From Scotland with Love (7 page)

He gave a long sigh and then said, ‘I’ve always loved this place, but just recently I’ve come to love it more. Losing it would be incredibly painful.’

‘Then don’t lose it, keep it,’ said Daisy.

He took an agonisingly long time to think about it. ‘All right. I’ll tell David that’s what I want to do. See what he says.’

Daisy didn’t comment. Rory’s agent was notorious for getting fantastically large deals. She only hoped she wouldn’t be held responsible if the deal completely bankrupted Athene.

‘It’s getting dark,’ said Daisy a little later. ‘And it’s only lunch time.’

‘We should go back,’ said Rory. ‘Mari will be wanting to go home.’

Two days later the thaw came. They heard on the news that the roads were beginning to clear and that normal service was resuming. Reluctantly, Daisy made plans to leave. Rory didn’t suggest she stayed any longer and besides, Daisy needed to get back, back to real life and the hustle and bustle of London and her job.

Rory insisted on her keeping the cashmere dressing gown and Daisy felt that if it meant she had to check in her luggage and not just have carry-on, it was worth it. It was a fabulous garment! But in her heart she knew it wasn’t just because it was beautiful and warm and suited her that she wanted it but because it would always remind her of her time with Rory. He also said she should wear the coat and scarf and boots, too. The boots she had arrived in were ruined so she didn’t argue too much. But again, it was the memories, not the clothes themselves, that made her want them.

She had said long and fond farewells to the puppies, who all now had names, and a longer one to Grizzie who now felt like a sister, they had shared so much.

She was very business-like with Rory. ‘Thank you so much for not kicking me out into the snow,’ she said, jumping up slightly so she could kiss his cheek.

‘Thank you for delivering Grizzie’s puppies. I was hopeless.’

‘You’d have managed just fine,’ she said briskly, looking about for her case.

‘Daisy –’

She looked up. He put his hand on her cheek and held it, looking into her face, his expression unreadable. ‘You’re very young.’

Daisy understood. She was too young for him; that was why he hadn’t kissed her again, or never shown if he had feelings for her. There had been a moment when she felt she’d spotted something in his expression that indicated there might have been a hint of desire. But now he was being practical, and she must be the same. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘I think it’s a good thing!’

‘Generally, it’s good,’ said Rory, slightly rueful. ‘This time –’

Just then the hooting of the taxi horn stopped him saying more. Daisy wondered if they were destined always to be interrupted just as Rory might be about to say or do something lovely.

‘I’d better go.’

‘Yes. You’d better.’

She had just set off down the track towards the waiting taxi (it was the same grumpy driver – she recognised his car) when she turned round and came hurrying up the hill again.

‘What? Have you changed your mind about going?’ said Rory. His voice sounded as if he might be smiling.

Daisy didn’t allow herself to look at him, to see if he would like it if she had changed her mind. She just flung her case on the floor and opened it. ‘The bloody book plates! I never got you to sign them!’

A month later, Daisy was at her desk. Her trip to Scotland, such a mistake in many ways, had lead to her being promoted. This, Venetia had told her, was not just because she’d managed to get Rory McAllen to do what no one else had ever done and sign a four-book deal, but because her time in the Far North had made her much more sensible. Daisy had not argued. She’d learnt a lot up there in the mountains and she knew her time there had been very special for lots of reasons, some of them perfectly sensible, but the dominant one, just a dream.

She was planning a small tour of the West of England for one of her authors (she had her own now, and didn’t just assist other publicists with theirs) when she heard a bit of a commotion. She looked up and saw Rory.

For a moment he looked so out of place she didn’t properly recognise him, which was ridiculous. She hadn’t known he was coming and she felt caught out. Her breathing was severely affected by this and as he strode over towards her desk she worried that she wouldn’t be able to speak. She just had time to take a sip of water before he arrived.

‘Hello, Daisy,’ he said.

‘Hello,’ she whispered. Her brain flashed back to the time in Scotland when she had teased him and they had played Poker while Grizzie had her puppies. She could speak OK then.

‘Will you come out for lunch with me? Now?’

She looked at her desk full of half completed tasks and then at her phone which told her it was half-past eleven. ‘Um –’

From nowhere Venetia appeared. ‘Off you go, Daisy. This will all wait.’ She found Daisy’s coat from the back of the door and wrangled her into it. ‘You can take as long as you like. You’ve worked very hard lately.’

Daisy looked at her boss, still incredulous. This generosity over lunch hours was unheard of.

‘Off you go, Daisy,’ Venetia insisted. ‘I’ll cover for you.’

They didn’t speak in the elevator. Daisy was overcome with shyness. He was in her space, it was all wrong. It only worked between them in Scotland, where he felt at home.

‘Venetia sorted out a table for me,’ he said as they walked along the pavement. He stopped and ushered her into a very lovely restaurant only very special authors got taken to. Daisy wasn’t often invited to those lunches.

An agonising life time passed while they were seated, presented with menus and ordered drinks. Rory ordered Famous Grouse, Daisy a spritzer.

‘How’s Grizzie?’ said Daisy when Rory didn’t say anything for an ominously long time.

‘She’s fine. Sends love.’

Daisy relaxed a little and smiled. ‘Send mine back. And to the little ones.’

‘Not very little now. It’s amazing how quickly they grow. It’s like one of those speeded up films.’

‘Have you got homes for them?’

