Page 4 of Scotch & Shortbread

It galled him that he’d given her a very direct order and she casually dismissed him more than once and even had the nerve to chide him for not “asking.” This did not happen to Alex. Ever. Christ, he wanted to command her to stop sucking on that bloody candy cane too. He had no doubt the lass wouldnae listen to that order either.

Didn’t she understand that he could cause her a boatload of trouble? Alcohol could perhaps explain her overconfidence, and he asked if she’d been drinking although he knew the answer. He asked expecting her to smarten up, but instead, it seemed to make her even more feisty. She might have bravado, but she didn’t show the telltale signs of alcohol consumption. He could have leaned in close to her to check for the sour smell of liquor on her breath. It would have been perfectly acceptable for him to do that, but he didn’t. Instead, it was like an urge he fought, knowing damn well she’d smell like a minty candy cane and lord knows what other tempting sweetness.

Christ, and then when the snow fell—that pleasure-filled look on her upturned face. The woman acted like she’d never seen snow before. Alex found her both odd and fascinating. He was about to give her a hefty fine, and there she was, with not a care in the world, as she delighted in the damn snowflakes.

Alex shook his head, blowing out a breath and shaking off the memory, as he looked down at the clipboard in his hand. Quinn West. He refused to feel bad about giving her that ticket. It was the set amount for her infractions. In his opinion, if you choose to break the law, you pay the price. He sighed. Maybe he’d been a bit tough on her though. He wouldn’t feel bad about the ticket, but he shouldn’t have let her stand there shivering. He felt like a bit of an arse for that. He could hear his mam’s voice now, scolding him that she’d not raised her boys to be uncouth. It was a shame he’d not be seeing his family now this Christmas.

Scraping a hand across his stubbled chin, his thoughts turned back to the lass. She hadn’t shied away from eyeing him in the way lasses do. Why he cared was beyond him. He was plenty used to the lass’s wandering eyes. Even his coworkers razzed him about his “effect” on the ladies.

It wasn’t something he gave much thought to. He had a job to do. He wasn’t on the squad to pick up women. Hell, that was the last thing he wanted. Alex preferred a solitary life. He had no intention of settling down with a lass. Relationships only brought complications. He’d learned that the hard way. The last thing he wanted was for things to go awry in his world. He’d finally found some peace and contentment. Canadian lasses were as lovely as any other, but he’d decided to steer clear, especially while living in this country. Canada was his refuge, and he didn’t want anything to take away from that, not even a lass. Especially not a lass.

Alex wasn’t unfriendly per se, but he didn’t make a lot of small talk while he was on the job. He found it often led to more trouble than it was worth. As a cop, a healthy distance was generally wise. That and Alex wasn’t an idiot. He knew he was a decent-looking guy, and he didn’t want to risk any starry-eyed lass getting the wrong idea because he was “friendly.”

The running joke with Alex’s workmates when they teased him about the lasses fawning over him was that he was immune to women. Truth be told, it was less of a joke and more of a reality. He was a man of discipline, and he was incredibly disciplined when it came to women. He was disciplined with everything in his life, and that was how he liked it.

This lass had given him that appreciative once over, and she wasn’t exactly coy about it. With the way she sucked on that damn candy cane, Alex had to admit that was a bit hard to ignore.

For such a small thing, she certainly had plenty of attitude. She barely stood as tall as his chin, but she didn’t hold back when she threw daggers at him—or when she blatantly checked him out. She was bold, and God, but she could talk. If Alex were on the prowl, he knew without a shadow of a doubt, that Quinn West would not be on his radar. The woman was a handful, and he’d only been in her company for maybe twenty minutes.

Alex sighed. There was one thing that was gnawing at him though. Lasses checked him out, and Alex barely noticed for the most part. But when Quinn West checked him out, for some fucking reason unbeknownst to him, he felt his cock bloody tighten in his uniform.

What in the hell was that about? He never allowed that to happen. It was not that lasses weren’t appealing to him, but it was literally the very last thing on his mind when he was on duty. For that matter, it was far from front and centre when he was off duty. Acting on any kind of attraction while in uniform would be completely unprofessional and inappropriate. Not to mention, the last thing in hell he wanted. He rubbed his jaw, staring out at the snow that was now coming down in earnest.

