‘Um…no, I—I just feel a bit embarrassed about being…naked.’ Lea bit her lip and couldn’t hold his gaze.Dave came over to the bed and sat down beside her. He pushed the fall of her hair back behind her shoulders, his hand going to the small of her back in a warm circular caress. ‘I saw the blood on the condom. You don’t have to be embarrassed about having your period.’Lea swallowed, her heart beating so loudly she could feel it in her ears. ‘I’m not having my period.’ The words fell into the room like a loaded grenade, fizzing in the sudden silence.Dave’s hand stilled on her back, his body stiffening as if snap-frozen, his expression etched in shock as realisation slowly dawned. ‘You were a…a virgin?’ His voice was so hoarse it came out like the screech of tyres on gravel. He shot off the bed and shoved a hand through his hair, looking at her in alarm. ‘Why didn’t you say so?’Lea pulled the bedcovers closer. ‘It’s not like it’s a disease.’He let out a short sharp swearword. ‘I hur

Lea looked at Dave once the door was closed on their entry into the castle. His expression was thunderous, and a muscle kept flicking in his cheek.‘Are you okay?’ she asked.He let out a rough-edged sigh, shrugged himself out of his jacket, and hung it on the coat rack near the entrance. ‘I’m sorry about that. My sister can be a prize mother sometimes. Most of the time, actually. But she meant no harm. She just thought we were a real couple.’‘It’s okay.’ She began to unbutton her own coat. ‘Our relationship must’ve come as a bit of a shock. I mean, you and me? It’s a bit of a stretch to think you would ever be—’His hand came down in a gentle press on the top of her shoulder, his expression softening. ‘Don’t keep doing that. You’re a beautiful and desirable woman, and if things were different, I would…’ He pressed his lips together as if determined not to voice the words out loud.‘Would what?’ Lea’s voice was barely more than a whisper.His navy-blue eyes darkened and his other han

Dave had mostly travelled abroad during the month of December, so he could escape the all too often grey and dismal progression of the Highlands’ final month of autumn into winter. But spending the time with Lea at Brathellae had turned the normally cold and bleak time into something else entirely. The shorter days and longer nights were no longer an inconvenience but an excellent excuse to relax over a drink in front of a roaring fire. Or to spend long hours in bed, making love, then snuggling up in a cocoon of cosy warmth. And with winter and plenty of snowbound days heading their way, instead of feeling trapped and contained, he felt…free.More open, more relaxed. More human and less of an emotionless workhorse machine.The days at Brathellae belonged to Lea and him, no one else. Well, apart from Flossie but the old dog spent most of the time snoozing by the fire, only stirring for meals and comfort breaks. Aunt Elsie had extended her holiday and, apart from the occasional ground s

Lea touched his face with the soft palm of her hand, her expression full of concern. ‘Oh, Dave, it's not your fault. Stop being guilty. Maybe Mary tricked you into marrying me, but it seems like you’ve had to be strong for everyone else here in the castle. I may not have known you long enough, but it’s in your nature to take control and make sure everyone is okay before you see to your own needs. But your needs are important too. You can’t put them on hold forever.’Dave cradled one side of her face with his hand, his other hand still holding her hand anchored to his thigh. ‘Lea, how’d you get to be so wise and wonderful?’Something passed through her gaze, and she lowered her eyes to focus on the region of his collar. ‘I’m not that wonderful…’ She bit her lip, and a frown pleated her smooth brow.He lifted her chin, so her gaze came back to his. ‘Hey. Why do you think that?’Her expression faltered as if she were in two minds over answering. But then she gave a jagged sigh and spoke

Lea booked herself into a bed and breakfast in Haymarket on the west end of Edinburgh and fell into bed but not into sleep. She lay on her back, her eyes streaming with tears and her chest aching with emptiness. What a fool she had been to admit she loved Dave! A gauche fool who should have known better than to think he would ever return her feelings. He had locked away his heart, and she had been crazy to think she, of all people, held the key. She didn’t. And never would.She looked at her bare ring finger and sighed. She’d left his grandmother’s engagement ring and her wedding ring on Dave’s bedside table. There was no way she could keep his family heirloom. The ring would just have been a painful reminder of how she had failed to win his heart—of how her dreams had been shattered like a robin’s egg on concrete.She picked up her phone and checked if he’d replied to her text, informing him she had arrived safely. He had, but in characteristic fashion, kept it brief.Okay.There wer