Waylaid In London

Chapter 6

Hanging up the phone, Kathryn Drummond sighed as she settled back into her bedtime routine. Polly had phoned her this evening to ask if she would join her, Ben and Jamie at a pub Saturday night to celebrate Ben's return from sea. At first she was reluctant to join them, but then decided it couldn't hurt; it might actually be fun.

She hated to admit it, but a big part of that reluctance was due to Jamie's expected presence at this gathering. Deep down she knew it was silly; Jamie seemed a sweet bloke and it wasn't fair to write him off, but painful memories of a doomed relationship still echoed through her mind.

Four months ago, she had broken it off with Tom Stanton, her boyfriend of over two years. When she'd first met him, he was very sweet and would do nearly anything for her. Their relationship blossomed and they had even begun talking about marriage. A year and a half later, things started going downhill. Tom revealed a very controlling side of his personality, became overly critical of her and would start heated arguments that would end in tears. Luckily he had never become physically abusive, but she sometimes wondered if he would have if she had not left him when she did.

One reason it hurt so much and left such a lasting impression was that he was like a Jekyll-and-Hyde type character. When he was good, he was really good and swept her off her feet; but when he was bad, he could be overly nasty and impossible to live with. They'd lived together for a year before she finally left and moved into her own flat across town. Mutual friends would phone and tell her that he was begging for her to come back, but she couldn't go through that misery again.

All this was why she felt overwhelmingly uncomfortable with the idea of getting close to another man. Again, she knew this wasn't fair to Jamie, and just because Tom was like that did not mean every man she'd meet would be the same. After speaking more to Polly, she decided she would not only go out with them Saturday night, but that she'd give Jamie a chance. It wasn't as if she were looking to get into a relationship with him anyway. There was no harm in being just friends.

Her thoughts turned a bit deeper and she smiled, thinking how sweet he was the way he greeted her with the little bow and the almost formal salutation. Maybe it was an old-fashioned Scots type thing. After all, he was wearing a kilt. Kathryn fretted not knowing much about it. She was half Scots herself, but her father had never talked much about all the traditions. She then thought about how she found him attractive, and had felt a tingle shoot up her spine as soon as she'd really looked at him. He wasn't classically handsome in the way Tom was, but he was handsome nonetheless with a charming, boyish quality that turned her on ...

"Stop that," she admonished herself quietly. If she was aiming to keep some distance and start with friendship, she wasn't doing a very good job. Still, she couldn't help admitting to herself what she'd felt that day when she first saw him. She had to keep some distance and not let herself get too close; just in case so she wouldn't get hurt.

Her thoughts more preoccupied than she would have wished, she grabbed a book she had yet to finish and settled into bed with it. This particular book was rather boring, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. Anything to distract her and help usher in sleep made excellent reading material.

She began to read, trying to keep her mind focused on the rambling text printed on the thin pages. The last thoughts before she drifted into slumber were of the kind, chivalrous, kilt-wearing Scotsman ...

A bit frustrated, Jamie tried to keep up with Polly as she flitted about the lounge, grabbing various pairs of earrings and holding them up to her ears. It was already Saturday evening and Kathryn was due to meet them in about ten minutes, hence Polly's frantic movements about the room. He'd briefly shared a look with Ben who rolled his eyes but seemed used to this behavior. Finally she stood still long enough for Jamie to address her.