‘Well, it does seem a treat to me. The Cotswolds are full of quaint villages, but Northumberland is less tamed, somehow. And this coastline is magnificent. Why do I not remember it better?’

‘Perhaps your parents didn’t go out on day trips.’

‘No. I don’t think we did.’

‘There’s plenty of birdlife here, too,’ he teased. ‘Enough to suit you, I hope.’

‘I’m not just into studying nature,’ she protested. ‘I love castles and history as well. Don’t you think the architecture of today is graceless? Office buildings mostly look like piles of egg boxes to me!’ She told him about her favourite stately home of all, the magnificently ornate Brighton Pavilion. He encouraged her to talk with the occasional question, sounding as if he was really interested. But after a while she realised how long she’d been talking. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to bore you.’

‘You didn’t. I enjoyed your enthusiasm. And you’ve made me want to go and see the Pavilion myself one day. I don’t know why I never have. How about making a bargain? I’ll show you Edinburgh. You show me the Pavilion.’

She tried to conceal her surprise. ‘Oh. Well. All right. If you – you really want to.’ She couldn’t believe a man like him would make plans to see her again, but she would love to get to know him better.

‘I do want to, Megan.’

The way he said her name made her breath catch in her throat and she couldn’t think how to reply.

His voice was a low, amused purr from beside her. ‘I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed in Bamburgh Castle, though.’

‘Why?’

‘Well, although it’s basically medieval, it was the first English castle to succumb to gunpowder during the Wars of the Roses and most of it’s a nineteenth-century reconstruction.’

‘Oh!’

He chuckled. ‘Confess it, you’re disappointed.’

She couldn’t help grinning back at him. ‘Yes, I am rather.’

‘Don’t be. Bamburgh is still worth a visit, especially the King’s Hall. There’s some magnificent carving there, even though it’s teak not English oak.’

His hand rested on hers for a moment, then he pulled it away and started up the car again.

It wasn’t until they were approaching Edinburgh that she admitted to herself how very attracted she was to him. It was as simple – and as confusing as that. It wasn’t just his looks, it was everything about him. He was so easy to spend time with.

But how did he feel about her? He wasn’t just being polite if he’d talked about her showing him Brighton Pavilion. Surely not?

Could a man like him possibly be as attracted to her as she was to him?