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“Nope, still in dry dock.” Nick offered his hand. “Mates?”

Sunita grinned and shook on it. “Mates.”

“Great!” Evie smiled as they let go. “Now, let’s play some games and hit the rides.”

“I can’t—sorry.” Pouting, Sunita pointed over her shoulder. “Meeting Mum for a mother-daughter manicure.”

Fiona frowned. “Oh yeah. And I have to help my auntie at the young farmers booth.”

Sunita hated manicures, and Fiona’s elderly aunt, who she was boarding with over the summer, was on holiday several islands away in Papa Westray. Her best friends were making shit up, and Evie loved them for it.

Pulling her in for a hug, Sunita whispered, “Never enough tongue!” in her ear before stepping back.

Fiona leaned in carefully so she didn’t crush Evie’s candy floss. “Have fun!” Letting go with a smirk, she headed off with Sunita, their cheery chatter and over-the-shoulder glances raising Nick’s brows and Evie’s spirits.

Not subtle at all.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me,” said Nick, chewing a Milk Bottle.

“I can manage.” Evie stared at his mouth. “I know the County Show inside out.”

“Brilliant.” He squinted toward the hot tub and trout fishing displays. “We won’t miss any highlights, then.”

Was he being sarcastic? Evie couldn’t tell. She glanced down. Nick’s pricey trainers and the bottom of his dark jeans were splattered with fresh mud. “I know it might seem twee compared to what you have down south.” Looking up, she whisked a piece of hair away from her lip gloss.

“No, it’s cool,” said Nick. “Gran used to come every year. She’s an Orkney gal, born and raised. Comes from Hoy originally.”

“You serious? I love Hoy. It’s beautiful.”

“I’ve never been.”

There was eager and then there was Evie. “I could take you!” she blurted. “One of the ferries takes cars.” Not even five minutes into their first date, and she was already angling for another. A flush heated her cheeks as Nick blinked quickly like he wasn’t sure how to respond. Yeah, way cool, Evie. She retreated into her candy floss, wishing her mouth came with a rewind button.

“I’d love to go with you.”

Love? Evie peered up, catching his boyish grin.

“I have some auditions booked soon, but we could go aft—”

“I told you, didn’t I?!” Two rosy-cheeked teens, all braces and giggles, ambushed their conversation. The shorter of the pair bounced a wriggling infant on her hip.

Evie recognized the girls from school. “Hi.” She smiled, under no illusion she was the one they were excited to see.

The young mother grinned, her eyes scooting to Nick. “Hope you don’t mind. We had to say hi and tell you how much we loved the skinny-dipping scene!”

Evie and the Dalston Grove fandom knew that one by heart: Jake naked, having a sunrise frolic in a pond with Amanda after an adventurous London all-nighter. Evie had replayed (and paused) the scene over and over, but dammit, Nick’s bare ass eluded detection every time.

“Could we get an autograph?” asked the second girl, hands shaking as she produced a pen and a scrap of paper from her jacket.

“Absolutely.” Nick tucked his sweets in a coat pocket. “What are your names?”

Evie smiled over her candy floss, elated to witness this fangirl moment from the inside—beside Nick. She stared surreptitiously at his mouth again as he signed with his left hand. Butterflies teasing, she desperately craved a repeat of Thursday night, to press her lips against his, for him to open up so she could taste him with a sweep of her tongue—

“Oh! And a photo. Would you hold my bairn?”

The fan’s little sprite blew saliva bubbles through her toothless smile and clung to a plush giraffe glistening with fresh goo. Eyeing Nick in his designer coat, Evie wondered how he would handle this.

He fiddled with its buttons for a beat then flashed a grin. “Sure.”