Page 70 of Wild Scottish Rose

“I’ll be right back, just want to put her down in a safe spot,” I called.

“Yeah, buddy! Nice catch,” Owen crowed, Eugene neatly distracting him. I tiptoed into the closet, for once catching Gnorman off guard.

“Gnormannnnn,” I singsonged and he jumped, turning from where he’d been standing protection over my gran’s ornamental chest.

“For fern’s sake, hen.” Gnorman glared at me.

“I have a wee surprise for you,” I said, knowing my time was limited. Digging the gnome out of the gift bag, I put her on the table in front of Gnorman. He froze, his mouth hanging open.

“You going to stare at me all night, sugar, or introduce yourself?” The female gnome morphed to life and Gnorman snapped to attention.

“Um, I … I …”

Oh my God, was he stammering? I’m not going to lie, I was taking serious pleasure in seeing Gnorman disrupted. He crossed his arms over his chest, and I almost choked.Is he flexing his muscles?

“His name’s Gnorman. But I call him G,” I said, taking up the thread of conversation when Gnorman just stared pie-eyed at the little beauty. “I’m Shona, by the way, and this is my greenhouse. You’re welcome here.”

“You’re the garden witch? I heard we had some fresh blood in town.” The gnome smirked at me, fluffing her curls, and I smiled. “I’m Gnora, by the way. Also with a silent G.”

Gnorman almost fell over.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I shook my head as Gnorman stumbled for words. “What are the odds?”

“I’d say they’re pretty good, wouldn’t you, hot stuff?” Gnora winked at Gnorman, and his chest puffed up, but he still seemed incapable of forming words. She looked up at me. “I love when they get all tongue-tied, don’t you?”

Did I? I had no idea. I’d never really tried to wield my feminine wiles as power, and I’d always admired women who were so confident in doing so.

“Hey,” Owen said, and both gnomes froze. He peered over my shoulder, and I shivered at his closeness. “Aw, they look cute together, don’t they?”

“I don’t know. She might be too good for Gnorman.” Gnorman’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly at me.

“No way, my man G has it going on. He’ll win her over, no problem.”

“We’ll see about that.” I turned, poking Owen in the stomach to get him to move back, and my legs almost went liquid under me when it felt like I was poking a cement wall. The man was seriously fit. “Let’s go.”

“Eugene is surprisingly fast,” Owen said as we left the greenhouse. “And far more agile than I expected. I didn’t even know that hedgehogs had the capacity for playing fetch.”

“Neither did I until you brought him a toy.”

On the drive to the castle, Owen’s phone rang, and he grimaced when his mother’s name came up on the console.

“Go ahead, answer it. It’s fine.”

Owen sighed.

“Mother, you’re on speaker phone, and I have a friend in the car with me.”

Just a friend?I pushed the thought away.

“Hi, Mrs. Williams. It’s Shona. We met briefly at your daughter’s wedding.”

“My name isn’t Williams any longer.” Her annoyed tone filled the car, and I grimaced.

“And how would Shona know that? What’s up, Mom?”

Another audible sniff.

“Well, now, I wouldn’t possibly want to interrupt.”Sniff. “I guess this explains why I haven’t heard from you like usual. You’ve got some plaything who is more important than me.”Sniff.

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