Alex was always cool and in complete control, and that was how he liked it. He prided himself on being disciplined with everything in his life. It was the reason he’d been in special operations back in Scotland. He didn’t get distracted. Except today apparently, he frowned.

And why did she make him feel like he was sharing something intimate with her when he told her he was from Scotland? Alex ran a hand through his hair. People always asked where he was from, and he never thought twice about answering. But with her, he had to admit, he felt a distinct pride in telling her his heritage. He loved Scotland and was a proud Scotsman, but why he wanted her to know where he was from was beyond him.

She hadn’t hid her irritation when he’d asked her to step out of her vehicle. He had the distinct impression that he annoyed her much like wet snow in your boots. People reacted in many different ways to cops. He was certainly used to people being pissed off at him, but something about this lass, all hot and cold, got to him.

He shook his head, fed up with thinking about it. His thoughts turned to his Christmas holidays. Now there was another cluster fuck. He’d have to cancel his trip.Bloody pish.At least he had cancellation insurance, but he hated that he wasn’t going to see his family.

It had been two years since he’d left Scotland, and he had been looking forward to seeing his two nephews. They’d probably grown and changed so much. And God, it would be good to see his siblings and parents. They’d all been through so much with the loss of his oldest sister Helena. Drew, his youngest brother, had fallen off the rails for a few years, but he’d started to come back around again. Everyone seemed to be healing and doing well up until Alex’s world got turned on its head and he’d moved to Canada.

Even though he spoke with his family fairly frequently on FaceTime, he missed them. It was a good thing he’d intended the trip as a surprise. Lachlan, his brother with the two boys, was the only one who knew of Alex’s plans to come home for Christmas. At least they wouldn’t all be let down.

Alex had been hesitant to book a trip home. As much as he looked forward to seeing his family, there were some things in Scotland he’d rather not revisit. Perhaps Rod had done him a favour.

Looking out the front window of his police truck, the snow blew across the highway. He hoped the lass made it to Calen safely.

Alex looked down at the copy of the ticket he’d just written her.What the hell?He’d left the date blank!How in Mother fuckin’ Mary’s name did that happen?In all his years as a cop, he had never forgotten to put the date. A low growl escaped him. Automatically an invalid ticket. He didn’t make mistakes, especially not on something as basic as the date. He had almost started to feel a bit better, but now, a fresh wave of irritation gnawed at him.

4

The Girls

Despitearmfulsofluggageand bags, Quinn managed to get through the front doors of Calen Mountain Inn. Green pine garlands wrapped in white Christmas lights decked the rich warm wood-panelled walls, and a bushy fresh Christmas tree twinkled in all its glory in the front lobby.

“Quinn!” She turned and saw her two friends as they ran up, embracing her in a crazy, wonderful hug. Quinn almost toppled over, but her heart was bursting. The three women had been best friends since junior high, but now they lived in different parts of the country. Unfortunately, they didn’t see each other as often as they’d like, but when they did get together it was always epic.

They headed down the hall to the four-person room they had booked. Megan Mitchell and Belle Chan had arrived about half an hour before Quinn and had already settled in.

“He was hot though, right?” Meg teased taking a sip of her red wine as she winged on black eyeliner on her already cat-like gold eyes. Meg and Belle had pretty uneventful journeys to the mountain town, making them all the more intrigued to hear about Quinn’s experience with the cop.

“Pfft. Upon reflection, I think he was too much of an ass to be hot.” Quinn puffed back still frustrated that he’d actually given her a ticket at all, never mind one for three hundred dollars. It was ridiculous, and she didn’t even want to think about how she was going to pay for it.

Her friend Belle eyed her in the way that only best friends could when they detected a lie.

Quinn huffed. “Well, I’m not saying he wasn’t attractive physically, but seriously, he was cold and mean which made him completelynothot.” Her mind agreed with the sentiment even if, at the time, her body had not.

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