The Wedding Engagement

Chapter Eighteen

Arran eyed Liv as she sat next to him, staring out the window of the van, and tried to fathom what she was thinking.

There was a new tension between them. There had, of course, been tension so far on the weekend—though that had been down to him and his jealousy. However, the situation had now evolved into something altogether more intense, and yet yesterday, he wouldn’t have thought that possible.

All morning he’d been orbiting around her, feeling like she was too precious to let out of his sight. Ridiculous, when she didn’t need him to protect her at all. But he’d felt like she’d still welcomed his backing her up, and that had given him the best feeling.

Since breakfast, though, he’d had to battle Sam for the role of protector. Once Liv’s twin had discovered what had happened the previous evening, he’d been distraught that nobody had come to wake him to support his sister. So now he was trying to make up for it by hovering around her constantly. Nico had managed to elicit a smile from Sam when he’d commented that they all knew he and Maya hadn’t been sleeping during the night’s events, and there had been no way anyone had wanted to knock on their door and interrupt their shenanigans for fear of being traumatized for life.

Arran glanced over again at where Liv was still staring out the car window on the drive to Neist Point. He wished desperately that he could get inside her head. He needed some time alone with her to talk things through.

Holy shit. That kiss.

He’d known that kissing her would be good, but he hadn’t anticipated just how mind-blowing it would be. The intensity of it had knocked the breath right out of his body and projected tangibly detailed images into his mind of what he wanted to do to her.

His determination to keep his distance had already been wearing thin as he’d watched Brodie being affectionate with her over the weekend. But then the sight of that twat gripping her arm outside the pub had exploded any remaining willpower he had over keeping his feelings to himself.

She was still turned away from him, and he wanted to hold her hand but didn’t want to overstep the mark in front of the others. He’d been getting strong vibes that she didn’t want the rest of the group to know what was happening between the two of them. Shit, he didn’t even know what was happening between them. But he knew what he wanted to happen. Did she want that too? Last night he had been certain that she did.

Once they arrived at the car park and climbed out, he noticed that Liv was trying to walk apart from him.

Touché. That’s what he’d been doing all weekend, and now the tables had turned. But why? His previous avoidance had been born from a wish to give her space when he’d thought she was involved with Brodie. Plus, if he were honest, it was an instinct to protect himself from his escalating feelings for her. But then he hadn’t been able to hold back after the adrenaline spike of seeing her in danger, and he was glad he hadn’t. If he’d only listened to Agnes’s advice and spoken to Liv sooner rather than acting like a jealous fool, he would’ve discovered sooner that she and Brodie were just friends. Not that he’d be telling Agnes that anytime soon; the nosy bugger would be insufferable if he admitted she’d been right.

So why was she distancing herself now? She’d seemed the previous night as if she’d wanted him close. What had changed this morning?

Arran bided his time on the two-kilometer walk to the lighthouse at Neist Point. He’d keep his distance, then take the first opportunity to speak to her alone. But perhaps he’d need to recruit reinforcements to achieve that.

The view from Neist Point was spectacular, the most westerly edge of Skye looking out to the Outer Hebrides. It was a clear day, and the deep blue of the ocean stretched out to meet the bright baby blue of the sky, the salty sea breeze adding a crisp sting to their faces.

They were at the front of the lighthouse in the field of stone towers built by walkers. Sam and Maya were flanking Liv, as they had been for the whole walk. He roamed his gaze around for an ally and spotted Nico chatting to Brodie. Time to enlist some support.

Making his way over, he gave the men a nod. “Gentlemen. I need your assistance.”

Nico raised his eyebrows. “Oh?”

Arran stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I need to speak to Liv. As in, speak to her alone. But I’m being inadvertently foiled by Sam and Maya.”

Brodie grinned. “You’re going to go for it, then?”

Arran flashed him a smile. “Yeah. Thanks for the push.”

Brodie gave him a wink.

Nico laughed. “Thank fuck for that. Everyone’s been waiting months for you to make a move, you total pussy.”

Arran rolled his eyes, still smiling. “Fuck you. Are you going to help me out or not?”

Nico looked at Brodie. “I’m in.”

Brodie shifted his lips into a determined line, nodding. “Let’s do this.”

Nico smiled. “I’ll take Sam. You get Maya.”

