Chapter Twenty

Andrea slept restlessly, tossing beneath the fluffy down duvet until the sky outside began to lighten. Sleep had eluded her for a long while the night before. She should have been pleased James had taken seriously his promise not to kiss her, but instead she’d spent the evening frustrated by the fact he was a man of his word. When sleep finally came, it was plagued by troubling dreams of James and Logan and the blinding flashes of cameras.

She threw off the covers and climbed out of bed. She dug out her jogging clothes and slipped them on, then pushed the table back to clear a spot large enough to stretch. She didn’t have a sticky mat, so bare hands and feet on the wooden floor would have to do for traction. “Focus,” she told herself aloud, as she bent double and exhaled her worries out in one long breath.

Andrea had already worked her way through thirty minutes of sun salutations and moved on to a series of armstands by the time James knocked on her door. She struggled to hold her balance in crow pose for a few more seconds, her legs off the ground, knees braced against the backs of her arms, while he rapped on the door.

“Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!”

A startled laugh popped from her mouth, and she collapsed into a graceless heap on the floor. She clambered to her feet and yanked open the door. “I thought you’d never get here.”

“Pardon me for thinking you might want to sleep a bit longer.” James made a face, but his eyes still twinkled. He seemed perpetually amused by her. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

“I told you I don’t sleep in.” She lifted her hair from where it already stuck damply to her neck. “I like to loosen up with some yoga before I jog.”

She opened the door wide to admit him and went off in search of her running shoes. She perched on the arm of a chair while she pulled them on, surreptitiously watching him as he paced her kitchenette. She had opted to cover every last bit of skin in microfiber running pants and a lightweight shell, but he wore a pair of loose athletic shorts and a snug long-sleeve T-shirt that showed off his muscular build to fine advantage.

“Aren’t you going to freeze?” She nodded toward his outfit while she pulled on a fleece ear warmer.

“I’m used to it.” He gestured to the door. “After you.”

She let him set the pace, a brisk walk up the gravel drive, then followed him into a jog once they hit the cracked pavement. The morning sky had already started to shift from its mottled gray, and now pink and orange colored the clouds. Birds sang in the brush and one occasionally swooped down toward the water. The quiet filled her, broken only by the soft scuff of rubber soles on the pavement and the faint sound of their breathing.

She noticed he was holding back to accommodate her shorter stride, so she pushed the pace a little faster.

“Competitive, are we?”

“It has nothing to do with competition.” Her voice sounded a little breathless now. “I’m still working off last night’s dinner.”

“Trust me, I understand. I have to jog now and then too.”

“Jogging a few miles every day doesn’t give you that body.”

He raised his eyebrows, looking far too pleased by the compliment. “Thanks for noticing.”

Warmth flooded her cheeks, and she prayed it could be passed off as exertion. She shouldn’t have been so frank with her admiration. “You’re welcome. Now either speed up or stop checking out my butt. You’re making me uncomfortable.”

“I am doing nothing of the sort,” he protested, but he chuckled and let the distance lapse between them before he caught up. “Left onto that little trail up ahead. You see it?”

“I see it.” She turned off the pavement onto a hard-packed dirt path, little clouds of dust puffing up behind her. A thick carpet of grass dotted with spring wildflowers spread over the low hillside, craggy rocks jutting up through the earth. The grade was gradual, but still steep, and Andrea’s breath came more heavily as they wound their way up toward the top of the hill. She slowed to a walk, then clambered up a fall of loose rock. When she reached the top, a smile broke over her face.

The entire Sound of Sleat spread out in front of them, a wide expanse of blue. Gentle waves lapped at the rocky beach below, creating lacy ripples of white froth against the dark sand. Across, she could see the mountainous edge of the Scottish mainland. The sun had finally risen, and now the sky was a brilliant blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds. Had she ever seen anything so breathtaking?

At that moment, she no longer cared that she was missing out on Tahiti’s white-sand beaches.

James watched her for a while, then said, “Come, sit and rest for a minute.”

She dragged her gaze away and climbed onto the boulder next to him. The stirring in her chest when she looked out on the landscape was an altogether unfamiliar yearning. Somehow it felt as dangerous as her attraction to the man who sat beside her, as if letting the peace of Skye seep into her would only set her up for disappointment.

“My father used to say that God created Skye during the first six days so he’d have someplace to come rest on the seventh,” James said.

“That’s blasphemous.”

“I’m sure the minister thought so, but my father’s relationship with the church was as uneasy as mine. Still, he had the strongest faith of any person I’ve ever known. I didn’t always appreciate that, but I do now.”

