* * *
Darius lay on his bed,staring at the ceiling. He hadn’t been able to shake the sick feeling that had twisted his gut when Eve had shared her story. He’d been able to tell by the tightness in her voice and the way she held herself that it still hurt.
He wondered how he’d missed that in the society pages. While neither of their families were wealthy or influential enough to run with the big players in town, somethingthatsensational would surely have made the papers. His disastrous breakup certainly had and, thinking back, he was surprised she hadn’t asked him about it. Had she already fled Boston by then? That might also have been why his parents hadn’t mentioned it to him. It hit too close to home.
Darius let out a long, slow breath. They’d been such good friends in high school. If he hadn’t been so immature that a simple kiss—an incredibly amazing simple kiss—had scared him speechless, they might have gotten together back then. Instead, he’d avoided her the last month of their senior year while he tried to figure out what to do, what to say to her. Then they’d both gone their separate ways for summer family trips and a semester at different colleges. But he’d thought about Eve the whole time. When he’d seen her again six months later for the Christmas break, she’d had a boyfriend.
Now, spending time with her again after all these years drove home how much he’d missed. He didn’t think he was imagining the chemistry between them. If anything, it was more powerful than ever. He wanted to test the waters between them, but how could he, knowing what he knew now about Eve’s past? Would she consider dating him if she knew he’d left his fiancée standing at the altar?
Darius sat up and put his feet on the floor. Resting his elbows on his knees, he ran his hands through his hair. He wanted to come clean, but he’d given his word. Had enough time passed that Melanie would free him from his promise?
He went to stand at his window. In the distance he could see the lights from Edinburgh Castle. He had less than a week to figure it out. Darius felt like he’d been given an opportunity to connect with Eve again, and he had to find a way to make the most of it.
It might not matter. Twelve years was a long time, and people changed after high school. They’d both been in serious relationships since that hadn’t worked out. Spending so much time with Eve would help him figure it out. If nothing came of it, then it was a moot point, and there was no reason to contact Melanie.
6
When Darius heard the knock on his door, he hurriedly pulled a sweater over his head and was straightening it as he stepped into the suite’s living room. He wasn’t surprised to find Joe opening the door for Sophia and her mother, with Eve following them into the room. The girl was practically shaking with excitement, and he wondered if the suggestion to start the excursions mid-morning so she could get more sleep had worked. He didn’t doubt that she’d been up since the crack of dawn like a child on Christmas morning.
“Welcome everyone,” he said. “Noah is setting up breakfast in the dining room.”
They followed him there where the young man stepped aside to show the row of food on the sideboard.
“It smells good,” Eve said, sniffing the air. “What did you order for today?”
“It’s called a full Scottish breakfast.” Joe indicated the others should come to the table. “It includes tomato with broiled cheese on top, bacon—though you should note that it’s more like thinly sliced ham here. There are tattie scones which are made out of potatoes.” He glanced at Noah who grinned. Joe continued, “There are bangers which are sausages, sautéed mushrooms, baked beans or what we’d call pork and beans, eggs, and black pudding.”
“Ew.” Sophia made a face. “I’ve heard of black pudding. Isn’t that stuff made out ofblood?”
“Aye, it is,” Noah said.
“Lupus might make me be careful with sunshine, but that doesn’t make me a vampire. I don’t do blood as a food option.”
“’Tis not so bad when you grow up eating it.”
“Along the sidebar,” Joe continued, ignoring the two squabbling teens, “there are juices, tea, coffee, yogurt, fruit, and porridge. If everyone will be seated.”
“I wonder if he should have been a maître d’ at a restaurant instead of a bodyguard,” Darius said to Eve, keeping his voice low.
“He wasn’t like this in Ireland, but that might be because Sona took care of ordering the food. I think Joe’s cute.” She slid into a chair and reached for the tongs to serve herself from the tattie scone dish.
Darius took the chair beside her, choosing a banger instead. The first few minutes, the group was quiet as they focused on trying out the different foods. Eve finished hers first and pulled out her phone.
“I’m going to review today’s itinerary, so everyone knows what to expect,” she said. “We’ll walk from the Barliamo to the Royal Mile.”
“Why is it called the Royal Mile?” Darius looked to Joe but surprisingly it was Noah who answered.
“I took my cue from the big guy here,” the young man said. “’Tis a bit more than a mile from the Edinburgh Castle gates to the palace of Holyrood. It’s where they hold the procession when the Scots would crown a new king or queen. The Scottish Crown Jewels are kept at the castle, so they start there and walk down the Royal Mile to the palace.”
“Do you think there’s any chance we could see the Queen while we’re here?” Sophia asked.
“Her annual visit is the end of June to the beginning of July,” Joe said.
“Oh.” The girl’s expression fell.
“But that also means that we won’t have as many crowds while we’re looking at Harry Potter sites,” Eve said, bumping shoulders with Sophia. “So that’s a plus.”
“Yeah,” the girl said, “but it’d have been fun to see some of the royals.”
