Page 44 of Some Like It Scot
With a brief nod to let her know I heard her, I used my hand to move toward the ladder, keeping any more of my attention away from her eyes or lips.
Or face.
Or form.
Or hair.
Crivens! The water pixies were at work with their mischief, and no mistake.
Because I wasn’t going to fall for some social media world traveler who had a penchant for trouble.
Cold stone wall. That’s the way of it. Focus on that, mate.
“Trouble seems to follow you, Katie Campbell.” The words came out harsher than I meant.
“It usuallypursuesme, not just follows m... me.” She trembled again, and my treacherous arm tightened around her, her soft curves pressing up against my side. And she had curves.
Suddenly my breath felt insufficient. “I’d advise you to get better at hiding from it then.”
“If you’ve got any advice on how to do that, just let me know.” Her cough erupted like a sad little laugh. “Because I’m awfully tired of being found so often.”
I looked back at her, only to catch myself in her stare once again. A smile waited in her eyes, apologetic. “Thank you, Graeme.”
My name, rasped from those lips, shouldn’t heat my blood.
It was just a word. Everyone said it, some with more friendliness than others.
But the tenderness in her expression, paired with the way her accent curled around my name, settled me and unnerved me at the same time. Aye, there was more to Katie Campbell than a trouble finder, but I hadn’t the need to discover it.
I looked away, the ladder near and relief at hand. “You wouldn’t have taken a fall if it hadnae been for the gommy eejit who pushed you.”
“Gommy?” A blast of air shot from her in a laugh. “Yeah, Mark’s not the most heroic gent in Craighill, that’s for sure. And he’s in competition with me, so that makes him even more charming.”
My lips twitched despite myself. Her sarcasm carried a spine with it.
“But thankfully, chivalry isn’t dead because you showed up.”
I opened my mouth to protest my chivalry, but she continued with an added shiver. “Let’s just say, I might have been knocking on some pearly gates sooner than I planned.”
The humor in her voice didn’t match the sudden tension around her eyes. Aye, she’d been afeart. Truly. Enough to curb her humor a bit. And perhaps she would have gotten free. Her skirt wasn’t deeply enfolded in the oyster cage. But perhaps not.
The knot in my chest unraveled a little. And I was glad my quick thinking had proved helpful. Simply put. That was all. Somethinganyman should have been ready to do, in fact.
“Try not to make it a habit of expecting me to come to the rescue.” I growled out the words, attempting to create some sort of barrier between her and my infuriating, unwanted, and unexpected curiosity. “I’m not as fond of trouble as you.”
Her smile fell for the briefest moment and then resurfaced. “I’ll try to steer clear of you as best I can, but thank you nonetheless.”
And with my name on her lips and a renewed sadness in those eyes, she released her hold on me and stepped to the ladder, while I internally gave myself a tongue-lashing. She climbed to the top, assisted by the earlier gentleman who’d asked if we needed help, and then I followed. I wasn’t an utter numpty or a “grump” as she’d said. Not usually. But the way she weakened my defenses had me sounding like one.
“Katie Campbell, what on earth happened to you?” Lennox stepped forward, looking over Katie’s rumpled appearance with a horrified expression. “Your dress is ruined. And where is your glorious hat?”
Dress?Hat?I reached the top of the ladder and fairly exploded. “You’re concerned about the bloomin’ dress when the woman could have died?”
“Died?” Lennox gasped, along with her daughter at her side.
I jerked my jacket from the ground and looked back at Katie. The thin material of her dress did little to hide those curves I’d only recently appreciated too much for my own good. I nearly groaned out my frustration, half at myself and half at Mrs. Lennox’s daftness.
“Mr. MacKerrow was quick to step in though.” Katie glanced up at me before she turned back to Mrs. Lennox. “So I’d say that’s another great boon for loving Scotland, don’t you? Handsome and heroic natives? A definite marketing feature.”
