‘Speaking of sleep,’ she said, ‘you sound tired. We should get some.’
‘Mmm, aye. I’ll go back to my corner.’ Jamie turned to the wall again.
‘You don’t have to do that, you know.’
‘I do.’ Jamie murmured and Alicia smiled as his breathing fell into a steady rhythm. Already she was warmer and more relaxed, by his mere presence. Tentatively, she edged nearer to his masculine frame, not enough to wake him up but enough to feel a little more of his body heat.
Imagine this was your man and you got to sleep next to him every night like this, protected and safe. Your big Scottish bear. Imagine.
Imagine.
Stop imagining. Try and get some sleep.
Chapter 12
Alicia
Alicia warmed herself under the monsoon shower and cosied up in a giant robe, appreciating the comfort even more after her night in the bothy. She was supping on a steaming cup of camomile tea when her phone buzzed with a Face Time from Sunni. What a welcome treat.
‘Hey, Sunni hunni.’ Alicia cringed at the conspicuous amount of bounce her voice held. Sunni was bound to notice.
‘Hey, girl.’ Her best friend’s face glowed back at her. ‘You look like Scotland is doing you the world of good. I might need to get me some of that Scottish air. Aren’t you jet-lagged?’
‘I haven’t had time to think about it. I guess I should be, but maybe it will hit me on the way back.’
‘If you come back.’ Sunni winked. ‘So, what’s been keeping you so busy.’
‘Oh, this and that,’ Alicia tried to level her excitement. She wanted to blurt out everything that had happened sinceshe’d arrived, at least, the parts with Jamie, but she might sound too effusive for her own good.
‘This and that? Like what? You been painting?’
‘Um, not yet. I did a little sketch of someone I met here. That was fun. I might get the paints out this afternoon. There is a stunning mountain right in front of my lodge. Honestly, you should see it. It’s––’
But Sunni was too sharp. ‘Hang on, hang on. Rewind a second. A sketch of someone you met? Haven’t had time to think? Okay, spill, girl. Who is he?’
Alicia tried to temper the giant grin on her face but it was hard. It wasn’t that she wanted to keep things from Sunni but she saw her situation from her friend’s perspective. Recently traumatised by an ex-partner, travelled to Scotland for a break – the implication being it was a break from men – and now letting herself get carried away with the first male specimen she met. If the roles were reversed, she would be worried.
‘Oh, he’s this Scottish guy in the neighbouring lodge. He’s kinda nice. Owns a whisky company. We wound up trapped in a cabin overnight when the snow got wild. To pass the time, I sketched him by the fire. I mean, I was by the fire, he was by the window.’
‘Oh, I see. You sketched the whisky magnate by the fire in a snowed in cabin. Sounds charming.’ Sunni took a sip of her drink and nodded before standing up and hollering at the screen. ‘SAY WHAT, GIRL? O.M.G! Alicia Jansen! You sketched a Scottish whisky company owner, who’s “kinda nice”, by the fire in a snowed-in cabin! How do I sign up to get your life?’
Inside, Alicia was as ebullient as Sunni but she dampened her response. ‘I think you might be making it into more of a deal than it is,’ she countered. Sunni wasn’t. It had beenidyllic and Alicia was twinkling from the memories. She, too, wanted to stand up and holler that Jamie was positively edible and that she was missing him already and wanted to hang with him again and find out more about him. Damn! She was missing him already. How was that possible?
Sunni sat down, shaking her head but laughing gloriously. ‘Seriously, though, now I can see why you’re glowing. I’m guessing he’s on the hot side of things. Not that he needs to be.’
‘Yeah, he’s easy on the eye. And it was a fun experience. But I didn’t come here for anything involving men. I happened to be out for a walk, it was snowing hard, and we ended up in the same place. The rest of my break will be all about self-healing.’
‘Uh-huh. Okay. That’s cool.’ Sunni smoothed down her hair. ‘Whatever works for you, hun. Self-heal in the way that suits you.’
Sunni was being a good friend in telling Alicia to follow her heart, but the therapist part of her would be worried about Alicia’s emotional wounds. Over on the coffee table, Alicia spotted the book she’d been gifted.Showing Shame the Door.‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘This afternoon I’m going to have a good session with paintbrush, then curl up with the book you gave me.’
‘Ah, worry about the book when you’re home.’ Sunni could tell Alicia was trying to please the therapist. ‘Just take care of yourself. But listen, there is something I’ve got to tell you.’
‘Oh, God, what is it? Are you okay?’ Alicia held her breath as she waited for dreadful news that her friend was sick or in trouble.
‘I’m fine. It’s about Chad. Apparently, he’s gone into rehab. It’s all over the news: well, if you can callEntertainmentWow!news. But there’s an interview lined up for when he gets out onClelland Freeman Interviews, an intimate tell-all type thing.’
Alicia breathed again. ‘Oh, is that all? Chad checks into rehab about as often as other people check into their fridge for a snack. It means nothing.’