They both turned and walked away from Arran, sidling up to the trio of Sam, Maya, and Liv.

Nico slid an arm around Sam’s shoulders and gestured at something nearer the lighthouse, and Brodie took Maya’s elbow to whisper something in her ear. She nodded and followed him a few yards away.

Arran didn’t waste any time. He closed the gap between him and the now solitary Liv. “Hey.”

She startled, her voice hesitant. “Hi.”

His confidence wavered. “Can we talk?”

Liv opened her mouth, pausing for a second before any sound came out. “Sure.”

Taking her hand, he led her a little way back, away from the other groups of people. “How’re you feeling after we gave the statements?”

She nodded. “Okay, thanks. I’m glad the police are involved and can sort it before the guy does any actual harm.”

“Good. You can talk to me, though, you know? If you feel anxious about anything.”

She smiled, her green eyes lighting up, and for a second, he was lost at sea.

“I appreciate that,” she said. “You’re a great friend.”

“Yeah. About that.” He took a breath, feeling like he was climbing out on a limb, where the cliffs fell away beyond the lighthouse. In his mind’s eye the wind buffeted him, and sharp rocks and rough seas lay below. He rubbed his chest. “Friends don’t kiss each other the way we did last night.”

“I know,” she said quickly, and for a moment, his heart lifted, pushing away the hollow feeling in his chest. Was she going to say what he hoped? But before she could continue, his phone began to ring in his pocket. And he knew it would be Jess. Fuck.

Liv looked him in the eyes, and he could tell she knew it too. “You’d better answer,” she told him. “It might be something about Jayce.”

He pulled the phone out, also concerned that might be the case, but suspecting it was more likely to be one of Jess’s newfound, but very regular, check-ins. He answered it, taking hold of Liv’s hand when she looked as if she were about to move away and shaking his head. Stay , he mouthed at her.

He quickly answered Jess’s usual questions, about what he was doing and whom he was with. Then he made an excuse and ended the call.

He took a breath. “You were saying. About the kiss.”

She studied him for a few seconds, blinking as she searched his face. She was trembling a little and worry mounted in his heart. She opened her mouth, then glanced down at where his phone was still in his hand and closed it again. After another couple of seconds, her voice came out strained. “I don’t really know what to say, to be honest.” She blinked, her eyes wet.

His heart rate spiked. “Hey, it’s okay.” He held out his arms to invite her in but gave her the space to decide whether to take him up on it, rather than going in to touch her. She immediately came to him, letting him envelop her in a hug, nestling against his front. “What’s wrong? Did I do something to hurt you?”

“No, no, not at all,” she said quickly, shaking her head against his chest. “Everything I said was true and I wanted to kiss you so badly. But then when we got back to the house I just felt so sick and panicky and…I just…I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

He stroked her hair, wishing he could make it all better for her. “Is it that guy from last night? It was a really traumatic event. And then giving the statement must have been hard.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Her voice was small. “But I feel like it’s something else too. I’ve felt like this before when I…” Her voice trailed off.

“When what, Aggie?”

She sighed. “It doesn’t matter.”

He hesitated, wanting to help her but not wanting to push too hard. “Is it anything to do with you becoming Jayce’s teacher? I don’t want to cross any boundaries you aren’t comfortable with.”

“No, it’s not that.” She fell silent, and he didn’t know what to say for the best. All his instincts said there was something she was hiding, a secret she kept to herself. But perhaps it was something unconscious, rather than an issue she was able to put into words. He didn’t want to push her before she was ready to try.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here for you, whenever you feel ready and able to talk about it.”

She squeezed him tight. “Thank you. That means so much to me.” He felt her swallow hard against his chest. “I’m sorry for being fucked-up. I shouldn’t have kissed you when I’m such a mess.”

Arran pulled back and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. “You don’t have to apologize to me. You’re always there for me and everyone else, and I need you to know that I want the privilege of doing the same for you.”

Her chin wobbled, her eyes welling up. “I’m so glad I’ve got you as a friend.” She blinked a few times, clearly struggling to keep the tears in, and it wrecked him. “I don’t want to lose that with you. Please tell me I haven’t spoiled it.”

He shook his head gently, stroking her cheek in an attempt to comfort her. “Never.”

She gave him a wobbly smile. His beautiful, brave girl. He would wait for her to be ready to talk to him, as long as it took.