Page 38 of You, As You Are

For some strange reason, Iain wished that she might. The probation lease on her new flat was three months, which would bring her right up to the start of May. It wouldn’t be summer, but the weather would definitely be nicer than the grey clouds that rolled in beyond the window.

Gently, Maisie touched the raised paint on the canvas which looked like stones. “Did you know that when male penguins fall in love, they search for the perfect pebble and give it to the female?”

Iain watched her, unable to look anywhere else. “I didn’t.”

“They’d have a field day with all of the pebble beaches around here.”

“Well we don’t have penguins, but come on another hike and maybe you could see a bottlenose or two.”

“Dolphins?” Excitement lightened Maisie’s voice.

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’d love that.”

Iain didn’t know how long they sat, their mugs slowly emptying.

“I think I’m just going to head home,” Maisie said when she began to gather her purse. “I shouldn’t have dragged myself out today, butNaininsisted.”

“You alright?” She’d had her arms folded down in her lap like she was hugging herself for the last ten minutes.

“Nothing for you to bother yourself with.”

“I’ll decide what I’m bothered with,” he answered.

A small blush rose in Maisie’s cheeks. She stood slowly, like her joints still ached from the hike. It’d been two weeks so that wasn’t likely.

Dodging his concern, she smiled politely down at him. “Thank you for the coffee. And the muffin.”

“You’re welcome.”

He watched her leave, the slower motion of her gait as she wrapped herself in her long coat, and wondered just what it was that she was hiding, too.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

IAIN

Practiseat the rugby club ran late, which meant that when Iain shoved open the door to his house, Ted was dancing around, bursting to be let out. He was well due his walk by now, and since their courtyard back garden consisted of approximately three-square feet of concrete space, probably the toilet, too.

“Hello, hello,yes—I know I’m late.” Iain dumped the bag full of his dirt-stained training gear at the bottom of his stairs while his maniacal dog circled between his feet.

If there was one good thing in his day, it was coming home to Ted’s lean body wiggling with excitement, his toys from their basket scattered all around the sofa and coffee table. Across the room in the kitchenette, the twin bowls of food and water Iain filled between rushing in from work and rushing out again to the rugby club were empty.

The outside of his tiny house might look lifeless and run-down, but the previous owners had decorated the interior to within an inch of its life. Cream walls. Cream rugs. Cream shelving on either side of thecreamfireplace. They’d done such a good job in crafting the space that Iain didn’t see a point in redecorating to look more ‘manly’. The muted olive of hisfurniture was calming, which is exactly what he needed after a mind-numbing day.

Still wearing the jeans and chequered jacket he’d walked in with, he took Ted’s collar and lead from the coat rack inside the under-stairs cupboard.

“You ready to go?”

Ted spun his way towards the front door.

“Of course you are.”

He managed to wrap Ted’s neon-orange collar into place with relative stillness from the mutt, but all hell broke loose when the clicking of the clasp awoke the impatience in him. Iain needed the bathroom himself but the extra two minutes of delay might not be good for his hardwood floor. He barely cracked the front door open before Ted bolted out of it.

A dull ache in his shoulder was already sore from taking Cai’s hard tackle in practice, and his arm being yanked on the end of Ted’s lead didn’t help.

“Ted—wait—would you stop?” He fumbled with his keys to lock his front door behind them.

---