LITMIR.BIZ

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she would never regret this. In the twelve hours since their lips had first met she had come alive to her body in a way she never had before.

      She wanted to put down her mug and reach for his kiss. Or at the very least to ask him what day he’d get back from his trip, in the hope that she could see him. But then she recalled their rules, and peeled back the sheet rather than leaning in to his embrace.

      ‘I’d better go. I have a train to catch.’

      ‘What time?’

      ‘Ten.’

      ‘Then there’s plenty of time.’

      ‘No, I need to get back to mine to pack.’

      ‘Fair enough,’ Richard said.

      He lay there with his hands behind his head as she dressed. He kept his mouth firmly closed.

      It was deliberate, because a long weekend in Scotland with Freya sounded tempting—rather than flying to Moscow by himself and cramming in some sightseeing.

      ‘Have a great trip,’ Freya said.

      ‘I will.’ He put out his hand and she came and sat down on the bed.

      ‘And good luck with your lunch,’ she added.

      ‘Thanks.’

      It wasn’t awkward when she left. More, it felt...unfinished.

      * * *

      Freya thought about him more than she ought as her train slid its way northwards.

      It was packed, and there were no seats in the quiet carriage, so Freya put in her earbuds and tried to listen to music—but every song sounded as if it had been written about them. So she gave up with the music and chatted to the woman in the seat beside her.

      She was a fellow Scot, so neither had to say sorry, or I beg your pardon once, and Freya found out from her that on weekends and public holidays you could sometimes get a cheap upgrade to First Class.

      ‘I’ll remember that,’ Freya said, and then gazed out of the window and watched the rolling countryside. The clouds gathered and right on cue, as they crossed the border at Berwick-upon-Tweed, she saw grey skies and rain,

      It made her smile.

      The train travelled the rugged Scottish coastline, eating up the miles until they reached Edinburgh Castle. It was dark and powerful and towering over them, and her first glimpse of it in what felt like a long time caused Freya’s heart to swell.

      The train pulled into Waverley Station and it felt very good to be home. The station was busy as she checked the board for the next train to Cromayr Bay and saw that she had half an hour to kill.

      Freya decided to buy some flowers for her little cottage, to brighten things up. As she was paying she could hear her phone beeping, and assumed it was Alison, or her mother, checking on what time her train would get in.

      She nearly dropped the phone when she saw that it was Richard.

      Lunch went well. I’ll have my phone off for a few days now, but just wanted to say that I hope you have a nice break.

      No kisses or fun little emojis. No clues to anything, really—but even getting a text was more than she had expected.

      Freya hadn’t expected anything. She’d hoped that she might see him again—of course she had—but this simple text... Well, it confused her. This didn’t fit with how he had said it would be.

      She honestly didn’t know how to respond.

      A part of her wanted to fire back smiley faces and pictures of tartan berets and Russian hats—just to keep it all light and breezy. Yet light and breezy wasn’t how she felt when it came to Richard.

      And so, when most women would be firing off a rapid response to a text from Richard Lewis, Freya—because she didn’t know how to respond—instead sent the promised text to Alison, and then stuffed her phone back in her bag.

      Freya had no intention of telling people about Richard. Certainly she wouldn’t be telling her parents. While Freya adored them, her mother Jean loved ‘a wee natter’, and—as Freya well knew—nothing stayed a secret in Cromayr Bay for very long.

      Alison was a different matter. And she was there waiting when Freya got out at Cromayr Bay.

      The clouds had parted and the sky was high and blue, and Alison was smiling widely as she waved to her.

      ‘Look at you!’ Freya smiled, because in the weeks that Freya had been away Alison had changed and was now sporting a lovely little bump.

      ‘I know!’ Her friend smiled back. ‘Betty said that you can sometimes show a lot more quickly the second time around.’

      Betty had clearly said easily what Freya hadn’t been able to. And still Freya did not know why.

      She had been dwelling on it for months now, and had even discussed it with Richard, but still she had a huge block when it came to speaking about the loss with her friend.

      ‘I booked us a table at the Tavern for tonight,’ Alison said as she drove her home.

      ‘In the restaurant?’ Freya checked, because usually they went for a curry, or just to the Tavern’s bar. The restaurant was pricey, and rather grand, but she had heard right.

      ‘Yes, it’s closing for renovations next week. They’re going to put a function room in at the top, and they’re refurbishing the restaurant.’

      Freya didn’t like the sound of that—she loved it as it was.

      ‘The bar’s staying open, as well as the hotel, but I thought you might want to see the restaurant as it is one more time.’

      Oh, she really did.

      They took the hilly street approach and, rarely for summer, there was a parking spot close to Freya’s cottage. They pulled in behind her little purple car.

      ‘Do you want to come in?’ Freya offered, but Alison shook her head.

      ‘I’ve got to go and do a shop—I’ll meet you in the Tavern bar at seven.’

      ‘I’ll see you there, then.’

      ‘It’s good to have you home, Freya.’

      It was good to be here, Freya thought as she pushed open the door.

      The drapes had been closed by Mrs Hunt after the last tenants, and Freya went around opening them up and letting in the late-afternoon sun. Then she turned on the hot water and caught up on her mail while she waited for it to warm.

      And she did all she could not to think too much of Richard and what had happened last night.

      She wouldn’t be telling Alison. At least she didn’t know whether or not to tell her.

      Alison and Callum had been childhood sweethearts. And Freya wasn’t sure her friend would understand.

      Freya herself didn’t understand.

      She liked it that there was no risk of getting overly involved with Richard.

      The break-up with Malcolm had been tricky. He’d kept messaging and coming round, turning up wherever she went, wanting to talk, to see if they could give it another go.

      Well, she wouldn’t be having that problem with Richard!

      It was rather freeing.

      * * *

      It was nice to dress up and go out. She hadn’t brought much with her, but she had a nice copper-coloured dress, and with heels it was dressy enough. Her hair was still rather wild from going to bed with it damp last night, so Freya wore it up and then added a dash of lipstick.

      She glanced at her phone as she put the lipstick back in her bag, and then decided she’d do well to leave the phone at home, to prevent herself from replying

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