Page 58 of Wild Scottish Beauty

Ireallydidn’t want blood on my Nirvana shirt. It was borderline vintage.

“Let’s hope not. I think it’s more symbolic than anything.” Sophie wielded the scissors and Hilda chuckled, carrying Calvin with her to come sit next to Sophie.

“Let’s have a look?”

Sophie snagged Calvin, tipping him over on her lap and scratching his belly, which he seemed to enjoy for a moment before he bit her finger and flipped over, stalking across the couch to jump from the arm to my lap.

“Ohhh, he’s got a bit of an attitude, doesn’t he? I like it,” Sophie said.

“So, with the scissors, do you see the cat in the pattern?” I asked, stroking Calvin’s back as he began to knead my knee with his tiny, sharp claws. I winced as one sunk deep and pulled his paw back.

“I do. Look.” Hilda tilted the scissors to Sophie.

“Cute.”

“It wasn’t there yesterday morning.”

“Ohhhhh.” Sophie’s face lit with excitement, and she slapped her hand on her thigh. “No way. You’ve passed a challenge already.”

“Excuse me? I have?”

“I think so. I guess we’ll only know if you pass another and see if a different designshows up.”

“Aye, that’s the way of it.” Hilda nodded at me. “Between using your power to predict Calvin’s wee spot of danger, to rescuing him, you completed a challenge.”

“But did I? I mean, I didn’t rescue Calvin. Ramsay did.” I took another sip of coffee, mulling it over. “Maybe I was on alert for it. Subconsciously. As I did find myself going to the window a lot yesterday, in between work, and staring out at the loch. But also, that could just be because it’s beautiful. Or because you told me about Kelpies and now that I know it’s magickal, I’ll probably stare at the water a lot.”

“Speaking of Ramsay…” Sophie leaned in, brushing over the monumental discussion about me passing magickal challenges and moving one step closer to banishing murderous Kelpies. “He’s hot.”

“Nope.” I wagged a finger in the air. “Don’t even go there.”

“Oh, come on …”

“Aren’t you my boss? And you’re advocating that I hook up with the man who is technically my other boss? Wouldn’t HR have, like, a million things to say about this?”

Sophie glanced to where Sir Buster had crept to Hilda’s feet now that Calvin was tucked safely on my lap.

“HR, do you have a problem with Willow dating her hot boss who looks like he should be chopping trees down for a living instead of sewing kilts?”

Sir Buster pawed at Hilda’s legs, giving her a smile.

“See? He’s got no problem with it.”

“Sir Buster is your human resources department?” I asked, amused.

“Sure, why not? But, in all seriousness, was I readingthat wrong? I swear, for a moment yesterday I thought you two might kiss.”

So did I.

The feeling of his lips across my cheek had done more for me than many a moment with my last boyfriend, so I’m not sure what that said about my last relationship.

“I don’t think I’m really in the space to think about him like that. He’s my brother’s good friend. He’s my boss. I just got out of a bad relationship not too long ago. I’ve moved to a new country. Learned I have magick, apparently, and you know, the whole Kelpies thing. One might say it’s not the best time for love.”

“Ohhhh, she said love.” Sophie elbowed Hilda gleefully, and the older woman gave me a gentle smile.

“There’s never a perfect time to find love, dear. You either make space in your life for it or you don’t.”

“I don’t have space for it.” I gave Sophie an emphatic look. “I don’t.”

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