Page 21 of Refuge for Ailsa

That wasn’t the only place his mind went. It went to the sink in front of the window, and a woman with bright red hair standing there, hands in the soapy water. When he turned toward the stove, he could see the same woman standing there, a cast-iron skillet sizzling as she carefully placed slices of bacon in it. He could almost smell it cooking!

But when he stepped into the master bedroom upstairs, his world turned upside down. He could see a big four-poster bed sitting there, a king size, and the two of them in it, rolling around, laughing and holding each other. There was the window, and it had a box seat under it, topped with a cushion she made herself. Rain struck the windowpanes, and she sat there, a cup of coffee in her hands, as she stared out and leaned back against the bookcase on one side. As he stood there, lost in his own dreams, she turned and smiled. Then she said the only thing he’d thought he would never hear from a woman.

“I love you, Tavish.”

Yeah, maybe it was a dream. But he was living for the moment when it became a reality.

CHAPTER4

As Ailsa drove back,she thought about the afternoon. God, Tavish was hot! The guy was pure sex on legs, and she’d never been manhandled that way before. But she loved it too. Sure, her nipples were burning and she figured she’d have a hitch in her giddy-up the next morning, but she was satisfied in ways she didn’t know she could be. He knew what he was doing, and he made every movement worth her while.

She pulled up to the marina, strode down the gangplank, and headed toward the end of the dock. The boat barely rocked as she climbed aboard, and she made her way carefully to the door. Once she was inside, she dropped everything and sat down in her favorite chair.

TavishStewart. She wanted to get some colored markers and start writing his name on everything in the house. Boat. Houseboat. Living in that thing had taken some adjusting, but she’d managed. It was perfect for one person, and she wondered what Tavish would think when he came there.

What if he didn’t? A moment of panic overtook her thinking. What if he’d just been toying with her? What if he never intended to see her again? “Hell, I’m a dumbass,” she told herself aloud. She would text him and he wouldn’t respond. She knew it. How could she be so stupid? Just to prove it to herself, she pulled out her phone and his business card, then typed in a short message.

Hey, I’m home. Thanks for this afternoon. Can’t wait for our dinner date.

She waited, but there was no response. “Guess I was right,” she groused as she wandered into the galley and poured herself a glass of wine. Once she’d plopped back down in the chair, she picked up a book she’d been reading and flipped to the page with the marker. She’d been reading for maybe five minutes when her text notification went off, and she grabbed her phone to see who it was.

Sorry. Left my phone on the table to take the dog out. Yes, it was a great afternoon. And yes, I can barely wait to see you again. Thank you for being there with me. Let me feed her and get her settled and I’ll give you a call.

She sent him a thumbs up and went back to reading. A dog?he had a dog. He mentioned that at lunch, not that it mattered. She loved dogs, but she hadn’t had one in a long, long time. Instead of dwelling on the dog thing, she went back to reading.

Her wine glass was empty and she was about to refill it when her phone rang. She answered with a breathy “Hey,” without looking at the screen first.

“Hi. I’m guessing I wasn’t who you were expecting,” Donovan said, laughing.

“No. You aren’t.”

“Did you spend the afternoon with Tavish?”

“Yes. I did.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

She thought she was hearing wrong. Donovan was forever warning her to stay away from guys. “You’re glad?”

“Yeah. He’s a good guy. I’ve heard so much about him from Maureen, and he seems awesome. She says he’s super kind, considerate, wants to help people…”

Wants to fuck me, she almost said. “Yeah. I got that vibe from him.”

“Yeah. So I hope you two get to be good friends.”

He has no idea what I did with my new “friend” today, Ailsa thought, trying hard to keep from bursting into laughter. “I think we will be.”

“Okay. Well, I just wanted to?”

Her call waiting tone sounded. “Oh, gotta go, Don. Tav is calling me.”

“Oh, okay. Talk to you?”

She didn’t wait to see what he was about to say. “Hello?”

“Hey! You sound surprised to hear from me.”

“Nah. I was just talking to Donovan when you called and had to get off the phone with him first.”

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