Page 67 of The Wedding Engagement

Elise turned and said, “Yes, please,” then started after Liv as if coming to help, but Liv shook her head and shooed her away to go sit and relax.

As Liv glanced up before heading to the kitchen area, she was sure she caught Nico doing a double take as his gaze was drawn to Elise’s out-of-this-world arse. Suppressing a laugh, she kept her head down as she rounded the kitchen island and grabbed three glasses.

She poured prosecco into the glasses and placed the bottle in the fridge. Then, smiling to herself, she took hold of the full glasses and looked up—straight into the honey color of Arran’s eyes. He was unabashedly staring at her from the living area.

For a second, she was thrown. His hair was loose and he was wearing a pair of slim-fit dark gray checked trousers paired with a soft wool charcoal jumper. The dark tones of his outfit seemed to reflect the brooding expression on his face, and all in all, the spectacle of him was heart-racingly, panty-meltingly sexy.

Her mouth dry and her heart pumping, she continued to lift the glasses and attempted to control her trembling fingers as she walked toward the sitting area, waiting for him to hurriedly break eye contact the way he’d been doing all weekend. But he didn’t. Instead, heran his eyes leisurely down her little-black-dress-clad body all the way to her red-stilettoed feet, seeming to linger for a moment on the line of her legs. It was as if his gaze had a direct effect on her body—each place his eyes traveled burned with waves of liquid heat, all convening in a tsunami between her legs and making her core clench. He took a slow blink and met her eyes again, giving her a megawatt smile that nearly caused her to stumble.

Her pulse rocketed and she managed a quick smile back before she lost her nerve and dragged her eyes away, handing Elise a glass where she was sitting in an armchair, then crossing the room and passing one to Maya, who was on Sam’s lap. As she bent to deposit the glass in Maya’s hand, she realized that she had her back to Arran, who was on the adjacent two-seater with Nico, and that the view of tomorrow’s washing was right on the cusp.

She straightened again and chanced a glance over. Arran was watching her, his lips parted and a heated look in his eyes, which made her fingers tremble even harder as she held her glass. Nico was chatting to Brodie, who was sitting in a love seat next to them.

Sipping her drink to steady herself, she eyed the options for seats, realizing that they were all taken. She glanced over at the table, deciding that she could bring one of the dining chairs over.

But before she could execute that plan, Brodie met her eye and crooked his finger to beckon her.

She crossed over to him and he scooted right over to let her squeeze in on the small two-seater; she took a seat, facing Arran and Nico.

Their arms were quite constricted in the small seat, and so Brodie stretched his arm behind her, holding his beer in the other hand as he chatted to Nico and they included Liv in their conversation.

Smiling at something Nico was saying, she let her gaze drift over to Arran, and the smile dropped from her face as a shiver licked up her spine. His eyes were on her, dark and brooding, with hisclenched fist resting against his mouth as he darted his gaze to Brodie’s arm about her shoulders. Her breath caught, and she couldn’t look away.

Arran slid his eyes down to her legs, and it was as if his gaze were his touch, his fingers caressing her bare skin and leaving gooseflesh in their wake. She crossed her legs, trying to adjust to the heat pooling between them. His jaw tightened as he watched the movement.

This was the dress she’d worn to their blind date. The one that he’d told her she looked beautiful in. She’d known that when she’d packed it, but being under the heat of his gaze was something else—something achingly good that she hadn’t experienced that first night. Or perhaps she had but hadn’t noticed—not being aware his appreciation existed until that day in her kitchen when he’d confessed it and when, for the first time, she’d felt an inkling that he might be attracted to her. Well, it was more than an inkling now. And it wasred-hot. No man had ever made her feel like this with just his eyes. Being under Arran’s lingering gaze was like a sensual caress.

Nico turned to Arran to ask him something, and he dragged his eyes off her, dropping his hand and nodding in response to Nico. He returned his gaze to look her right in the eyes, electricity arcing between them.

“Okay, guys,” Elise said, cutting into the moment. “Drink up. We need to head out to make our reservation.”

Liv had to take a second before she stood, her legs feeling weakened from the impact of Arran’s gaze. She sank the rest of her drink in an attempt to douse her molten hot insides. Everyone hustled to get their coats on, and Liv slipped her arm through Elise’s as they left the house, feeling that she needed the support for her wobbly legs. They’d decided to walk to the restaurant because it was only five minutes away.

Her red coat was cozy in the chill of the air, and she cuddled into Elise’s fur jacket as they walked together, chatting about the Fairy Pools and what was on the menu at the restaurant as Liv tried to calm her lust-filled thoughts.

She glanced ahead to where Sam and Maya were walking in front, and with a jolt she realized that so far she’d been subconsciously gravitating toward Elise and the others in order to stay away from Sam and Maya. The uneasy third-wheel complex seemed to have taken up residence in her psyche ever since the anticlimax of her confrontation with her father.

Liv had noticed that Nico had hung back to walk behind them with Arran, and she had a sneaking suspicion that it might have something to do with the rear-end view of Elise’s sexy pants—her fur jacket was short enough that the display was still in full effect.

Chapter

Seventeen

The restaurant looked out overthe hill onto the opposite shoreline of Loch Portree, toward a row of pastel-colored terraced houses lining the bank on the other side—soft pink, baby blue, mint green, and lemon yellow. Like pieces of candy lined up along the edge of a mirror.

The food was delicious and Liv took the opportunity to gorge herself. At the beginning of the meal, Elise had leaned in to ask her whether she was going to go for a starter or a dessert with her main course and Liv had given her a look of disbelief. “Elise. There is noor. There is onlyand.”

She’d gotten the feeling that Arran’s previous avoidance of her was no longer deliberate but that he’d been angling to sit near her at the meal; however, he’d been thwarted by Maya, Elise, and Sam, who’d all gotten there first. Arran wasn’t in the seat farthest from her, but he was at enough of a distance that they’d hardly shared any conversation by the time the meal ended. But every time their eyes met, fireworks erupted in her chest.

On the way home, they decided to stop by a pub that they’dpassed on the way to the restaurant and have some more drinks before returning to the house.

The pub was cozy and the rest of the clientele were dressed casually, mostly in walking gear. A couple of them seemed to raise an eyebrow at their formal attire. Though on second thought, Liv realized it was a couple of men raising their eyebrows at the women’s attire.Space pants strike again.

Maya clinked her glass with Liv’s, then Elise’s. “Thank you, my wonderful besties, for an awesome weekend.”

Liv sipped the champagne that Nico had treated them all to, savoring the fizz of the bubbles on her tongue. “It’s not over yet. Don’t forget that Arran and I have a trip to Neist Point planned for tomorrow morning before we head home.” Even saying his name did things to her now. Each syllable on her tongue was like tasting him. At least, what she imagined he might taste like—and she was desperate to know for real. She chanced a glance over at where he was chatting to Ben and Nico. He appeared relaxed and she wondered if he was having thoughts similar to hers.

Maya smiled. “I love Neist Point; it’s so romantic. Thank you.”

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