Absent in the Spring

by Carrie Elks

  ‘Look at that,’ Lachlan said, peering in the window of a gift shop. There was a mannequin wearing a blue T-shirt in the centre, with I LOVE SCOTLAND written across the chest. ‘You think if I wear that shirt I might win the case?’ He grinned at her, and just like that her whole body heated up.

  ‘If you wear that,’ she said, taking a sip of her coffee, ‘I’ll buy your brother off myself.’

  He slid his hand into hers, tucking them both into the pocket of his jacket as they made it to the Portcullis Gate. Above the entrance, flags were dancing in the wind atop their poles. People flowed through the gate, stopping to buy their tickets. Lucy and Lachlan leaned against the stone bridge, watching them come and go, his arm wrapped around her waist.

  ‘Come and visit me in New York,’ he said, turning to brush his lips across her forehead.

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘Why not?’ She felt him stiffening beside her.

  She closed her eyes for a moment, wishing that perfect moment could come back. But instead a flood of thoughts washed through her, making her want to sigh. ‘Because I’m your solicitor and you’re my client. If I fly over to New York then I’m pretty much saying we’re in a relationship, and I can’t do that and represent you on the case.’

  ‘You don’t think we’re in a relationship now?’ he asked her. There was a mixture of amusement and confusion in his voice.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. She’d not allowed herself to think about it. Fear had made her lock it away in a compartment deep inside of her. ‘Probably.’ She licked her lips, tasting the coffee on her tongue. ‘I guess I could dismiss Glencarraig as a one-off, and maybe even Paris. But after this, I don’t know.’ She shook her head, trying to think it through. He’d flown all this way just to see her. Not for business reasons. They hadn’t even mentioned his case once until now.

  ‘Lucy, look at me.’ His voice was strong. She turned her head, her face questioning. He reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand, the sweetest expression on his face. ‘As far as I’m concerned this isn’t a one-off, or a three-off or whatever you want to call it. I flew over because I wanted to see you, I wanted to spend time with you. And I want you to fly to New York to spend time with me.’

  ‘But the case —’

  ‘Fuck the case, I’ll fire you from it if I have to.’ He moved his hand back, fingers sliding through her hair. ‘Glencarraig can wait, but I can’t. I want you to visit me.’

  ‘Let me speak to my boss tomorrow,’ she said, her throat full of emotion. She couldn’t believe she was considering this. Her career had always been the most important thing in her life – along with her family – and admitting to Malcolm Dunvale that she was in a relationship with a client wasn’t going to win her any favours. ‘I’ll ask to be taken off the case.’

  His eyes were soft as he stared at her. ‘You’d do that for me?’ He turned until they were face to face, still searching for her response.

  She clenched her teeth together, trying to imagine what Malcolm would say in response. The thought of it made her feel sick. She’d spent her whole life working to get where she was now. Years of study, followed by years of working all the hours God sent to rise to the top. The thought of jeopardising it all scared her to death.

  But the thought of not being able to see the man in front of her scared her even more. She couldn’t put her finger on when she’d started to fall for him. Had it been that first night in Miami, when she’d felt a pull towards him in spite of herself? Or had it be in Glencarraig, when he’d lifted her so easily in his arms, and carried her to his bed to warm her frozen body.

  All she knew was that every night she went to bed with a smile on her face, because he’d called. And now he was here, had flown all this way just to spend the weekend with her, and it felt as though everything she thought she knew about the world was wrong.

  ‘Yes,’ she said softly. ‘I’d do that for you.’

  23

  Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!

  For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night

  – Romeo and Juliet

  She’d been putting this conversation off for hours. For as long as she’d been sitting in her office at Robinson and Balfour that morning, pretending to work on her laptop while she kept looking over at Malcolm’s office, trying to work out the best time to go and speak to him.

  The problem was, there wasn’t a good time. She was about to admit she’d been completely unprofessional, and put the good name of the firm at risk. He’d be within his rights to have her disciplined for misconduct, and she couldn’t blame him if he did. This firm had been around for longer than she’d been alive – about a hundred years longer, in fact – it was bigger than any one of them.

  She dropped her head into her hands. How had she managed to get herself into this mess? Closing her eyes, for a moment she considered not telling him, but that wasn’t possible. Even if there was nothing between her and Lachlan any more, she’d still stepped over the line too many times.

  And the fact was, there was plenty between them. This weekend had showed her that. As much as she felt sick at the thought of having to talk to Malcolm, the thought of not seeing Lachlan again hurt so much more.

  She didn’t really have a choice.

  Lynn looked up from her desk as Lucy walked out of her office, giving her a big smile. ‘Everything all right?’ Lynn asked. ‘Can I get you something?’

  ‘I just need to speak to Malcolm.’ Even saying it out loud made her chest ache. ‘Do you know if he’s free?’

  ‘He is, but you’d better hurry. He’s off for a lunch meeting in twenty minutes.’

  It was now or never. Here went nothing.