Andrea glanced at him. This wasn’t the way she’d imagined the conversation turning. She had been raised in the church, but too much had happened for her to believe there was some divine plan at work. “You’re the last person I expected to start talking about God.”

“It’s not exactly something I publicize. I’d never have gotten anyplace in this business if I made a point of it. It’s not like America. Ian was always afraid he’d lose his job at the law firm if anyone learned he was a Christian.”

“It’s not that different back home, at least not in New York. Saying you’re a Christian is like saying you’re from Pluto. Everyone thinks you must be crazy.”

“Is that what happened to you? Too much outside pressure?” His tone was gentle, genuinely curious.

“No, I just . . .” Andrea swallowed and looked across to the mountains on the mainland. She avoided the topic when she could, even though Becky still pushed. Her sister was one of the few people who knew the reason behind Andrea’s crisis of faith. She might be the only one still holding out hope she would come back around. “Christians like to talk about love and forgiveness, but they’re no better than anyone else. They’d sooner judge you than accept you. I’d rather be a heathen than a hypocrite.”

“If you believe that, why do you still wear this?” James reached over and touched the cross dangling from the gold chain around her neck.

“It was my mom’s.”

“A woman of faith?”

“You could say that. She taught Sunday school the whole time we were growing up. Took us to church even though my dad wouldn’t go. She hadn’t had the easiest life by the time we came along, but she never gave up. She thanked God even for the bad things in her life. I don’t know, maybe I’m just hoping there are others out there like her. Maybe someone will come along and prove me wrong.”

“It reminds you to persevere.”

The words startled her. “Yes. It reminds me to keep moving, to get through another day.”

“Life isn’t just supposed to be about getting through another day,” James said softly. “I used to think if I could only just finish the next project or accomplish the next task, then I could slow down and enjoy myself. Not that I didn’t love what I was doing, I just wasn’t . . .”

“Present?”

He nodded, his gaze distant, lost over the water. “Now I think, if this was my last day on earth, was it a worthwhile way to spend it?”

Andrea hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them, viewing him sideways. “And is it?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think it was. Maybe I should ask you that question.”

“I think so.” She had to tear the admission free, but once she did, a weight lifted from her. The way James watched her, his expression warm and open, made all her resolutions shudder. It was a completely different sensation than the heat that sizzled between them the night before, but it was no less powerful.

“I’m glad.” He held out a hand to her. “If you’re rested, we can go down the opposite side and circle around.”

She gripped his hand and hopped off the boulder. This time he took the lead down the other side of the hill, setting a comfortable pace. Her heart beat a little faster than the exercise warranted. What had just happened on that hill? Every day it seemed James opened up to her a bit more, revealed some of the thoughts he hid behind his flippant attitude. Was it just a way to hold everyone at arm’s length? And what did it mean that he was willing to give her glimpses of his serious side?

By the time they reached the hotel, Andrea felt pleasantly exhausted, even though her legs were rubbery and her chest tight. The cement jogging paths of an urban park hadn’t quite prepared her for James’s cross-country route, but it had been worth it for the view across the sound. So far, he had an unerring aim to her heart when it came to showing her Skye’s beauty.

She paced a circle in the gravel lot, cooling down, while he ducked inside his cottage. He returned a minute later with two water bottles and tossed her one. She caught it in midair, twisted off the cap, and gulped down half the contents.

“I won’t be able to eat for a while, but I should still go make Serena and Muriel breakfast. You hungry?”

“No. I’m finally in the negative after last night’s dessert. I’d settle for a piece of fruit or something.”

“Go ahead and have a seat on the deck. I’ll see what I have.”

She walked around to the deck behind James’s cottage and plopped in a chair. Seabirds soared over the brilliant blue water, diving and calling to one another in the bright morning sunshine. She sipped her water and wondered what it would be like to have this view in her backyard every day. She’d probably never get anything done. She’d already been up for two hours, and work hadn’t even crossed her mind.

James reappeared with a banana for each of them and seated himself in the chair beside her. “What would you like to do today?”

“I don’t know. What can’t I miss? I have less than three full days left.” The idea of sightseeing around Skye lifted her heart in anticipation.

“We could drive the loop around the island. Trotternish is spectacular. It’s really up to you how much walking you want to do after that jog.”

“You don’t actually think you wore me out with that little walk, do you?”

“I beg your pardon, then. How about I pack a hamper, and we’ll see where the day takes us.”

“Fair enough.” She leaned her head back against the chair, enveloped in post-workout lassitude. “For once, I actually feel like I’m on vacation. Do you know I went to Hawaii last year, and I ended up writing a PowerPoint presentation on the beach?”

