Absent in the Spring (The Shakespeare Sisters 3)

‘But you still want to ravish him, right?’

‘It’s not funny.’ Lucy squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, wanting to block everything out. ‘I’m doing everything I can to be a professional here. Can’t you give me a bit of support?’

‘You can resist all you want,’ Kitty said, ‘but you can’t fight against nature. When the attraction is there, it’s impossible to ignore. Believe me, I know.’

Funny how Kitty had emerged from her shell since she’d met Adam last winter. And now she seemed to think she was the fount of all knowledge when it came to relationships.

‘We’re not savages,’ Lucy pointed out. ‘I’m a grown woman, I’m pretty sure I can control myself.’

‘You keep believing that,’ Kitty said. ‘And next week you can tell me how Santa Claus truly exists, and that the Tooth Fairy is building a palace with all of our molars.’

‘Goodbye, Kitty.’ Lucy pulled the phone away from her ear, and stuck her tongue out at the screen.

Kitty was too busy laughing to reply.

Her room was silent apart from a gurgle every now and then from the all-but-redundant radiator in the corner. Out in the hallway she could hear every creak and groan that an old building had to give, plus a few extra screeches and scratches added in for good measure. She shivered in her bed – more from the cold than from fear – her fleecy button-up pyjamas and sleep socks no match for the cold Highland breeze.

A deep peel of bells from the grandfather clock in the entrance hall echoed through the corridors, telling her with twelve rings that midnight had finally arrived. She turned on her side, curling her body into a ball, willing herself to go to sleep.

Another noise. This time from her phone, charging beside her on the table. She picked it up, scanning the message.

Are you asleep?

So Lachlan was messaging her in the middle of the night. Somehow that felt more dangerous than being close to him.

She decided to cut him off quickly, tapping out a reply

.

Yes

His reply was almost immediate.

Liar

In spite of the frigid temperature, she could feel a fire start to burn inside her. The corner of her lip turned up.

Is there something I can help you with, Mr MacLeish, or do you message all your attorneys in the middle of the night

You type amazingly well for a sleeping person.

The smile finally burst out on her face. Kitty was right, he was hard to ignore.

If I could be asleep, I would. It’s almost impossible to sleep in sub-zero temperatures. Somebody needs to tell Glencarraig spring is supposed to be here.

It’s cold in there? It’s like a goddamn furnace in here.

What?

The next minute her phone was ringing. She didn’t need to glance at the screen to know who it was. ‘Lachlan.’

‘You’re cold?’ he asked, his voice deep and low.

‘Freezing,’ she told him. ‘Even the radiator’s put its coat on.’

He laughed. ‘What about your fire? Is that not keeping you warm?’

‘What fire?’