ying in to London?’ Lucy spoke into her phone, looking away from the Scottish Times magazine she’d been reading. The cover showed Lachlan, leaning on the fireplace at Glencarraig, looking every inch the laird of the manor. In spite of the heated interview, Marina Simpson had gone surprisingly easy on him in her article, painting him in a very sympathetic light. There were only a few mentions of his father in there, and nothing about how his parents met, thank goodness.
Even if she was off the case, she was still desperate for him to win. For it to all work out okay. It felt as though her career depended on it.
‘When are you arriving?’ she asked her sister. ‘How long will you be there?’ It was a relief to be talking to Cesca, to hear her warm humour echoing down the line from LA. After the week she’d had, and the drama of telling Malcolm about her and Lachlan, her sister was like a breath of fresh air.
‘It’s a quick visit,’ Cesca told her. ‘Sam’s sister is graduating next week, and he wants to put in an appearance. We’ll only be in London for a few days. I’ll drop in on Dad at some point while we’re in town.’
‘But I won’t be there.’ Lucy doodled a flower on the white lined paper, trying to swallow her disappointment. She so rarely saw her sisters, it hurt to miss this opportunity. ‘I’m supposed to be in New York. I fly out tomorrow.’ She felt torn. Desperate to see Lachlan, and yet needing to see her sister, too. It wasn’t often they were all in the same country, after all.
‘It’s not a problem,’ Cesca said. ‘We’ll miss you, of course, but you don’t need to chaperone me. I can see Dad all on my own. And after that I might pop to the house, take a look at it before the clearance people arrive. When were you hoping to put it up for sale?’
‘Early next month,’ Lucy said. Two lines formed across her brow. ‘Maybe I can change my trip, come down and see you. It’s typical that the week I’m in the States, you’ll be in London.’
‘We’re ships that pass in the night,’ Cesca joked. ‘But one day we’ll all be on the same continent. The world won’t know what’s hit it when the Shakespeare sisters are all together again.’
A tiny smile formed on Lucy’s lips, though it wasn’t enough to push away the sense of sadness. ‘Are you sure there’s nothing we can do to meet up? Maybe I can push things back a few days.’
‘Why are you flying over there anyway? Something to do with work?’
‘Yeah, something like that.’ For a moment she considered telling Cesca about Lachlan. Confiding in her sister about her fears. About almost ruining her career, about feeling out of control whenever her now-ex-client was in the vicinity. About how she thought she might be falling for him, and she had no idea how to deal with it.
She closed her mouth as quickly as she’d opened it. Better to go over to New York and see him before she started telling her family what was going on. They’d think she’d gone crazy if she told them the truth.
‘Are you okay?’ Cesca asked. ‘Your voice sounds funny.’
‘Funny? How?’
‘You don’t sound like you,’ her sister told her. ‘Is there a problem?’
‘No, of course not. I just don’t like disappearing for a week when Dad’s unwell.’
‘Well, now you can disappear without a care,’ Cesca said. ‘If there’s any problem I’ll be here. It’s fate.’
‘Yeah, I guess.’
‘What’s really up?’ Cesca was insistent. ‘It’s not like you to be anxious about travelling. And Dad’s not critical, he could last for years. I’m worried about you, Luce.’
Lucy lifted her eyes from her pad, and the intricate flower she’d drawn. ‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘Everything just seems a little crazy right now. Work is busy, I’ve got about a thousand cases to work on, and now I’m jetting off to New York. I don’t know how to fit everything in.’
‘Oh, is that why you’re going to New York?’ Cesca asked. ‘Isn’t that where the new laird lives? Or was it Miami, I can never remember?’
‘He lives in both.’ She should tell Cesca she was off the case. And yet there was that hesitance again, along with the fear she’d been carrying for days. She didn’t want her sister thinking badly of her.
‘So is it him you’re going to see?’ Cesca could be like a dog with a bone when she was interested in something. Lucy sensed she wasn’t going to give up on this.
‘Yes, among other things.’ That was as much as she wanted to say.
‘Other things?’ Cesca’s voice rose up. ‘What other things? Don’t tell me Lucy Shakespeare is interested in things other than work? Are you going to see a show? Or out for dinner? Don’t tell me you’re meeting up with a guy.’
‘Of course not.’ Lucy hardly recognised her own voice.
‘Oh my God, you’ve got a guy, haven’t you?’ Cesca’s words tumbled out in her excitement. ‘Who is he? What’s his name? Have you done the deed yet?’
‘There’s no guy,’ she said firmly.
‘Yes there is.’ Cesca’s certainty took Lucy’s breath away. It was as if she had a truth antenna and was pointing it straight at Edinburgh. ‘Wait, it’s him, isn’t it?’
‘Who?’ Lucy was playing for time now.