“You didn’t.”

“I did. I rather need the forced rest.” She chuckled at the memory. “What time should I be ready to go up to the house?”

“Whenever you like. I’ll make our lunch now and then we can go.” He pushed himself to his feet. “Just come over when you’re finished.”

She tipped her water bottle to him. “Thanks for the run.”

He grinned. “Thanks for the view.”

“Very funny.” She wrinkled her nose at him, but she watched him walk away before sinking back against her deck chair. She should probably check in with the office this morning, but she didn’t want to lie to Michael about her plans for the day. She also didn’t want to spoil the morning’s relaxed mood. The idea of spending the entire day with James, sightseeing and enjoying herself without a thought to business, sounded far more appealing than she had ever thought possible.

She pushed herself up from the chair and crunched back across the gravel to her cottage. She toed off her running shoes and walked to the bathroom. The claw-foot tub had old-fashioned separate hot- and cold-water taps, and it took a minute to figure out the right proportion of hot to cold water in the bottom of the tub. It was a mark of this morning’s light mood that she found it more charming than irritating.

The room phone rang shrilly. James or Becky? She hurried back across the room and picked it up.

“Andrea, how’s it going?”

She blinked. “Michael? What are you doing calling me at this hour? It’s two a.m. in New York.”

“Something like that. I wanted a progress report from my best closer.”

Andrea sat down on the edge of the bed, frowning. “It’s going fine. I’ve closed half-million-dollar deals and never heard from you. Why are you checking up on me now?”

She could hear his hesitation on the other end of the line. “You have to admit, your last appointment didn’t go so well.”

A sick feeling crept into her stomach. “I hope you’re not suggesting I did the wrong thing in defending myself against a client who was harassing me.”

“Of course not, Andrea,” he said hurriedly. “You just might have handled things more delicately.”

“More delicately? I think the fact he was able to walk out of the elevator on his own power showed my level of restraint.”

“No one is begrudging you your right to take care of yourself.” Michael had on his conciliatory, anti-lawsuit voice. “If anything, I’m just calling to make sure you’re comfortable with the situation. MacDonald has a bit of a reputation when it comes to women.”

“So I hear,” Andrea said dryly. “James has been a perfect gentleman.” Today, at least.

“First-name basis, huh? I hope that means you’re getting close to a signed contract.”

“I’ll get it signed, Michael. I’m not the highest-producing account manager in Morrison’s history for no reason. So I know you won’t have a problem with the fact I’m going sightseeing around Skye today. If that bothers you, you can take it out of my vacation time. I’ve got plenty.”

“Whoa, I have no problem with you taking some time for yourself, Andrea. Just making sure you’re on track here.”

“Got it. I’ll call you on my way to the airport Saturday. When I have a signed contract in hand.”

“Good girl. I’ll be waiting.”

Andrea slammed the handset into the cradle and stomped back to the bathroom to turn off the taps before the bathtub overflowed. As if his most accomplished account executive needed babysitting. Apparently all it took was one cretin who didn’t understand the word no to erase the memory of the hundreds of sales she’d made for Morrison. She flexed her hand, pleased to find it didn’t hurt anymore. Hopefully the creep’s sore jaw had persisted longer than her bruised knuckles.

She stripped off her workout clothes and stepped into the overfilled bathtub, where she forced herself to let the hot water soak away her irritation. Leave it to Michael to destroy her one peaceful morning with business.

If she only had one more day on earth, would she really want to spend it thinking about Michael and the next big deal?

She braced her bare toes against the porcelain lip of the tub. A week ago she would have said yes. Being here in Skye with James would have felt like a waste of time, a distraction. But a distraction from what? From her career? From her goal of becoming vice president? She wanted it no less now than she had before, but it was a means to an end. What was supposed to be waiting for her across the finish line? Peace? Happiness? Time to enjoy her life?

For the first time, she wondered if the unencumbered existence she had built for herself, free from attachments or obligations, was as appealing as she’d always thought it to be. What point was there in success when there was no one to share it with?

She wasn’t going to answer those questions in ten minutes in a tub of warm water. For once, though, she knew very clearly what she wanted from the day. She wanted to bask in the beauty of her surroundings. She wanted to breathe in clean salt air and feel the sun on her face. She wanted to walk hand in hand with James, have his arms around her, feel his lips on hers.

Acknowledging those desires set her heart fluttering like a trapped bird. She forced the panicked feeling down and made her breathing even out again, even though she felt like she stood on a precipice. She couldn’t see the bottom, didn’t know if jumping would earn her a soft landing or dash her against the rocks. Could she summon the courage to leap?