Jo took a very deep breath, and started to talk. It felt very surreal talking about a person who didn’t even exist outside of her mind and some words on a page, but she found, as she spoke, she knew Kate much more than she thought she did, and that she did, in fact, see her as utterly real. It was as if she was talking about an old friend, someone as intrinsic to her as Erin or Noah.
As Ewan probed and pushed about Kate, about her decisions through the story, Jo relaxed more and more into it. She took notes. Ewan took notes too. They chatted until one bottle of wine turned into two. They chatted over dinner, and until Jo’s eyes started to droop – her stomach, head and heart full. She felt as if she had been challenged, but as if she had learned so much.
‘One more for the road?’ Ewan asked.
‘I’m not sure I should,’ Jo replied. She already had more to drink than she would normally have.
‘Ah, it won’t hurt,’ Ewan said. ‘A wee dram of whisky?’
‘Honestly, I won’t. I want to be on the ball tomorrow. What’s the plan?’
‘I thought we could workshop a bit more in the morning,’ he said. ‘Make the most of our last day. Then I’ll drop you back to Derry. I’m only sorry I didn’t book to stay for longer.’
Oh no, Jo thought. There it was again. The Clooney eyes. Or was he more like McDreamy? Or Rock Hudson? Whatever, he had the power to disarm her, especially when she was several glasses of wine down and really ready to catch up on her missed sleep from the night before.
‘I’d have thought you’d be itching to get back to your own work,’ she said.
‘I’ve been working this whole time,’ he replied. ‘This has been absolutely invaluable for me. I definitely have a real idea of where I’m going with the book now, and the research has added so much to it. I’ll definitely have to give you a mention in the acknowledgements.’
Jo couldn’t help but beam with pride. ‘If I ever, ever get my work published,’ she said, ‘I will return the favour. I promise.’
He smiled and waved to the waitress to order his final drink of the night.
‘Last chance?’ he said, with an impish smile.
God, if she wasn’t careful, she could get into a lot of trouble with this man. The alcohol had lowered her defences, and his kind words had all but knocked what remained of them to the ground. ‘Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb,’ she said.
‘That’s a solid attitude!’ Ewan enthused, and he put in the order.
The waitress was back quickly with the drinks and stood awkwardly at their table after she had handed them over. ‘I probably shouldn’t do this,’ she said. ‘But there’s a customer over there by the window who has been dying to ask you to sign his book all night. He’s a huge fan. If you would rather not, then it’s no problem. I’ll let him know to leave you to enjoy your evening.’
Jo watched as the expression on Ewan’s face transformed into a broad smile. ‘Of course I’ll sign his book. Send him over, it would be lovely to chat to him.’
‘You’re very kind, Mr McLachlan,’ the waitress beamed. ‘I wouldn’t normally ask, but he’s such a big fan. He’s been singing your praises so much all night, I’ve even downloaded a couple of your books to read and I hardly ever read a book.’
‘That’s very kind of you,’ Ewan said. ‘I appreciate it.’
As the waitress walked across the bar to tell Ewan’s superfan that he could absolutely get his book signed, Ewan took a sip from his glass. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’ he asked.
‘Not at all,’ Jo said. ‘It’s exciting. Does this happen a lot?’
‘Not as much as you might think,’ Ewan cut through her thoughts. ‘So it’s almost always lovely. You’ll find that out yourself, one day.’ She couldn’t imagine how she would react if it were to ever happen to her. Would that make her feel as if she was a bona fide success?
Ewan reached across the table and took her hand again, sending electrical impulses through her body. In her hazy state and against her better judgement, she contemplated what it would feel like to be kissed by him. She was suddenly very aware of her lips, craved the intimacy that only a kiss could bring. She found herself staring at Ewan’s lips, full and firm. She held her breath, only daring to exhale when a man in his fifties shuffled over and handed over a dog-eared copy of one of the McCreadie books for Ewan to sign.
As the man chatted, and asked questions as if McCreadie was a real-life friend of his, Jo decided the most sensible thing to do was to escape the temptation of Ewan and his lips and slip off to bed. It was easy to leave without a fuss as Ewan was deep in conversation with his fan and they seemed to be settling down for a long chat.
Back in her room, Jo changed into her pyjamas, washed her make-up off, brushed her teeth and decided she would text Ewan just to thank him for a lovely evening and explain her quick departure.
A knock on the door distracted her, and when Jo peeped through the spyhole, she saw that it was Ewan himself who was outside, looking irresistible.
‘I was just going to message you,’ she said as she opened the door, conscious of being without make-up and in her comfiest nightwear. ‘Just to say I thought it was better to leave you to your chat with your superfan.’
‘That’s fine,’ he said. ‘But you forgot something back at the bar and I didn’t want you to lose out.’
Jo glanced behind her, where she had thrown her laptop and notebook on the bed. ‘I don’t think I did…’ She looked back at him, confused.
Then she watched as he took a step forward, raised his hand slowly and placed it with the gentlest touch on her cheek. Jo looked him directly in the eyes, her breath catching as he took another step closer until she could feel his breath, warm on his face.
‘You forgot this,’ he said, before he moved that little bit closer and pressed his lips to hers.
His kiss was soft and gentle, at first, then firmer. Jo could feel her body melt under his touch. This kiss was as exquisite as she had imagined it would be and she told herself it was okay to just let go of her reserves and enjoy the sensations pulsing through her body. She had just started to lean into it when Ewan pulled back.
‘I’ve been wanting to do that all day,’ he said, his voice low. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘For everything.’
Jo prepared herself for another kiss. Closed her eyes and thought of how much she craved it. How much she craved him. But, instead, he tipped an imaginary hat in her direction.
‘Sleep well,’ he said, before he turned and walked on towards his own suite.
Stunned, Jo felt completely disorientated as she closed her door and climbed into bed, pretty sure it would be another restless night.
27
Up
Jo woke with her phone still in her hand. She squinted at her phone and saw it was gone two. After Ewan had left her, with her lips feeling bruised and her head feeling fuzzy, she had briefly considered sending him a message. She wondered if she should invite him to come back and kiss her again, perhaps. Or ask him to explain what had just happened. Where did it leave them? Would breakfast be horribly awkward in the morning?