  ‘I don’t quite know what to say.’ Malcolm took off his glasses, rubbing the red patch on the bridge of his nose. ‘I wouldn’t have expected this from you of all people, Lucy. What on earth were you thinking?’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, looking down at her hands. ‘I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. And I know it must put you in a really awkward position. But I can’t carry on with the case, it wouldn’t be right.’

  ‘Did he take advantage of you?’ Malcolm asked her. ‘Because if he did there are things we can do.’

  Her eyes flew up to meet his. She felt horrified. ‘No, no he didn’t. Anything that happened was… mutual.’ Her face flushed with heat. This was mortifying. She could have stripped off and danced naked around the office and she would have felt better than she did now. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said again, because really, what else was there to say?

  He slid his glasses back on his nose, then leaned on his desk, his hands clasped together. ‘What’s done is done. I’ll need to find out who has some space available to take the case over. And I’ll expect you to make sure everything’s shipshape before you hand it over.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘But I won’t be able to stop the office gossip,’ he warned her. ‘People will speculate over why you’ve been removed from the case.’

  She swallowed, her mouth dry. ‘I understand that.’

  ‘Either they’ll guess right and realise you’ve been sleeping with a client or they’ll assume it’s too much for you. Either way you won’t come out smelling of roses.’ He shook his head slowly. She hated the way he looked so disappointed. She’d let him down, let the whole firm down, just because she couldn’t control her emotions. What kind of person did that make her?

  ‘I know.’ She really did. She’d seen people ruin their careers for less than she’d done.

  ‘Well, I suppose you’ve done the right thing in telling me.’ He looked at his watch and sighed. ‘I need to go to a meeting now, but I’ll be back later, and I’ll get to work on reassigning the case.’ He looked at her through the thick lens of his glasses. ‘I don’t know what’s going on with you and Mr MacLeish right now, but whatever it is, I hope he’s worth it.’

  So did Lucy. More than she could say.

  ‘You’re fl
ying in to London?’ Lucy spoke into her phone, looking away from the Scottish Times magazine she’d been reading. The cover showed Lachlan, leaning on the fireplace at Glencarraig, looking every inch the laird of the manor. In spite of the heated interview, Marina Simpson had gone surprisingly easy on him in her article, painting him in a very sympathetic light. There were only a few mentions of his father in there, and nothing about how his parents met, thank goodness.

  Even if she was off the case, she was still desperate for him to win. For it to all work out okay. It felt as though her career depended on it.

  ‘When are you arriving?’ she asked her sister. ‘How long will you be there?’ It was a relief to be talking to Cesca, to hear her warm humour echoing down the line from LA. After the week she’d had, and the drama of telling Malcolm about her and Lachlan, her sister was like a breath of fresh air.

  ‘It’s a quick visit,’ Cesca told her. ‘Sam’s sister is graduating next week, and he wants to put in an appearance. We’ll only be in London for a few days. I’ll drop in on Dad at some point while we’re in town.’

  ‘But I won’t be there.’ Lucy doodled a flower on the white lined paper, trying to swallow her disappointment. She so rarely saw her sisters, it hurt to miss this opportunity. ‘I’m supposed to be in New York. I fly out tomorrow.’ She felt torn. Desperate to see Lachlan, and yet needing to see her sister, too. It wasn’t often they were all in the same country, after all.

  ‘It’s not a problem,’ Cesca said. ‘We’ll miss you, of course, but you don’t need to chaperone me. I can see Dad all on my own. And after that I might pop to the house, take a look at it before the clearance people arrive. When were you hoping to put it up for sale?’

  ‘Early next month,’ Lucy said. Two lines formed across her brow. ‘Maybe I can change my trip, come down and see you. It’s typical that the week I’m in the States, you’ll be in London.’

  ‘We’re ships that pass in the night,’ Cesca joked. ‘But one day we’ll all be on the same continent. The world won’t know what’s hit it when the Shakespeare sisters are all together again.’

  A tiny smile formed on Lucy’s lips, though it wasn’t enough to push away the sense of sadness. ‘Are you sure there’s nothing we can do to meet up? Maybe I can push things back a few days.’

  ‘Why are you flying over there anyway? Something to do with work?’

  ‘Yeah, something like that.’ For a moment she considered telling Cesca about Lachlan. Confiding in her sister about her fears. About almost ruining her career, about feeling out of control whenever her now-ex-client was in the vicinity. About how she thought she might be falling for him, and she had no idea how to deal with it.

  She closed her mouth as quickly as she’d opened it. Better to go over to New York and see him before she started telling her family what was going on. They’d think she’d gone crazy if she told them the truth.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Cesca asked. ‘Your voice sounds funny.’

  ‘Funny? How?’

  ‘You don’t sound like you,’ her sister told her. ‘Is there a problem?’

  ‘No, of course not. I just don’t like disappearing for a week when Dad’s unwell.’

  ‘Well, now you can disappear without a care,’ Cesca said. ‘If there’s any problem I’ll be here. It’s fate.’

