Page 4 of 40 and Flashing (the Scotsman)
She instinctively shook. Gavin. Gavin… “Carter’s business partner, right?”
“Indeed.”
The Scotsman. Gavin was Scottish, and now that she thought about it, she could detect the hint of brogue in his words. The knowledge sent heat toward her middle. She’d always wanted to meet a man with a Scottish accent, and despite Gavin’s being faint, he definitely qualified. Not to mention he was sexy as all get out.
And he was still holding her hand. Clutching her robe like a damsel afraid of being ravaged, she pulled her hand from his grip. He seemed reluctant to let go.
“Where is Lily?”
“She was up the mountain, so I offered to help.”
She could’ve given me a heads-up.Although she might have; Scarlett couldn’t remember where she’d set her phone, a not uncommon occurrence for her. Her head tended to be in a story, not so much in reality.
“Okay, well…” She felt like she was tripping over her tongue. It wasn’t every day a total stranger saw you naked, not to mention one that looked like Gavin. Considering her luck, however, he’d meet another of her single friends at the wedding and fall desperately in love. Best not to get attached.
Her gaze drifted down his body. She was probably already getting too attached. Broad shoulders, thick chest, solid all the way down. She’d never gone for the swimmer’s body—give her a man’s solid weight against her any day and she’d be a happy woman.
“Well…?”
Gavin’s voice brought her back to reality. Right. “Uh, just let me finish dressing—”
“Don’ hurry on my account.”
Her cheeks heated. Keep this up and she’d start another hot flash any minute. She ducked her head. “I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfortable?”
She didn’t wait for his answer, simply darted around him and shot down the hall as fast as her bare feet would take her. The masculine chuckle that followed her did nothing to ease her blush, so the second she got the bathroom door closed, she jerked the cold water on, held a washcloth under it, and brought it to the back of her neck.
Aaah! Blessed relief.
She did her best not to rush as she finished getting dressed and put on makeup. The thick curls falling down her back were mostly dry by the time she finished, so she hit them with the hair dryer for a couple of minutes and was done. Stepping into her bedroom, she listened carefully but didn’t hear any sound from Gavin, so she shut the door and eyed herself in the full-length mirror on the back as she added some simple gold hoops to her ears. The temperature outside had been dropping all day, putting it close to freezing tonight. She wore thick leggings tucked into her favorite knee-high boots, and a long sweater that reached her thighs and cinched just below her breasts. The dark green color brought out her eyes, she thought, and made her feel pretty with the ruffles lining the deep vee of the top.
Would Gavin like the color?
Oh, for fuck’s sake, stop thinking about Gavin!
Hard to do when the man had seen her naked. When she could physically feel the touch of his gaze over her body even in her memories. Her nipples felt sensitive just thinking about it. How was she supposed to stop?
Better figure out a way, Scarlett. You write romance; you know meet-cutes like that don’t happen in real life.
Well, they did happen—he had definitely walked into her kitchen and seen her naked—but they didn’t lead to lifelong love. Some women ended up alone. She’d accepted that fate a long time ago, but it didn’t mean a little romance was unwanted. And who wouldn’t fantasize about the sexy Scotsman? There’d probably be plenty of women, of all ages, with their tongues hanging out when he walked through the door tonight.
When she entered the living room, Gavin was standing at her floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that lined the far wall, perusing the titles. Was he a reader? Somehow she could picture him with a glass of whisky in one hand, a cigar resting at his elbow on a side table, a roaring fire crackling nearby, but she wasn’t certain she could see a book in his empty hand.
She cleared her throat. “I’m ready.”
Gavin swung around, his gaze trailing her body just as it had before. “Gorgeous. The green is bonnie good on ya.”
Damn blushes. She never knew what to say to compliments like that. “Thank you.”
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Avid reader?”
“I’m an author, actually.”
His eyes widened, sparkling with what looked like pleasure. “Are ya now? What do ya write?”
She moved to collect her purse and coat from the coat rack next to the door. “Romance.”
“Ah. Seems apt.”
