Page 68 of Judgment Day

I ran my finger over the watch on his wrist, my watch, the one I gave him. “You kept it.”

“Of course.” He extended a hand to help me off the counter. “I won’t be back tonight,” he told Mrs. McTavish. “Andrew is here to make sure there are no unexpected visitors while I’m gone.”

He meant Sadie.Because apparently, she was a fucking nutjob. Andrew must have been the guy who stopped me at the gate when I first arrived and made me call Mrs. McTavish out for backup.

Her gaze ping-ponged between us, then she smiled the same hopeful smile she’d given me so many times over the years. “Yes, sir.” Her eyes met mine again. “I hope to see you again.”

“You will.” I just wasn’t sure when.

* * *

Grey took us on a thirty-minute car ride across bending roads, over hilltops and around mountains until we reached a pier. Lincoln waited there, leaning against a wooden rail by the water. His hands were stuffed in the kangaroo pockets of his solid white hoodie. He wore his favorite New York Yankees wide-brimmed baseball cap and white joggers. My heart raced at the sight of him.

Was he excited to see me, too?

Did last night change things for him? For us?

Could he still touch me?Wouldhe still touch me?

This was all new territory none of us had ever navigated before. There wasn’t exactly an instruction manual.

I ran across the pier, circled my arms around his neck and pressed a soft kiss on his full lips.

He grinned against my mouth and squeezed my ass. “Miss my dick that much, Songbird?”

He was okay. We were okay.

I gave his chest a playful shove. “What are you doing here?” I looked back at Grey. “Did you do this? Is this your surprise?”

A smile ghosted his lips. “Part of it.”

I dropped my hands, fully facing him now. “And the other part?”

He smirked. “You’ll find out soon enough.” His gaze darted over my shoulder to the sound of a boat pulling up. “Our ride is here.”

Lincoln took my hand and helped me onboard. I’d never truly seen Scotland this way until now. When I lived with Grey, we went to parties and events, always after dark. He took me to a ballet once in the city. But the countryside—this—this was like nothing I’d ever experienced. I stood at the edge of the boat, drinking in the stillness around us. The water was calm and undisturbed except for the wake of our boat. Trees and mountains dotted the sky on both sides of us. The wind kissed my skin and wisped strands of my hair across my face as the boat bounced against the surface of the lake—orloch, as Grey called it.

I held onto the rail and smiled at the beauty. Lincoln’s fingertips brushed the hair away from my face. Grey’s hand rested on top of mine. I closed my eyes and inhaled a soul-deep breath.How did I get so lucky?I had the attention of the two most breathtaking men in the world. They were calm versus wild, cautious versus unpredictable, cocaine versus whiskey. There couldn’t have been two souls more different than Linc and Grey, and my soul recognized them both.

I opened my eyes. “Is it all this perfect?” I asked Grey.

He stared out over the water, soaking in the same view. “There’s an old joke that when God made Scotland, He told the angels He wanted to retire here.”

I chuckled under my breath. “I can see why.” I couldn’t imagine our destination or how amazing it would be if this was just the journey. Wherever we were going, he’d planned on staying there.I won’t be back tonight.

He looked past my shoulder. “We’re here.”

FORTY

Herewasa quaint little time capsule plucked from the past and dropped between mountains and lakes. The lake ebbed and flowed against the rocky shore. White buildings, like every seaside town in every Nicholas Sparks movie, lined up in a row along a single road. Children and adults rode their bicycles while old men sat around folding tables on a grassy lawn and drank beer from a pint.

The boat dropped us off, then Grey hired a driver to bring us to an enormous villa at the top of a high hill. It was a large white house with a black roof and shutters. There were three dormer windows along the front and a wall of windows on one side, overlooking a courtyard garden. It was sophisticated and stately. The rear side overlooked the sea, and I swore I saw a couple of sea otters basking on the shore below as a golden eagle flew overhead. I had no idea why we were here, but I had a feeling I was about to find out.

I felt Linc’s presence as he walked up behind me. He leaned down and nuzzled his face in the crook of my neck. “You look content,” he said.

“It’s this place. It’s beautiful.”

He lifted his head. “You want to stay.” It wasn’t a question, or a statement. The possessiveness in his tone bordered an accusation.

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