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“He’s not wrong,” said Anya with a smile. She certainly didn’t lack any confidence in her abilities. “A great winter warmer, too. The same for you, Satnam?”

“Yes, please,” said the man beside Hannah.

Before long, Hannah was sitting at a table by a window, looking over the loch with a steaming bowl of porridge topped with Greek yoghurt, fruit compote and flaked almonds. Complete with a strong latte, this was an excellent way to start the day, she decided.

The wind was evidently higher today. The trees in some places were almost horizontal in the gusts, and the water across the loch puckered in the direction of the strong breeze. The weather forecast was clearly accurate. Hannah thought briefly of Lottie’s nephew travelling up to the hotel in a bid to beat the weather.

“Good morning. Can I get you some more coffee?” Lottie had somehow managed to creep up on Hannah again.

“Morning, Lottie.” Hannah could see that Lottie was in work clothes this time, but somehow asking for coffee from her seemed weird, especially after yesterday. “No thanks, I’m fine with this one.”

Lottie seemed to flinch slightly. “No problem.” She paused. “I see you’ve opted for the porridge, a great choice. I will leave you in peace to enjoy it.”

Before Hannah could say anything else, Lottie strode away. She couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow she’d missed an opportunity, that there was something else she could have said. She should have asked about Zack, perhaps. She wondered if Lottie was regretting telling her about herself.

Hannah returned to the porridge, which was creamy and rich, the sharp compote and crunchy almonds providing a welcome contrast. She’d never routinely eaten it before, but she could see that presented in this way, it was something quite special. And sitting watching the weather roll across the loch, she appreciated the warmth and comfort it brought.

The day was her own and she had to decide what to do. There was something a bit scary about that. Her diary was empty, and she knew that she wasn’t going to get any work calls – her editor Mark had made sure of that. As for personal calls, well, that was unlikely, too. The only person she really heard from aside from Mark was Carl, and those conversation tended to revolve around the business of divorce. Divorce, she’d come to learn, could become a job in and of itself, especially around finances. She was relieved that it was mostly concluded now.

She reflected again on what Lottie had said the night before, her words about passion and heartbreak. In Hannah’s life, these had been little more than fictional concepts, fancies that couldn’t really exist in reality. Had she been wrong? Was there was an opportunity for her to experience these things now? Her preference would be passion, rather than heartbreak. But then, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d met a man who had intrigued or attracted her in any way. It was ironic, really, that the person she’d met recently who intrigued her most was Lottie. But that, of course, was purely down to their shared history.

Chapter Fourteen

LOTTIE

Lottie checked her phone nervously. The rain was beginning to come in now, and the wind was even higher. The morning had been blustery, but it was clear that the storm was descending as predicted. She hadn’t heard from Zack since a text at lunchtime. She knew she was probably worrying unnecessarily. But having lost Meg and Adam in a car accident, she had never completely allowed herself to relax when one of the children was travelling.

She sighed, thinking about Hannah again. She’d got under her skin. She had seemed so cold and unfriendly this morning, which was at odds with the thawing that seemed to have happened the night before in the bar.

Anya came into her office. “Hey, boss, penny for those thoughts?”

Lottie looked up. “Hey, chef. Want a cuppa?”

“Sure.” Anya settled herself in the worn armchair in the corner of the room.

Lottie returned with steaming cups of tea and a couple of slabs of shortbread. “Here you go. I’ve added three sugars to yours, as usual. I am pretty sure it drowns out the taste of the tea leaves.”

“No, no,” Anya shook her head violently. “It enhances it. I have a superior palette – it’s part of my profession. You know that.”

“As always, while I agree that you have an exceptional set of tastebuds, putting this much sugar in tea is a crime.” Lottie admonished her friend with a smile.

“You may have lived in the Highlands for twenty years, but your Englishness is showing.” Anya shot a comical frown in Lottie’s direction.

“Oh, don’t get started on the whole deep fried Mars Bar thing…” Lottie rolled her eyes.

“Och, you’ve never lived,” said Anya. “Now then, tell me about this Hannah character. There is clearly something going on there, and you and I need you to spill more tea – however many sugars are in it.”

Lottie talked about the conversation they’d had in the bar the night before, how it had become almost warm. She was beginning to see some of Hannah’s personality coming through. “But then this morning,” she said, “it was like she was back in full ice maiden mode.” Lottie didn’t understand it. She didn’t have a single ice maiden cell in her body.

“So, she’s different to you. But you knew that,” said Anya. “But I feel like there’s something else going on here, too. I mean, she’s hot.”

“Not this again.” Lottie shook her head. “She implied that if she was in a relationship, it would be with a man. But to be honest, she strikes me as a bit of a lone wolf. I got the feeling that she didn’t have the time or the interest in a relationship.”

“She really did warm up to you, didn’t she?” Anya looked thoughtful. She drained her mug. “I don’t suppose the iciness might just be discomfort? She strikes me as a bit brittle.”

“It’s a good word,” said Lottie. “And you know, I’ll be honest, despite being straight, she is ridiculously attractive. Did you see her in that suit last night? Just stunning. But it’s like she has a ‘do not touch’ sign on her at all times.”

“But I guess she didn’t get to where she was without being determined, single-minded and a bit of a lone wolf. Just look at that story she broke.” Anya rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t know much about politics or journalism, but I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that managing to get enough evidence together to nail the prime minister of the UK on collusion with Russia takes a pretty remarkable brain. I can’t see she’d have had time for anyone else.”