A Christmas Wish on Arran (Scottish Romances #4)

Chapter Nineteen

‘How are you settling into the flat?’ asked Alessandro as they walked towards his car, which was parked across from the office. He clicked it open with his key and gestured towards the passenger seat, opening the door for her.

‘Fine thanks. Not quite the same standard as your hotel, but it is very comfortable.’ She got into the car and he closed the door. There was no doubt he was extremely charming, but Beth realised that it was no longer an attribute that she found appealing.

As he started the ignition, she felt herself babbling again. ‘How come you’re off on a Friday night? I thought it would be busy at the hotel. What do you normally do at the weekends? Or are you usually working?’ She paused for breath before continuing. ‘It’s been ages since I’ve been to Lamlash. You must like going there to get a change of scene?’

He glanced over at her, a small smile playing on his lips. ‘That’s a lot of questions. I can see why you’re a journalist.’

She felt her cheeks flushing and was grateful to be shrouded in darkness. ‘Just taking an interest.’ She hoped he wouldn’t realise how nervous she was. To think she had been lecturing the kids earlier about the importance of allowing people the chance to answer questions.

‘It’s okay. I don’t mind. It’s actually quite nice to be asked. Now, let me try and remember your questions. Yes, you’re right, I do normally work at the weekend, but because things are a bit quieter I took the night off.’ He sighed. ‘Sometimes it feels like all I do is work. What else did you ask?’

‘Erm, I asked if you’d like to go to Lamlash for a change. Rather than bars in Brodick?’

‘Yes.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘If I go out in Brodick then there can be guests there and it can feel as though I’m at work. It is nice to go somewhere else where I can switch off a bit. Less chance of an amorous customer taking advantage.’ He chuckled, lightening the mood.

‘No, surely that doesn’t really happen?’ Beth couldn’t imagine the guests she’d seen at the hotel making advances on the manager, however handsome he might be. They were all ladies of a certain age.

‘You would be surprised,’ said Alessandro spiritedly.

The road was dark between villages. As they drove down the hill into Lamlash, Beth could just about make out the dark shape of the Holy Isle in the distance. Then a few moments later he pulled over and parked outside the pub. ‘Here we are.’

‘Didn’t you say you had to drop something off somewhere?’ Beth shivered as she got out the car and looked over at the dark water of the bay. She reached into her bag for her scarf and wound it around her neck. ‘It’s so cold.’

‘I know. Come on, let’s go in. I just need to drop a package off for my friend who works in the pub.’ He opened the boot and pulled out a jiffy bag.

Beth looked at it speculatively, immediately wondering what it was, and Alessandro must have read her mind. ‘It’s nothing dodgy, if that’s what you’re thinking.’

Beth groaned. ‘Am I that obvious?’

Alessandro nodded. ‘You’re so like Jim. Always so suspicious. A journalist through and through. It’s just some keys I need to drop off.’

Beth had to smile. He was absolutely right. She did tend to question things, though she reminded herself that she should have listened to her instinct and interrogated Tim from the outset. But, somehow, she’d had a rush of blood to the head, which had left her broken in more ways than one. She followed as he led the way and held the door open for her. As they entered the pub she was immediately hit by the welcoming warmth of the log fire and the background noise of chatter and laughter. Following Alessandro to the bar, he turned and looked at her.

‘What would you like to drink?’

‘A glass of red wine would be great thanks.’ She watched as he warmly clasped the hand of the man behind the bar, speaking briefly to him as he passed him the envelope. Gesturing to them both he said, ‘Stuart, this is Beth, the new reporter at the paper. Beth meet Stuart, who owns the pub.’

Stuart grinned at her. ‘Nice to meet you, Beth.’

‘You too. Nice place you’ve got here.’ It was a cosy and welcoming pub, with wooden floors, a mixture of trestle tables and wooden circular tables, which were all adorned with twinkling tea lights.

‘Aw, thanks. You two take a seat and I’ll bring your drinks over.’

‘Thanks mate. Shall we sit by the window?’ Alessandro pointed to a small table in the corner.

‘Perfect.’ Beth sat down and then Stuart brought their drinks over.

‘Cheers.’ Alessandro clinked his bottle of alcohol-free beer against her glass of wine.

