‘Well, it just goes back to what you said. We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.’
He laughed and raked his hand through his hair. ‘I will admit that I didn’t make it. James only has the instant stuff in his flat,so I took it down to the distillery café and asked them to fill it for me.’
They sat in companionable silence for a while. Logan wondered if he should tentatively ask again about her husband and what had happened. But Kitty drained the rest of her coffee then bounced back to her feet, and the moment was gone.
‘Right,’ she said. ‘Are you ready for a rematch back to the other side?’
‘You mean you want another race? Oh boy, okay. But you do realise that I was giving you a chance on the way over here. I didn’t want to embarrass you by winning. It wouldn’t have been very gentlemanly of me.’
He twinkled at her and Kitty narrowed her eyes. ‘Sod that nonsense. Last one back can buy lunch and, seeing that I’m not feeling very generous, I hope you’ve brought your wallet.’
Before he could respond, she had jumped in her kayak and was off. ‘Hey,’ he called after her. ‘You didn’t give me any warning.’
She looked over her shoulder and grinned. ‘Catch me if you can.’
It was an invitation he couldn’t refuse.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kitty was exhausted, but there was no way she was going to let him beat her. She was determined to reach Lamlash first, and she could feel her competitive nature powering through her as she paddled furiously. Her arms were burning, but she couldn’t help laughing as she heard Logan behind her singing about being a champion. She desperately wanted to turn around and tell him he hadn’t won the race yet. But she suspected his singing was a distraction tactic, so she kept her eyes on the land ahead. She focused on the sound of her paddles, swooshing through the water, grateful that there were no waves or strong currents today, which would have made this much harder. It had been a while since she’d been out on the water like this, and she was relieved that she had kept up with her regular Pilates sessions, which seemed to have maintained her core strength and balance. She had no doubt though that she would feel all of this hard work when she woke up tomorrow.
‘Not far now,’ she whispered to herself. She had about one hundred metres to go, and she realised that Logan had gone quiet. Turning around in a panic, to check he was okay, she saw that he was right behind her. His face was a picture of concentration as he focused on trying to overtake her.
‘Looks like I could be winning this one after all,’ he said as he edged slightly ahead.
She grimaced and paddled harder and faster, her muscles burning as her breathing started to become more laboured. They both reached the shallows and jumped out of the water to race and touch the shore at the same time.
‘I’d say that was a draw,’ said Logan. ‘Well done.’ He raised his hand to high-five her and Kitty forced a smile, reluctant to admit defeat.
‘Well done,’ she said. ‘You know I’ll need to challenge you to a rematch some time?’
His eyes widened in surprise. ‘Any time you want. You weren’t joking when you said you were competitive, were you?’
‘Too much?’ asked Kitty apologetically.
He shrugged. ‘Actually, I quite like it. Come on, how about I buy you lunch?’
‘Deal,’ she said, pulling the kayak towards the shed and waving at Fergus, who came over to meet them. As she told him about their morning, she couldn’t help but notice Logan’s defined chest muscles and a smattering of dark hair when he unzipped his wetsuit. Even though she tried not to stare, it was really hard to pull her eyes away.
‘I’ll give you a call later in the week,’ said Fergus. ‘Maybe you can come and meet Amelia too?’
‘I’d like that very much,’ she said. ‘And thanks for sorting us out today.’
‘Anytime, guys. Logan, are you back for another tour soon?’
Logan nodded. ‘Yes, next week, and Kitty has just challenged me to another race, so clearly I’ll need to get some training in.’
Kitty chuckled. ‘Right, let me just go and get changed, and then you can take me for lunch.’
* * *
They were sitting in the corner of a café that looked out over Lamlash Bay, waiting for their food to arrive.
‘Tell me more. What else do you do when you’re not at work or being a champion kayaker?’
She mulled his question over. ‘I like to bake.’
He eyed her suspiciously.