Page 81 of Wild Scottish Beauty

I wanted to be the one wrapping my arms around her at the end of the night.

I wanted to be the one making her laugh so hard that she snorted and slapped a hand over her mouth.

And yet here I was, refusing to say the things that I wanted to say.

They say pride made for a cold bedfellow, but I was beginning to think loyalty did as well.

Cursing Miles for having such an incredible human as a sister, I returned to work.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Willow

So, you admit it, lass? Irn Bru is good.

I don’t know if I’d say “good.”

Those are fighting words in Scotland.

Uh-oh, am I going to get kicked out?

We might make an exception for a bonnie lass such as yourself.

Later that afternoon, I smiled at my phone and looked up to catch Ramsay glowering at me from across the room. Neither of us had spoken much since the morning—Ramsay clearly having exhausted his word limit forthe day—and I’d been busy with finalizing a few concepts I felt we were ready to take to Sophie in between appointments.

“What?”

“You’re on your phone a lot today.”

“Oh? Is that not allowed? I didn’t see any rules about that in your extensive training manual.” I pretended to look around for the nonexistent employee manual.

“Is that your date?” Ramsay asked, crossing to the fire to add another log. Calvin jumped on my worktable and rolled on his back to bat at a piece of ribbon I’d given him. I reached over, tickling his belly, and Calvin sunk his teeth into my hand.

“Damn it,” I hissed, pulling my hand back, and glaring at Calvin. The cat just blinked his eyes lazily at me and flashed me an image of himself sleeping alone by the fire. “Well, if you’re tired, then go to sleep. You don’t have to bite me.”

Surprising me, Ramsay crossed the room and took my hand in his, examining the bite. My skin heated at his touch, my hands looking positively dainty in his, and I wondered how he was able to make his stitches so straight with such large hands. My eyes dropped to our joined hands as his thumb brushed across the bite.

“Just a surface wound. No blood.” I cleared my throat. My phone buzzed again beneath our joined hands. Ramsay’s fingers tightened on mine.

“Do you really think you should be going out on dates?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Was he going to turn into my brother and start monitoring my every movement? If so, Ramsay better think twice about pulling such a move.I was my own woman who could make my own choices. I didn’t need another Miles looking over my shoulder and dictating my every decision. Annoyance flashed through me, and I took a deep breath, forcing my emotions from bubbling over. I already knew that Ramsay was in a mood today, and he likely didn’t realize just how much he was overstepping his boundaries at the moment. I just needed to keep my cool so as not to pick a fight with him because his questions were intrusive.

“When did you even have time to meet someone?”

“What…why do you even care?” I asked, glaring up at him. He still held my hand in his, and I could feel my heart thump slowly, as he shifted closer, his head lowering.

“You told me you weren’t dating anyone right now.”

“When did I say that?”Had I said that?I might have. I chattered at Ramsay constantly during our time in the shop, so maybe I did say that in passing. It was hard to think straight with my hand caught in his, and he shifted, leaning his hip against the table.

“You said you weren’t looking for a boyfriend right now. That you’d had a bad breakup and wanted to focus on figuring out your new life.” Wow, a positive monologue from the man of few words. I guess he did listen to me on occasion.

“Um.” I swallowed. Was his head dipping closer to mine? My eyelashes fluttered against my cheeks for a moment, and I took an unsteady breath. Ramsay’s thumb continued to caress my palm, heat trailing across my skin at his touch. “Yeah, that sounds like something I’d say.”

My phone buzzed again, and Ramsay’s hand tightened on mine.

“He’s eager.”

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