A Christmas Wish on Arran (Scottish Romances #4)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

‘We used to work together. A long, long time ago.’ Callum was unable to peel his eyes away from Beth. He still couldn’t believe she was here on the island. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her since she fell into his arms at the winter market. ‘Back in the olden days.’

He could feel Daisy staring at him, wondering what it was he wasn’t saying. She was as intuitive as her mother had been, and he knew she would grill him the moment they left the classroom.

‘Where did you work?’ pushed Daisy.

He could see that Beth’s chest was flushed. He remembered from way back that was a sign she was nervous. Some things hadn’t changed — he was curious why she should feel that way. Instead of stepping in and answering Daisy, he waited for Beth to reply.

‘Oh, just at one of the hotels in Brodick,’ Beth said. ‘I used to come over during the summer when I was a student, that’s where we met. We all kind of got to know each other.’

He held her gaze for a moment — until his phone buzzed and he looked to see Maisie’s name flash up on the screen. ‘Excuse me, I need to take this.’ He stepped aside to answer.

‘Hello dear. I’m sorry to call you. I hope I’m not interrupting your dinner. I know you’ll be busy cooking just now,’ said Maisie.

‘That’s okay. I’m just at the school with Daisy. It’s parents’ evening.’

‘Sorry of course it is. I totally forgot.’

‘Is everything okay?’ His brows furrowed as he looked over and saw Daisy and Beth deep in conversation. He didn’t like to think what they might be talking about.

‘The back door is locked and the key is jammed,’ she said. ‘I was just wondering if you would mind popping by to have a wee look when you can. No rush though.’

‘Of course I will. Give me an hour or so and then I’ll be there.’

‘Oh thank you Callum,’ she said. ‘You are so kind. What would I do without you?’

Callum smiled. ‘That’s okay Maisie. Do you need anything brought in from the shops while we’re out?’

She cleared her throat. ‘Well, I mean if it’s not too much trouble, and you don’t mind, if you could bring me a wee bottle of red wine that would be appreciated. I’m running low.’

Callum shook his head and laughed. She was some woman. ‘No problem. See you soon. Bye Maisie.’ Ending the call, he walked back over to Beth and Daisy.

‘Is everything okay?’ asked Daisy.

‘Yes. It was just Maisie asking if we could do an errand for her.’ From the way Beth inclined her head, he could tell she was wondering who Maisie was. He decided he would let her be curious. For now. Yet, despite that, he wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know everything. Where had she been and why was she really back on Arran to start with? Callum knew that they needed to get on with their appointments, but he was finding it hard to drag himself away from Beth. He had a flashback of what it felt like to kiss her, the way in which her lips moved on his. It was impossible to ignore the way she was looking at him — the rosy flush on her cheeks and the brightness in her eyes. It was as though she was also having the same flashback, and for a moment they looked into each other’s eyes.

Daisy coughed. ‘Right, I think we need to go. Mrs Richards is ready to see us. She’s staring at us.’ Daisy tugged at his arm. ‘Come on, I don’t need you making things even worse for me than they already are in that class.’

Beth smiled over at her. ‘Good luck.’ She turned to him. ‘That reminds me, I offered Daisy some help with English if she’d like it. I said to check with you first though.’

‘That’s very kind. Thanks. We’ll get back to you on that.’ He could smell her perfume from where he was standing and it was unnerving. He didn’t want to leave her side.

‘You’d better go.’ Beth eventually broke the spell. ‘Nice to see you again. Maybe we should catch up properly . . .’ She sounded unsure, and a bit embarrassed.

Callum nodded his head and tried his very best to sound casual. ‘Sure. I’d like that. We will sort something out. See you later. Come on Daisy.’ He turned and walked to the other side of the room, taking a seat opposite the teacher. He tried hard to focus on what she was saying, but knowing Beth was just metres away was a huge distraction. All the feelings he once had for her came flooding back. He felt a mixture of love, lust, regret, anger and sadness. He leaned forward, making himself focus and listen to what Mrs Richards had to say. After a few minutes with her he could now understand why Daisy had been feeling so out of sorts with this subject in particular. She reminded him of his old English teacher who hadn’t done much to encourage his love of the subject. No wonder Daisy was struggling.

As they left the classroom, he glanced over to steal a look at Beth, but she was engrossed in a conversation with other parents.

‘See what I mean.’ Daisy’s eyes were downcast as they walked along the corridor.

‘Mmm,’ he said. ‘Yes. She’s not the most encouraging of teachers, is she?’

‘Nope,’ mumbled Daisy. ‘Can I get Beth to help me then? I think that would make a difference. Plus you two go way back, so technically she’s an old friend? Or more than that?’ Daisy looked at him and winked.

Callum rolled his eyes. He knew that Beth’s offer to help made sense. He had no doubt that Beth would help Daisy with her English, but he just didn’t know if he could face allowing her back into his life again. So much had happened since they were last in each other’s worlds. But how could he say no to Daisy? ‘If you think it will help you with English, then I’m sure we can work something out.’ He couldn’t believe the impact Beth had on him after all these years. Despite the sadness he felt — when he thought back to how much his heart had been broken in the days after Beth had left to go to London — he now felt something else. A flicker of excitement, a glimmer of hope and, most of all, a longing for the woman who he was head over heels in love with all those years ago.