Page 56 of Scotch & Dreams

The man was clearly well practiced at giving tours and keeping the guests entertained.

Violet was grateful to have her mind on something other than Lachlan’s whereabouts. In fact, she was enjoying the tour. She was amazed at the extensive process for creating that perfect dram.

She fell behind the crowd in the cask room. She was mesmerized by it all. As fun as the group tour was, she was glad to drop behind and have a quiet moment to take it in. It was amazing to think that Lachlan’s family had been making whisky for hundreds of years, and they still make one of the original recipes. The man grew more fascinating by the day. Would her heart survive him?

Chapter 33

Distractions

Asthepartybeganand people arrived, Lachlan felt a growing anticipation to see Violet. He’d missed not talking to her. After a long week without her keen input, he made the decision to have her help with the distillery business, too—if she was interested. He was eager to talk it over with her.

Business aside though, if he was being honest, he was damn-near desperate to just see her—her pretty face, the curve of her neck, and to hear her husky voice again. Every woman with blond hair caught his eye, and each time he realized it wasn’t Violet, a little jolt of disappointment stabbed him.

With hosting duties tonight, he was left with little time for much else. He usually enjoyed mingling with people and socializing, but tonight, he found the only person he really wanted to mingle with was Violet. Every time he thought he could steal away and find her, someone would snag his attention. And unfortunately, more often than not this evening, it had been Anna. First a greeting when she arrived, then a photo op with her handing over a rather large cheque, and then a dance. None of it was terrible per se, but he'd already had more than his fill of Anna MacDonald tonight.

After their breakup, he came to the realization that he'd really dodged a bullet. Since then, he'd not seen her nor heard from her, and he found he felt lighter and more himself. He wondered how they'd stayed together at all. Looking back, it was like he was going through the motions of a relationship without actually truly being invested. His mam had been encouraging of it, and not that he did what his mam always told him, but he counted it as a plus that she was a fan of him dating Anna—especially since Orlagh was not.

It hadn't totally surprised Lachlan that Anna had come tonight. She was a regular donor for all kinds of causes. One of her positive traits, he supposed. However, he also knew she was not one to miss any event where she could shine, drink champagne, and ensure anyone and everyone knew how great she was—it was her way.

While attending to his hosting duties, Lachlan had kept an eye out for Violet, and began to worry that maybe she hadn't come. He was wholly unprepared for when he did finally catch sight of her. The room, the buzz, all of it disappeared when he saw her. She was an absolute vision. She stole his breath away. Lachlan was used to seeing casual Violet with her hair in a messy bun, wearing ripped jeans, a t-shirt, a hoodie, and rubber boots—and he always found her damned sexy. But the sight that greeted his eyes tonight nearly dropped him to his knees. He watched her from a distance realizing she was by far the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on—elegant, regal, feminine.

There were beautiful women here tonight, and then there was Violet, in a league of her own. A glowing, rare emerald among clusters of run-of-the-mill diamonds. She stood out. Even from a distance, her dress—with its peephole right beneath her perfect breasts—required an actual effort not to stare. The tight bundle of flesh peeking above her dress made his mouth water, and he recalled how good those breasts felt poked against him. It had been a few months, but the memory was still seared in his mind. What he wouldn’t give to feel her pressed against him now. He swallowed hard.

Lachlan forced himself to look away to prevent his cock from giving her an appreciative standing ovation. He was beginning to accept that he was turning into the kind of lust-filled teenager that his brothers had always been. Although for him, there was only one woman who set him alight.

Cooling his cock, he was about to make his way to her, when Anna approached him—again. “Dance with me.” She looked up at him coyly. It was ironic, this woman who'd once been his girlfriend, now had the effect of a cold bucket of water thrown over him, minus the refreshing part.

"We just danced, I should probably do the rounds." He attempted to diplomatically deter her.

A pout spread across her face. "I'm sure it willnae hurt ye to dance with yer biggest donor more than once." Despite the fact that he'd rather gnaw off his own arm than dance again with her, she'd made her point.

“Of course.” He smiled, gritting his teeth as he put his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the dance floor. How he wished it was Violet he was dancing with.

"I've missed you," Anna said, as they swayed around the dance floor with other couples.

Lachlan tried not to cringe. He didn’t want to be rude, but Christ, he wished the floor would gobble him up. “It’s been a while. It was good of you to come tonight, and your donation is incredibly generous and appreciated," he said, hoping to steer the conversation away from one that would surely make things more uncomfortable.

"Of course, I'd come." She grinned up at him, rubbing a hand over his back.

He stiffened under her unwanted touch.

"The donation is nothing. Ye ken we have plenty of money to share with those who need it."

He couldn’t deny that her family’s contributions were appreciated.

"I'd never miss a gala, especially one at Cailleach, but I also wanted to come to see you." The song ended, and she'd put her hands on his lapels, looking up at him."

He took both her hands in his, removing them from him and steering her off the dance floor. "Anna—" he began, but she cut him off.

"Lachlan, I ken it wasn't perfect, but we made a good team. I'm sorry about France. I've had time to think, and I really want to make this work with ye and I.”

Lachlan caught sight of Violet over Anna's shoulder. She was holding onto another man’s arm, grinning at him brightly, and Lachlan momentarily saw red. Jealousy like he’d never known before coiled in him like a serpent. Never would he have thought himself the jealous type. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever felt jealousy before now. But without a doubt, he felt the desperate pang of it as his muscles went rigid, wanting to fight forhiswoman. He had the primal urge to march over and slug the poor bastard.

"Oh, I see," Anna said, following Lachlan's gaze. "Is that her? The one you cheated on me with." Her tone grew sharp.

Lachlan looked back down at her, latently remembering they were talking.

"What?" He was so distracted, her words didn’t register. Before she could answer him, he excused himself. "Thank ye again. Enjoy your evening." He gave her a quick smile and strode quickly past her, unfazed by the daggers she was throwing at him with her scowl.

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