her head against his shoulder. Since they’d come in they hadn’t said much but as always with Ross, his silence was companionable and restful. She didn’t feel the need to have to talk.
‘This is nice,’ he murmured, his arm around her shoulder stroking her forearm.
‘You said that about our first kiss.’ She looked up, serious now. ‘And then you said you were “thrown off a cliff”. I’d say you’re a master of understatement.’
He sighed and turned to face her.
‘It doesn’t sound very grown up for a thirty-five-year-old man if I say I panicked, does it?’
She considered that for a minute. ‘I’m not sure. I guess it depends on how you respond to the panic.’
‘Badly, obviously. I withdrew, tried to go back into my cave.’ He kissed her cheek. ‘After Nicole, I’ve made it my mission to ensure my life is on an even keel. I think that’s why I’ve kept my writing identity a secret. I panicked because I’d lulled myself into a false sense of security. I felt so comfortable with you – no drama, no histrionics.’ He laughed. ‘That’s why it was such a shock. And that doesn’t sound very complimentary, does it? But that instant explosion… I mean, I wanted to kiss you, been wanting to for a while but I didn’t expect that…’ He shook his head, his brow wrinkling in confusion. ‘I’m not a great romantic. I don’t do big gestures or PDAs.’ He pulled a face. ‘I’ve seen too much of it when it didn’t mean anything. So when I kissed you… Like I said, it completely threw me. I am sorry.’
The quiet, sincere admission jolted her. That she, ordinary Izzy McBride, could have such an impact on gorgeous, successful, self-assured Ross Strathallan. A little ember of feminine satisfaction burned fierce and bright in her heart. No, on the face of it, his words weren’t very romantic, but they were heartfelt and honest.
Philip had been very good at the romantic touches – candlelit dinners, surprise weekends away, extravagant flowers – but now she knew they’d been strategic, designed to reel her back in when he’d been distant or absent for a while.
‘You’re forgiven, on the understanding you don’t do it again. That’s why I sent Philip packing today. He was my on-off boyfriend for years. We met at university and he never quite made up his mind if he wanted to be with me or not. I loved him, so I put up with the crap.’ She took his hand and smiled up at him. ‘You could say, I facilitated his crap.’
Ross winced. ‘We’re only human. And I suspect he knew.’
She nodded. ‘He admitted as much today, although I’d already realised what a real friend is.’ She kissed Ross’s cheek. ‘It’s someone who thinks about you, cares about you and offers unconditional help because they can see that you need it.’
‘I hope that we’re going to be so much more than friends.’
Izzy nodded, a little shy. ‘I’d like that.’
Chapter Twenty-One
‘Phew!’ said Ross, steering the car up the drive back to the castle the next morning, the boot full of clanking bottles. ‘We made it.’
‘Thanks so much. I know you would rather have stayed in bed this morning.’ Izzy peered out at the snowy landscape, the feathery snowflakes curling down around them.
‘Hello?’ He glanced at her, a wolfish grin lighting his face. ‘Wouldn’t you?’
Her heart fizzed for a second, full of memories of the previous night. She wriggled in her seat, her nerve endings still tingling from his attention. For someone who said he didn’t do big emotion, he certainly knew how to make a girl feel good. From the moment he’d kissed her by the fire, she’d felt as if she were his sole focus and when Ross focused on something, he was very single-minded. When he’d led her by the hand up to his bedroom, she hadn’t hesitated because he wasn’t the only one who’d fallen off a cliff.
Despite the wonderful dancing butterflies in her chest, every now and then, when she thought about the heavy dump of snow forecast for later that afternoon, her stomach contracted. She crossed her fingers in her pocket.Please, please, please let the Carter-Joneses get here.She didn’t dare think about the money they’d spent on food and wine, let alone the refurbishments. Although to be fair, the castle looked fit for a king. She sighed as they slithered round the final bend. ‘Thank goodness we made it.’
‘Yes, I’m not sure I could have carried you and the wine this time.’
She smiled at him but still asked, ‘Do you think the roads are going to be okay?’
‘Well, if they’re not, we’ve got enough wine to withstand a siege let alone being snowed in.’ She suspected Ross had deliberately misunderstood her question to reassure her, as if it was unthinkable that their guests wouldn’t make it. She followed his lead.
‘And if the food is terrible, we can get the guests so drunk they won’t remember it.’ She forced a smile and then noticed the strange car parked outside the castle. ‘Oh God, do you think that’s them?’ She pointed to a sleek Jaguar estate. ‘They’re not due for a few days yet. Maybe they decided to beat the weather.’ She began gathering up her things. ‘I was going to welcome them and do it all properly,’ she wailed.
‘I’m sure Xanthe…’ He stopped and squinted at the car, frowning.
‘Don’t even say it. Oh God. Xanthe.’ Izzy closed her eyes, imagining her mother’s idea of a welcome, and was already scrabbling to open the car door. ‘She’ll probably have made them carry their own cases in, shown them to their rooms and bounced on the bed, telling them how comfy the mattresses are, and not even thought of offering them refreshment after a long drive. They’re coming from Edinburgh. They must have set off early.’
Ross laid a hand on her arm. ‘Breathe, McBride. Breathe.’
‘Yes. Breathe. It’s going to be fine.’
