Page 59 of Wild Scottish Beauty

“If you say so.” Sophie held up her hands, backing off. “We haven’t known each other long enough for me to harass you into dating your hottie boss, but we’ll get there eventually.”

Despite myself, I laughed. I reallylikedSophie.

In fact, I’d liked everyone I’d met so far in Loren Brae. The town itself was charming, the castle stunning, and the countryside breathtaking. Be it magick or just the natural allure of a well-connected small town, I was beginning to fall in love with the direction my life was taking me. New beginnings could be challenging, I knew that from experience, but this time felt different.

There was a rightness to this move thatwas already making me want to settle in and make a name for myself. Maybe, just maybe, I was finally stepping into my own. I couldn’t wait to start collaborating on designs for the castle, I already loved working at the shop, and I’d even acquired a kitten.

All in all, I felt like I was ready to take on the world.

Kelpies and all.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Ramsay

Like I needed something else to make Willow more attractive.

But the fact that she had magick? Yeah, that was damn sexy. I’d always loved the fact that Scotland was renowned for its magick and myths, even more so when I’d discovered the Kelpies were real. Granted, they were terrifying, and we all should rightly be cautious of them, but a part of me was still the little boy who had fought dragons with his brother on the hill.

Life was just more exciting with a hint of danger in it.

I was just finishing up my project when Willow breezed through the door, Calvin in her arms, and a tightness in my chest released at seeing her. Maybe a part of me had been a bit worried that she’d turned tail and run after yesterday’s encounter with the Kelpies. She’d said she needed time toprocess when she’d left the shop yesterday, and it had made me wonder if she’d be strong enough to hack it here.

I’d resisted texting her to check in, only just, but also because she hadn’t technically given me her phone number. I’d taken it from the intern information that Sophie had given me.

I had acted completely on instinct the day before, racing into the loch to find the wee kitten for Willow. My thoughts flashed to her face, the terror she’d felt, both when she saw Calvin in the water and then the Kelpies.But she’d been fearless.Despite being soaked to the bone from the rain and the loch, she’d felt so perfect in my arms.Right.And the expression of awe in her eyes when she’d looked up at me, the kitty in her arms…I hadn’t been able to get her beautiful face out of my mind all night.And that was a problem.

“What is that?” Willow skidded to a halt, and I took the moment to appreciate her curves in motion, before glancing down at my project.

“This? It’s a cat tree. Or I guess, a jungle.” I surveyed my work, tilting my head. Yes, it was definitely more of a jungle than a singular tree. Knowing that a kitten would likely shred the first thing it got its wee paws on, I’d hammered a few scraps of wood together when I’d stopped to visit my parents the night before. My father’s workshop had provided a plethora of loose ends to work with, and before I’d known it, the simple cat tree had turned into a playground that had barely fit into my truck. My father had enjoyed helping, and because it had been the first thing he’d really been interested in since his stroke, we’d spent a fun few hours adding burlap, engineering a cat bridge, andadding various ropes and tassels to keep the kitten entertained. Maybe it was overkill…

“No way,” Willow breathed, and I looked up to see admiration in her eyes. “This is incredible. I hadn’t even thought about something like this. I literally know next to nothing about cats. I brought a ribbon along as a toy. But seeing this…yeah, okay, I’m dumb.Of course,he needs something like this. Is that burlap? He already almost shredded my jeans this morning. His claws are sharp.”

“Aye, burlap. And some nice strong rope. See how it’s wrapped here? Then he can really dig in.” I pointed to where I’d wrapped rope around one of the poles.

“I’m just in awe. This is, like, professional work, Ramsay. Thank you for doing this for him.”

I shrugged off her praise, though her words warmed me to the core. I’d just done this so the wee cat wouldn’t rip up my wool. It had nothing to do with seeing the smile that bloomed on her face, making her look like a damn ray of sunshine after a rainy day.

“Let’s see if he takes to it?” I nodded to Calvin, sitting back on my heels, and Willow crouched by my side, her thigh brushing mine as she put Calvin in front of the playground.

“See? It’s for you to play on, buddy.”

Willow’s thigh was warm against mine and I tried not to notice that her perfume smelled faintly like toasted marshmallows—was that even a thing?—and willed myself to ignore my body’s response to her nearness. I was used to working alone in my shop each day, and lately, when I did socialize, it was with my mates. Having someone as overtly feminine as she was, her body rounded and curved like aseventeenth century master had painted his vision of a goddess, was making it difficult for me to concentrate. I wanted to touch her, to listen to her gasp as I figured out what aroused her, to see that same admiration in her eyes that she’d just given me for building a damn cat tree.

Och, this is not good.

I prided myself on being a good boss. Many of my employees were women. Weaving, particularly darning, tended to be a female-dominated industry. I’d always been aware when an employee was trying to flirt with me and had kept it professional at all times. It was important to me that my employees knew they were respected and that they worked in a safe environment. Sheila knew this as well, in fact she had drilled it into her managerial staff so much so that we had very little turnover, and in the few instances where a line had been crossed in a work situation, the employees had felt comfortable reporting it to management. We’d swiftly dealt with any such occurrences, and now, as I tried desperately not to think about kissing Willow’s perky mouth, I berated myself for not following my own code of ethics. Even if it was just my thoughts that wanted to get down and dirty with Willow.Not to mention she’s Miles’s sister. Completely. Off. Limits.

Calvin launched himself at the cat tree, clinging to one of the poles, clambering quickly up the side and racing across the wee bridgeway I’d built. He pounced on a knot of rope I’d frayed at the end, batting at the fringe, and almost fell off the side of the bridge in his attempt to tear it apart.

“Ope, bud, careful.” Willow laughed, the sound sending a shiver down my back, and I stood, needing to distance myself from her.

“Now, Calvin.” The cat looked at me, seeming to already know its name, and I nodded, impressed. “This is for you to play on. Not my fabrics, understood?” The cat regarded me for a moment, and then went back to batting at the fringe. Even though I hoped to keep him distracted with the scratching post, I’d still cleaned up the workroom, putting most of the bolts of fabric away in the closet. Less temptation was better.

I glanced at Willow where she lectured Calvin about the importance of being a good shop cat.

Less temptation wasdefinitelybetter.

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