eyes were swimming with tears. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered, and Evanna felt herself pulled into a warm hug. ‘I’m so, so sorry.’
‘Don’t be sorry,’ she said gruffly, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the flat of her hand. ‘It’s me who should be sorry for yelling at you. You’re a good friend and you were only trying to help. It wasn’t your fault. None of this is your fault. It’s nobody’s fault.’
‘Yes, it is. It was me who forced you to dress up for him. I just know you’d be so amazing together.’ Kyla’s expression was stricken as she wiped the tears from her own face. ‘I shouldn’t have interfered, but I love both of you so much.’
Evanna reached for a tissue. ‘And you can carry on doing that, but you have to love us separately. Logan and I are not a couple and we never will be. We can’t be together.’
Kyla sank down on the edge of the bed. ‘So what will you do now?’
‘I’m going to do my job, help look after Kirsty and be a good friend to your brother.’ Evanna blew her nose hard and kept her tone matter of fact. ‘It’s what he needs from me. It’s what he wants.’
‘But what about what you want?’
‘What I want isn’t important at the moment. What’s important is Kirsty and Logan. He’s been through hell and he needs support. And that’s what friends are for.’ Evanna looked up with a watery smile. ‘You can have those shoes, if you like. I left them in the garden. You’re the same size as me and I don’t think I’ll be wearing them again. Anyway, they pinched my toes.’
‘Oh, Evanna …’
Evanna shook her head. ‘I’m not a high heel sort of girl. I’m just me and—and he doesn’t want me. And that’s fine,’ she said, blowing her nose for a final time. ‘Deep down I always knew that I wasn’t the right girl for him. I’ve just been deluding myself in the same way that all the other women on this island do. But he has no idea how I feel, so that’s good. If he knew, that would make the whole situation incredibly embarrassing. As it is, we can carry on as if nothing has happened.’
She almost laughed as she listened to herself. Nothing had happened. Except in her dreams. And in her dreams was the only place that Logan was ever going to be.
CHAPTER FIVE
AFTER a sleepless night, Evanna woke with a pounding headache and gritty eyes to find Craig on the doorstep, ready to finalise the details for her bathroom.
‘It’s not even eight o’clock, Craig.’ Her voice was croaky with lack of sleep and she dragged a hand through her tangled hair. ‘And it’s Sunday. Don’t you have a home to go to?’
‘I finished up at the Murray place last night so I thought I might as well come down here and get started as soon as possible. Can’t get any peace at home, anyway, with our Molly waking everyone up at the crack of dawn.’ He was wearing filthy overalls and Evanna led him through to the kitchen and put the kettle on.
‘I can’t string a sentence together until I’ve had a cup of coffee,’ she muttered, spooning fresh coffee into a pot and adding the water. A delicious aroma filled the kitchen. ‘What time does Molly wake up?’
‘Five.’
Evanna winced. ‘That’s a wicked time to start the day.’
‘She doesn’t think so.’ Craig rubbed his eyes with his fingers. ‘We take it in turns to get up with her.’
‘She’s two. She ought to sleep later than that. Have you tried just leaving her?’
‘Annie doesn’t like to do that.’ Craig gave a crooked smile. ‘Can’t bear her to cry. The moment she hears a murmur, she’s in there.’
Evanna lifted two mugs out of the cupboard. ‘It might be worth leaving her for a few minutes. She might just go back to sleep. Logan tried that with Kirsty a few months ago and it worked. She didn’t even cry much, just whimpered a few times and then drifted off again.’
‘Really? So you think that might work for Moll?’
‘It’s possible, but obviously you have to do what feels right for you. Here. Have some caffeine.’ She handed him a brimming mug. ‘I’m sure that we both need it.’
‘Did I wake you? I assumed you’d be up.’
‘I was up.’ She hadn’t really slept all night. She’d just stared at the ceiling, thinking about Logan, and now her eyes pricked angrily and her head ached. It was going to be a long day. ‘Do you want to have another look at the bathroom?’
‘That’s what I was hoping.’
They walked upstairs and Craig wandered into her bathroom. ‘I reckon it will take me and the lads about ten days,’ he said, peering around the bathroom and scribbling something on a piece of paper. ‘Providing there are no hitches.’
‘My life is full of hitches,’ Evanna said wearily, ‘but we’ll aim for the ten days. Will I be able to wash?’
‘Yeah. Well, most of the time.’ Craig frowned up at the ceiling. ‘You want that painted the same blue as the rest?’
‘Yes.’
‘Nice. Looks like a seaside bathroom.’ He nodded approval and then pulled out a tape measure. ‘I’m going to cut some wood to fit there. Has all the stuff we ordered arrived?’
‘It’s blocking my garage as we speak.’
Craig stretched out the tape measure and recorded the length. ‘That’s a standard size. OK. We’ll start tomorrow. I’ll try and make sure the bath is only out of action for a few days. You can shower at Kyla’s.’ He tucked the pencil behind his ear and slid a finger over a pipe. ‘We’ll box this in for you. It will look better.’
‘Whatever you say, Craig.’ Evanna wished she could summon up more enthusiasm. ‘As long as it looks like the picture I showed you, I don’t care how you do it.’
‘It’s a shame we couldn’t have fitted it in while you were on the mainland. Would have meant less disruption for you, but never mind.’ He took a closer look at a hairline crack that was running across the ceiling. ‘I bet Dr MacNeil is pleased to see you home. He told me Kirsty was missing you.’
Evanna tensed. ‘She’s growing fast.’
‘No doubt about that.’ He dropped to his haunches and studied the floor. ‘This will have to come up. Those flashy Italian tiles you chose are going to look the business.’
‘Thanks, Craig. I’ll let you have a key so that you can just come and go while I’m at work.’
He stood up. ‘There’s going to be some dust and mess while we remove the old stuff, but I’ll cover your carpet for you.’
Evanna waved him off and decided that, although it would be fun to have a new, luxurious
