Page 26 of Scotch & Dreams

She took a sip, still marvelling at how good it was and the fact that the man across from her owned the frickin’ distillery. Feeling her head swim a bit, she threw him a sly glance. “Are you trying to get me drunk?” She immediately regretted asking when he looked aghast.

“No, no, of course no'. I’m sorry. Ye dinnae huv to drink it.” He leaned forward to take her glass, but she quickly pulled it close to her chest as if protecting its precious contents from him.

“Don’t you try to steal it from me. It’s mine!”

Lachlan’s deep chuckle danced down her spine. “Do we huv a problem here, V?” His voice seemed to have dropped an octave.

“Only if you try to take my drink away,” she challenged as she eyed him over the rim of her glass, taking a sip as if demonstrating her ownership over it. She liked that he'd called her V.

Her heart beat a little faster, and she shifted where she sat across from Lachlan as their eyes locked on each other with an electric charge so palpable between them that she swore she could see the sparks fly. The sound of a ringtone shattered the moment. Lachlan’s phone lit up on the coffee table, and Violet seemed to be holding her breath as she waited to see what he’d do.

His blue eyes swiped back to hers. “I should take this,” he said as he stood taking the phone with him out of the room.

Violet slumped back against the couch as her heartbeat returned to a reasonable pace. Sheesh, she’d known this morning when Lachlan came to the hospital that there was some attraction there. Heck, she’d even known it last night in her memory-void mind!

Slow down, Violet, she thought to herself. She couldn’t deny she was very attracted to Lachlan, but she was in his home because she had a concussion. And speaking of which, she looked at the empty glass in her hand and put it on the table. She’d probably had at least three if not four drinks tonight, and although Lachlan didn’t over-pour, she’d be wise to cool it. That doctor from the hospital probably wouldn’t be too thrilled with her getting buzzed with her head injury.

It did feel better, though. Her headache had subsided. Aside from being a bit tired, she felt pretty good. Maybe the company had something to do with it. Violet smiled to herself. She’d never imagined meeting someone like Lachlan. God, he was literally like a knight in shining armour coming to her rescue. And he was funny. And hot. She bit her lip.

Who knew? Maybe after doing this favour tonight, he’d want to take her on a date or something. Not that she was in Scotland to date. That wasn’t her intention, but she never expected to meet her dream man. She laughed out loud at herself. She was being silly. She shouldn’t even be thinking about dating when she needed to focus on getting a business up and running. It was not like she had unlimited funds. She should keep her focus…but if Lachlan asked her out, she couldn't say no.

Mindlessly running her fingers over the burnished brass studs on the back of the sofa, she let her mind wander. Lachlan could maybe show her around the area. That wouldn’t hurt. And he already ran a business. She was completely green to business ownership here in Scotland, so perhaps, he’d let her pick his brain. Violet was hyper-aware that she’d likely find any excuse to be in the man’s company again.

Maybe it was the trauma of last night, but she had this new lease on life, live-for-the-moment feeling enveloping her. And Lachlan was very muchthe moment. It was like they were meant to cross paths. He was making her feel crazy things she had no business feeling for somebody she barely knew. God, it felt like she did know him, though. They just clicked so effortlessly. Mmm, and all she could think about was what it would be like for his sexy crooked smiling lips to kiss hers. The very thought sent butterflies careening through her belly.

Chapter 16

The Kiss

Onlyahandfulofpeople could call Lachlan’s phone and get through when it's on silent. When he glanced at the screen, he knew it was Anna calling. For a split second, he actually considered ignoring her call, but then he caught himself. Christ, he needed an excuse to put some much-needed space between him and the lass who was bewitching him with each passing minute.

“Hiya, Anna.” He cringed at his forced tone.

“Oh, good. I’m glad I got a hold of ye,” she said, seeming not to notice his feigned brightness. “Listen, the girls and I have decided to stay on a little longer. You ken, being it’s Liz’s last hurrah and all. Ye dinnae mind, do ye?”

“Right. No, of course I dinnae mind. Stay as long as ye like.” He scrunched his eyes close, realizing that was probably not the best thing to say. Lachlan was surprised Anna was changing plans last minute. She despised when her schedule was thrown off. He'd talked her off a ledge on more than one occasion when plans had changed unexpectedly. She was not the spontaneous type. He wasn’t about to bring that up now, though.

“I thought ye didnae like France?” he said instead, deciding it was a less volatile query.

“Erm, I think it’s growing on me,” she said lightly, with the sounds of a busy restaurant in the background. “Anyway, I hope ye haven't booked our Michelin dinner yet.”

“No, I dinnae get around to it,” he said, awkwardly knowing that he hadn't thought about it since she'd mentioned it.

“Okay, good.” Her response was bright, which threw Lachlan, but he didn’t comment.

“When are ye coming back?”

“Um, I’m not sure yet. I— The girls haven’t decided yet. We’re just going to run with it. You’re okay with that, right?”

“The New York girls? And Liz?” he asked, feeling somewhat perplexed. Anna hadn't even wanted to go on this trip.

She gave a shrill laugh that had him pulling the phone away from his ear. “I suppose I’ve grown to like them. The New York friends, that is.”

“Aye, right good.” When she didn’t say more, he added, “Keep me posted, then.”

“Of course.”

“I’m sure France willnae be the same once ye lot huv done with it,” he joked.

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