Tide Read Online Free Page B

your own?”
    “I’d have to renounce everything, including this house. The condition for me to inherit is that I don’t live alone. And I can’t lose this place. I just can’t.”
    “Are you asking me to move in, Sarah?” Nicholas touched her arm.
    “No, no way!” she said vehemently, and then blushed when she saw his stricken face. “We’ve been together a month!”
    “Yes. But one day …”
    Sarah blushed even more, her cheeks and neck blotched red in a way he found impossibly cute. Suddenly he remembered someone else – someone else he had loved who blushed just like that, red roses on her amber cheeks.
    He swallowed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to put you under pressure,” he said. “It’s just that with my parents being abroad so much, and your parents … gone, and the dangers that surround us, we might as well stick together.”
    I need sugar now. The room was spinning again. Sarah assembled her cup of tea quickly – teabag, sugar, milk – before Nicholas could interrupt her, before her thoughts could go adrift again. She took a sip of it at once, scalding her lips.
    “I told Aunt Juliet that Harry is in London for business.”
    “Right.” Nicholas nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off her.
    “That he’ll be back after Christmas.”
    “And it’s a lie.”
    Sarah nodded, looking away.
    “The guy is crazy, Sarah. Who in their right mind would pretend to be your cousin?”
    “Cathy said … She said Sean killed Harry to steal his identity.”
    Nicholas shrugged. “Does it matter at this stage? The point is that he lied to you. You can’t trust him.”
    “No. No, I can’t. I know that.”
    “You’re with me now. Don’t forget that.”
    “No, of course.”
    “So what are you going to do? About the house, I mean?”
    “I have no idea. I’ll be eighteen next October. If I manage to throw Juliet off the scent until then …”
    “Why don’t we …pretend? Why don’t we tell her I moved in? I’ll still be sleeping in my house – mostly …” Sarah looked away. The mention of “sleeping” made her heart beat faster. “But we tell her I’m staying here. That we’re serious.”
    “That would freak her out!”
    “Yes, but better than you moving in with them and bringing who knows what to their doorstep! And anyway, we are serious, aren’t we?”
    “Yes. We are.” Sarah drew a breath. He was right. That was the worst-case scenario, but a possible one. Not only having to leave her home and all that it contained, but also putting Aunt Juliet and her family in danger. That couldn’t happen.
    “Okay,” she whispered.
    “Settled, then. Don’t worry, I’m a good liar.” He laughed.
    “So am I,” she replied seriously.
    Nicholas took her face in his hands, and kissed her – so gently, so slowly, that she forgot all about her sugary tea. When he let her go, she was too dazed to swallow anything. Her hunger was gone. Again. She felt she might faint. I know that love is supposed to make you lose your appetite, but this is a bit much .
    “I’ve got to go.”
    “Don’t go,” she heard herself pleading. A knot of unease settled in her stomach. This wasn’t like her. She was turning into someone else, someone she didn’t know.
    “I’ll be back tomorrow!” he reassured her, smiling.
    Sarah followed him down the hall and watched as he pulled his jacket from the hook. She couldn’t put off asking him any longer.
    “One last thing, Nicholas.”
    “Yes?”
    “When school finishes for Christmas, I’m going to go to Islay. For the whole holiday. My family has a house there. I was wondering …”
    He kissed the tip of her nose. “Of course. I’d love to go with you. Is that what you meant to ask me?”
    “Yes, yes it was.”
    “Deal.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Well, you know my parents won’t be around, and I can’t let you out of my sight, can I? It’d be too dangerous.” He slipped his arms around her waist again.
    “Settled, then. Christmas on Islay,”