Beth made a mental note not to have any more alcohol after she’d finished her drink. She didn’t want to do or say anything she may regret, or give Alessandro the wrong idea, especially as he wasn’t drinking.

‘Tell me how your week has been.’ He fixed his eyes on her face.

‘Great. I am loving the job. I mean it’s not every day that you get to write about a wooden seal sculpture being washed away and then found on another island.’ Clyde the seal was a favourite focal point in the village of Corrie where the sculpture sat on a rock. However, he was washed away in bad weather and eventually turned up on the Isle of Bute, which was further up the Firth of Clyde.

‘It must be very different to what you’re used to?’ he asked with an enquiring look.

‘Yes. But different is good. It’s what I needed.’ She took a sip of wine. ‘How about you, how has your week been?’

He sighed. ‘Fine. It’s been busy over summer and autumn, and now we have a lull before the holidays. I’m due to take some holidays after the New Year, before things start to pick up again around Easter.’

‘Have you any plans?’ She took another drink of the full-bodied Malbec.

‘Some sunshine I think would be good. Sometimes the winters here can feel very long.’

She nodded. ‘Yes, I can totally understand that. I had forgotten what Scotland can be like in November. I’ve been away a long time.’

‘Tell me about yourself. What really brought you to Arran?’

She wrapped her fingers around the glass and shrugged. ‘I was ready for a change and wanted to get out of London. I had been there a long time.’

‘No husband or family?’

She hesitated. Beth was used to being the one asking all the questions and she didn’t like how much he was probing. ‘Footloose and fancy free,’ she said as breezily as she could manage. ‘And very happy to stay that way. How about you?’

‘Same.’

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

‘And where is home for you?’ asked Beth.

‘Dundee. Despite my name.’ He laughed. ‘My parents moved from Umbria more than forty years ago. They came to Scotland for work and I was born and raised there.’

‘Do you still have family in Italy?’

He nodded. ‘Yes. We have a large Italian family there, and here. And you? Where were you brought up?’

She groaned inwardly. This felt like a game of tennis, both of them keen to bat questions back to the other. ‘In Glasgow. And I worked summers here when I was a student. Then I moved to London and, well, now I’m back.’

Just then a crowd of guys arrived and the noise level increased. She glanced over at the bar, which was now really busy. Beth was struggling to hear what he was saying and had to lean forward to listen. His eyes didn’t stray from hers and it all felt a bit intense.

‘Fancy another drink?’ She stood up.

‘Another beer would be great. Thank you.’

She hoped that one more drink would be ample and they could head back to Brodick. Alessandro was good company but, as she stifled a yawn, she realised that she really did just want to have a hot shower, pull on her pyjamas and lie on the sofa. As she waited to be served, her eyes strayed to the three blokes standing on the other side of the bar, nursing pints. Then she did a double take. It was the same guy who she’d noticed walking his dog the other day. Except now he was closer and she had a much better view. Her mouth gaped open and her heart leaped with a complicated mixture of nausea, fear, sadness and excitement. Was that really him ? Or were her eyes deceiving her? Her instinct was to run out the door and far away.

But then Stuart took her order and she distracted herself by keeping her eyes fixed on him as he grabbed two more beers from the fridge. By the time she reached Alessandro it was taking her a huge amount of effort not to glance backwards. She managed to focus on listening politely to Alessandro as he shared another humorous story of a very keen hotel customer who had done her best to chat him up. Trying her best to smile and pretend she knew what he was saying, she then felt ashamed that she was so distracted.

She drank her beer in super-quick time. ‘Listen, do you mind if we just head off soon? I am so sorry but the red wine has gone to my head and I feel a migraine coming on.’

Alessandro hesitated for a moment and then looked at her sympathetically. ‘Yes, of course.’ He tipped his head back and finished the rest of his drink.

She was grateful for her own sake that he readily accepted her excuse to leave. As she walked out the pub, Alessandro slipped his hand protectively on the small of her back, and she was convinced that she could feel his eyes on her. She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t resist looking over her shoulder and over at the guy she had recognised. When she did the world seemed to slow down completely. Her eyes locked on his. She saw the surprise, or perhaps it was more confusion, on his face. Then she turned and followed Alessandro out onto the street. She felt dizzy with shock — she didn’t dare to look back.