Absent in the Spring (The Shakespeare Sisters 3)

‘He’s not a hotty,’ she told her sister. ‘He’s my client.’ She didn’t sound too convincing.

‘Luce, I just Googled him. If he’s not hot, then Adam’s not the best documentary maker in the whole wide world. Which he is, by the way.’

‘How is Adam? Has he started that new project yet?’ Lucy asked.

‘Oh no, don’t you go trying to change the subject; I know you too well.’ Kitty laughed, sounding delighted to finally turn the tables and interrogate her older sister. ‘So come on, spill. Is he as gorgeous in real life as he looks on the computer screen?’

Lucy shivered, pulling the covers up to her chin. Glencarraig may have been the most beautiful place she’d ever seen, but the lodge was absolutely freezing. There was an old iron radiator in the corner of the room, but it had long since given up with its battle against the cold. Every time she exhaled, her breath lingered in front of her in a smoky curtain. Even her goosebumps had goosebumps.

‘Have you been talking to Cesca?’ Lucy asked. ‘Because you sound exactly like her.’

‘Maybe.’

Lucy sighed. ‘He’s easy on the eye,’ she said. ‘If you like that kind of thing.’

‘And he’s rich,’ Kitty said. ‘Not to mention he looks amazing in a tux. Did you see the picture of him at the Met Gala last year?’

‘Kitty, please stop ogling my client,’ Lucy said, letting her head fall back on the headrest. ‘It’s unprofessional.’

‘So what?’ Kitty asked, a smile still in her voice. ‘Professionalism means nothing when it comes to attraction. Look at me and Adam, I was supposed to be working for his brother but I ended up falling for him anyway.’

‘That’s different.’

‘How?’ She sounded genuinely interested.

‘Because you were just nannying for a few weeks. If something happened between me and a client it could put my whole career on the line. I’ve worked really hard to get where I am, and I’m not going to jeopardise it over some guy I’ve just met.’

‘But you are attracted to him, right?’

Lucy pursed her lips together, blowing out a mouthful of air. She watched as it turned to vapour again. ‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘Maybe a bit. But it doesn’t make any difference.’

‘Oh Luce.’

‘Don’t Luce me.’

‘I’ll Luce you all I want. And if anybody deserves a good Lucing it’s you.’

Lucy laughed. ‘What the heck are you talking about?’

‘Look, this guy, Lachlan. He’s easy on the eye, he’s sexy, and from what you’ve told me you’re wildly attracted to him.’

‘I didn’t say anything about wild.’

‘And he likes you too. Right?’ Kitty prompted.

‘I don’t know —’

‘He flew into Edinburgh and demanded you drop everything to spend the next twenty-four hours with him, when we both know a guy like him doesn’t need to be babysat by you. He’s practically perfect. So why are you sitting alone in your room and talking to me, when you could be ravishing the crusty old laird?’

‘He’s not crusty.’

‘I know.’

‘Or old.’

‘Mm hmm.’

‘And he’s not a laird. Not yet.’