  ‘Yeah, I guess.’

  ‘What’s really up?’ Cesca was insistent. ‘It’s not like you to be anxious about travelling. And Dad’s not critical, he could last for years. I’m worried about you, Luce.’

  Lucy lifted her eyes from her pad, and the intricate flower she’d drawn. ‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘Everything just seems a little crazy right now. Work is busy, I’ve got about a thousand cases to work on, and now I’m jetting off to New York. I don’t know how to fit everything in.’

  ‘Oh, is that why you’re going to New York?’ Cesca asked. ‘Isn’t that where the new laird lives? Or was it Miami, I can never remember?’

  ‘He lives in both.’ She should tell Cesca she was off the case. And yet there was that hesitance again, along with the fear she’d been carrying for days. She didn’t want her sister thinking badly of her.

  ‘So is it him you’re going to see?’ Cesca could be like a dog with a bone when she was interested in something. Lucy sensed she wasn’t going to give up on this.

  ‘Yes, among other things.’ That was as much as she wanted to say.

  ‘Other things?’ Cesca’s voice rose up. ‘What other things? Don’t tell me Lucy Shakespeare is interested in things other than work? Are you going to see a show? Or out for dinner? Don’t tell me you’re meeting up with a guy.’

  ‘Of course not.’ Lucy hardly recognised her own voice.

  ‘Oh my God, you’ve got a guy, haven’t you?’ Cesca’s words tumbled out in her excitement. ‘Who is he? What’s his name? Have you done the deed yet?’

  ‘There’s no guy,’ she said firmly.

  ‘Yes there is.’ Cesca’s certainty took Lucy’s breath away. It was as if she had a truth antenna and was pointing it straight at Edinburgh. ‘Wait, it’s him, isn’t it?’

  ‘Who?’ Lucy was playing for time now.

  ‘The sexy laird. Are you combining business with pleasure? Jeez, Lucy, that’s not like you.’ Cesca sounded way too happy. ‘You need to tell me all. How did this happen? Oh, this is fabulous.’

  ‘Stop it.’ She regretted even opening her mouth.

  ‘Come on, give me something to work with. I’ll put it in my next play.’

  ‘So when are you planning to arrive in London?’ Lucy asked.

  ‘Stop trying to change the subject. Tell me about this guy.’

  ‘Is that the time?’ Lucy was determined to shut this down before Cesca got any closer to the truth. ‘I’ve got a teleconference in five minutes. I’ll speak to you when I’m back from New York, okay?’

  ‘You can run but you can’t hide, big sister.’ Cesca was laughing now. ‘And when you get back I expect to hear all the gory details.’

  24

  Affection is a coal that must be cool’d; else,

  suffer’d, it will set the heart on fire

  – Venus and Adonis

  The moment Lucy stepped through the sliding doors and into the arrivals hall, she took his breath away. He was leaning on a pillar, trying to answer some emails as he scanned the crowd with half an eye, not giving either his full attention. But then she was there, her blonde hair curling around her shoulders, the New York sun streaming in through the glass wall of the airport, lighting her up like there was nobody else in the room.

  And there wasn’t. At least, not for him, and not right then. He wasn’t sure what to do with that feeling, so he pushed it down the same way he pushed himself off the pillar, covering the distance between them in long strides, unable to get that smile off his face. When she spotted him fighting his way through the crowd, her eyes lit up, and the biggest, craziest grin formed on her lips.

  He hadn’t realised how tense he’d been until his muscles loosened, the tightness in his shoulders melting away. Hadn’t realised he’d been holding his breath, either, until the air rushed out in one go.

  ‘You’re a sight for sore eyes,’ he said when he was only a few feet away from her. She opened her mouth to reply, but then someone barged into the back of her, knocking her for six. She tumbled forward, loosening her hold on her suitcase just as it fell to the floor, and Lachlan reached out, catching her a second before her face joined her suitcase on the tiles. He scooped her up into his arms, frowning as he looked around to find the culprit, but there were way too many people, and they were swarming around them like ants.

  ‘You okay?’ he asked, staring down at her, taking her in. So much prettier than he remembered – if that was even possible.

  ‘I’m fine.’ She righted herself and grabbed hold of her case, staring up at him with those big, wide eyes. In the melee, her hair had fallen over her brow, and he gently brushed it off with his fingers, tucking the thick
golden strands behind her ears. Once he’d touched her, he couldn’t take his hand away. Instead, he ran his thumb across her cheek, her jaw, her full bottom lip. But that wasn’t enough. He wanted to kiss her, taste her, to slide his tongue into her warm, velvet mouth. To do everything he’d thought about in the past two weeks.

  As he brushed his lips against hers, she closed her eyes, letting go of her suitcase once again and looping her arms around his neck. Her body was pressed closely into his, enough that it was sending his senses crazy, at the feel of her, her soft fragrance, the way every time their lips parted she took a sharp mouthful of air.