‘So, what are you going to do about Ben?’ Ash wiped his mouth with a napkin and sat back.
‘Not a lot. It seems even though he isherehe is clearly still with Mabel.’
He regarded her for a minute. ‘Do you know what?’
Bella shook her head. ‘What?’
‘At the risk of sounding like an old codger, I have a feeling that things will work out. You and Ben have always had a special connection and nothing will change that. I know you had a lapse there during the teenage years. But there’s nothing to stop you from being friends again in the way that you were. If it’s meant to be more than that then it will be.’
She sighed. ‘You are right. I need to stop focusing on Mabel and just focus on the fact that Ben and I have rediscovered our friendship again.’ She shook herself, realising how whiny she sounded. Especially about a bloke.
‘Things aren’t always as they seem Bella. Look at your Instagram posts. There are quite a few pictures of you withDudley Diddleyor whatever he was called.’ Bella had previously filled Ash in on the demise of Dudley.
‘He is long gone though!’ said Bella in horror.
‘Yes, but the fact he is still on your page could mean you still have the hots for him.’
‘No,’ she gasped. ‘Not at all.’
‘Well, I know that but others might not.’
Bella nodded thoughtfully. ‘True. And a friend said something similar to me earlier about not believing everything on social media. And you are right, Ash. Which makes me think I had better delete the pictures of Dudley then! Anyway, sorry to moan about it all. I’ve bored you for long enough. Tell me about you and your plans for the rest of your time here.’
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. ‘Well,’ he said. ‘I’ve made a few changes to my schedule and I do need to leave tomorrow as planned. I’d better pop in and see Ben at the distillery before I get on the ferry or he’ll never talk to me again.’ He grinned. ‘I’ve got meetings in London I need to go to. But I thought I would try and come back up and see you before I go back to Australia? I thought when your mum comes back for your birthday?’ His eyes were twinkling then a worried look crossed his face. ‘Only if that works for you Bella. I’m just aware that living on the other side of the world means I never get to actually see you on your birthday.’
‘I would love that,’ said Bella, touched. ‘It would be great to see you again before you head back to Australia.’ She felt a pangof sadness when she realised that she didn’t know when she would see him again after this summer.
As though reading her mind, he reached across and clasped her hand. ‘And we will of course need to make a plan for you to come and visit me in Oz. Maybe next year?’
Bella grinned feeling more upbeat than she did when she’d arrived at the restaurant earlier. ‘That’s a great idea.’ It would give her something to focus on and a trip to visit Ash would do her the world of good.
Chapter Forty
Over the next few days, Rosie and Luke were inseparable as they rekindled the passion from their earlier days together. When they weren’t in bed, Luke was furiously typing away on his laptop, while Rosie read drafts of his manuscript and made suggestions for changes. Coisty had also settled quite happily into his new routine and didn’t seem to mind that there was a new man on the scene who was taking up a lot of Rosie’s attention.
Luke had been vague about when exactly he would need to go back to London and so Rosie stopped asking, deciding it was better to make the most of their time together while they could. She had suggested showing him a bit more of the island while he was there and they had managed to do an early morning hike up toCoireFhionnLochan, a mountain loch with a white gravel beach. But today, she was taking him round to Blackwaterfoot for a walk and to watch the sun set. She had packed a picnic and told him to bring his swimming stuff, just in case.
‘The only problem is that I don’t have any swimmers with me. I could skinny dip?’ he said suggestively as he dipped his head to kiss her on the nape of her neck.
‘You could, but if you do that, I will ditch you and pretend I don’t know who the weird naked man in the sea is. I’ve got my reputation to protect,’ she said half-jokingly. Rosie was actually quite glad she hadn’t bumped into many of her students this summer. They must have all left the island and gone elsewhere for the summer break. Or perhaps she had just been lucky. But she knew she was glowing and she wouldn’t be able to hide her feelings if she did happen to bump into anyone she knew while Luke was with her. ‘I’ll go and see if Ben has an old pair of shorts you can wear.’
‘Not Speedos then?’ he said in mock disappointment.
Rosie had given him a withering look and disappeared to find Ben’s old board shorts.
When she pulled into the small car park near Shiskine golf club, it was fairly quiet which she felt pleased about. Most tourists and walkers would be on their way back home now or to their rented accommodation.
‘We can either walk along to King’s Caves first of all? Or swim?’ The King’s Caves were a series of seafront caves which were formed during an ice age and had views out to sea across the Kilbrannan Sound.
‘Walk and then swim?’ he suggested.
‘Sounds good to me.’ She had pointed to the trail ahead and they followed it with Coisty leading the way.
‘I bet that’s a nice golf course to play,’ said Luke, glancing over at the nearby clubhouse.
‘Yes, my parents used to play here. They loved it. It was one of their favourite courses.’
‘Did you ever try it?’
