Page 42 of Wild Scottish Beauty

“There’s a kitchen and bathroom in back.” I gestured with my thumb.

“Which I access …”

“Through my workroom.”

“Yet I can’t go in there?” Willow put a hand on her hip, and I felt like I was being scolded.

“I don’t like being interrupted while I work.”

“But here we are, supposedly working together. I thought you were going to show me these famous kilts and how they’re made. Plus, aren’t we going to start tossing designs around for the castle shop?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “I don’ttossdesigns around.”

“Brainstorm, discuss, collaborate, dream, spitball, whatever…” Willow laughed up at me, not at all bothered by my gruff tone.

When she laughed, little lines feathered out from her eyes, and her face came alive. She was an animated person, talking with her hands, moving about the room as though she couldn’t quite sit still, and the sparkles kept catching my eye.

She was sunshine to my storm clouds, and I wondered how the two could ever coexist.

“We can arrange time for that this week.”

“Right, so what, exactly else, do you need me to do here?” Willow squinted around the shop as she ticked points off on her fingers. “Don’t bother the customers, don’t let new customers in, don’t go in the workroom, don’t change the music, don’t design any kilts, and no runway walks.”

Pinching my nose, I sighed. The woman had a point. Striding across the room, I flipped through my appointment book to the back where I’d started a list for Willow.

“Here’s some tasks to get started. Managing the calendar, updating the website, answering emails, answering the phone. You’ll meet Sheila at some point who manages my other branches, and I’m sure she’ll have loads of things for you to do.”

“Branch manager?” Willow pursed her lips as she studied me, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Are you a kilt mogul then, Ramsay? Hiding out down here in your quiet shop while your empire grows elsewhere?”

“Less people down here.” I pointed at the clock on the wall. “Client should be here soon. Familiarize yourself with the space. I’ll get the tea on.”

“Yes, sir.” Willow’s grin widened when I glared at her. “What? You said no to ‘boss,’ but not tosir.”

“I knew this was a mistake,” I grumbled under my breath, turning and leaving her at the desk. “I don’t like people in my shop.”

“Great to be here, sir. Can’t wait for our first day together. It’s going to be so much fun. We’ll be besties in no time,” Willow called after me and I stopped in the doorway to my office. Turning my head, I glared over my shoulder.

“Besties?”

“You know … best friends. Making friendship bracelets for each other. Telling secrets.” Willow fluttered her eyelashes at me. I shook my head, furious that I’d be stuck in her vicinity every day for the foreseeable future. How had Sophie managed to con me into this?

“Bloody hell.”

It was going to be a long day.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Willow

Turns out, Ramsay really did need the help. Whether he was willing to admit it or not. His phone rang almost constantly, his inbox pinged with incoming emails, and people knocked on the front door often enough that Ramsay’s curses carried through from the back room.

I realized quickly that becoming a natural barrier between Ramsay and people who interrupted him would likely bring his stress down tenfold. While I hadn’t managed to follow his edict about not entering his workroom, mainly based on the logistics of working in the shop and needing to get to the storeroom or use the small kitchenette, it did allow me brief glimpses into how the man worked.

And it was with a singular focus that had to be admired.

I’d thought, of course, that Ramsay would be the onecrafting a kilt. But I didn’t realize the breadth of his business, nor the sheer volume of acumen needed to manage so many moving parts at once. As predicted, I met with his manager, Sheila, who clued me into Ramsay’s empire, and a quick search on Google showed me just how much Ramsay Kilts had accomplished. While Ramsay had recently tucked himself away in this little shop in Loren Brae, he truly had a veritable kiltmaking empire at his feet, which gave hundreds of Scottish people jobs and continued a time-honored tradition.

It was something he should be proud of, and I would tell him so, if he didn’t glare at me every time I interrupted him.

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