He shook his head. ‘The interviewing process takes ages. It’s easier to adopt a baby than to buy one of Griselda’s puppies.’

‘So, how many are you going to keep?’

He laughed properly. ‘Actually, I didn’t come all this way to talk about Griselda.’

‘No?’ She felt more relaxed now. He was behaving like the Rory she had got to know, not the London Rory, who scared the hell out of everyone. Even Venetia.

‘I’ve got something to ask you. A proposition.’

‘Oh?

‘Daisy, my agent says I should consider having a permanent person looking after my PR. He says if I don’t it’s possible my profile will get smaller. I could drop off the radar. I need someone on the case day and night.’ He glanced quickly up at her. ‘Will you consider the position? I’m afraid it does mean you’d have to live in Scotland.’

Daisy considered. Then she put her head on one side. ‘Your agent said that? Your agent said your profile could get smaller when your latest telly just got such enormous ratings and the TV-tie in of your latest book has been at number one for weeks? I think you’d be better off employing me as a kennel maid. There you might actually need my help.’

He sighed. ‘OK, no. My agent didn’t say that. But I had to have some excuse to come and see you. I miss you so badly. I had to think of a good reason.’

‘It’s a pathetic reason. And you don’t need to make excuses! You’re Rory McAllen, you can do and have exactly what you want!’

‘But I want you, Daisy. Can I have you?’

She allowed her heart to beat a few times before she answered. ‘I’m very young. You mentioned that several times.’

‘I know, but I don’t think it’s as important as I once did. And I promise I won’t bury you in the wilds of Scotland. I won’t be such a recluse –’

‘Rory.’ She put her hands on his to stop him talking. Probably a first, she realised.

‘You don’t have to change anything for me.’

He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. This time she had no difficulty in reading love, longing and, reassuringly, lust in his expression. ‘I love you, Daisy. I missed you so much. Mari, Hamish, they all said I had been mad to let you go back.’

‘It’s only because I can cook and am good with dogs.’

He shook his head. ‘How quickly can we eat this lunch? And when can I carry you off?’

When the waiter came to take their order they were kissing. And when they left without ordering anything he just smiled and shook his head.

They were very late getting back to the office. Daisy had been hoping to sneak in, unnoticed. Not that she minded being late, she just didn’t want to have to explain why.

They had no chance to sneak anywhere. Venetia appeared the moment they got out of the lift.

‘Well, I hope you two are engaged!’ said Venetia. ‘I’ve got fizz and a cake!’

‘Good about the cake,’ said Rory to Venetia a little later. ‘We missed lunch…’

Read on for an extract from Katie Fforde’s new novel, out in March 2014

Three years ago, Bella Castle left her home town nursing a broken heart over Dominic Thane, the man she fell in love with, but couldn’t have.

Now she’s made a life for herself in the country working as an estate agent.

She loves her new home, her new job, and she loves her new boyfriend Nevil who also happens to be her boss. They seem to be the perfect match for each other.

But although Nevil’s just proposed to her, he’s been strangely preoccupied recently. And Bella can’t understand why.

Then Dominic turns up unexpectedly, throwing all her plans and good intentions into disarray. And Bella begins to question if her new home really
is
where her heart is …

Bella Castle took a breath and put on a smile she hoped would hide her frustration. She and her clients were standing in front of a little gem of a house and yet it had just been deemed unsuitable.

‘It might be a good idea to have some sacrificial boxes too, ones that you don’t mind if they don’t get ticked,’ she said gently. ‘While it’s useful to make a checklist, you don’t want to be ruled by it or you’ll never find a house.’

Bella had grown very fond of the Agnews over the eight months she had been trying to find them somewhere that fitted their requirements, but she did sometimes find them exasperating. They had small-stately tastes with semi-detached money. Big rooms, large garden, views, a garage, a restricted search area and a reluctance to compromise made them something of a challenge. This particular garden, filled with roses and other summer flowers, was deemed ‘too small and too much on the flat’ although a level garden was one of their top priorities.

Mrs Agnew raised her eyebrows. She knew she was fussy and could even laugh at herself, but she hadn’t so far managed to compromise. ‘OK, I’ll have “rose-covered arbour” as my sacrificial box. Darling?’ She looked at her husband.

‘What about the “wildlife in the garden essential”?’

Mrs Agnew shook her head. ‘I couldn’t compromise on the wildlife.’

‘No need to,’ said Bella briskly. ‘There’s always wildlife.’ She said this with a certainty she hoped masked her ignorance, but given they were in one of the less populated parts of the Cotswolds she was fairly confident.

‘Then I’ll have “model-train room” as mine,’ said Mr Agnew, who was slightly less fixed in his ideas of the perfect home.

Mrs Agnew chuckled gently and then looked wistful. ‘Will that make it easier to find our dream home?’

Bella laughed. ‘I’m sure it will.’

She was aware that she was very lucky; living with her godmother, Alice, who had a house the Agnews would die for, made it possible for her to stay in this desirable area in a way she could afford.

She watched them drive away from the charming house that she’d been convinced would be perfect for them and then got into her own car. She
was
disappointed. There was another family who’d been unlucky on a house that had gone to sealed bids and if she found just one of these clients somewhere to live she’d be content. She was about to set off back to the office when her phone went. It was Nevil, her boyfriend and her boss.

‘Any good?’ he asked, after the briefest greeting. ‘Don’t tell me,’ he went on, ‘it made her “feel hemmed in”.’