Page 6 of Scotch & Dreams

“Yer memory has come back then?” he asked, his deep voice gentle and soothing. Like it had been last night.

She couldn't help but take in his handsome features. His nose was long and narrow but quite proportioned to his face. He was clean-shaven with a strong, defined jawline. His lips sat straight, but she recalled that when he smiled, they tugged to the side. A crooked smile, almost flawed—but definitively not. Despite all of those features, it was his eyes that held her captive. They were a deep, intense cerulean blue.Who has eyes like that?And with the way he was looking at her, she felt like he could look into her soul if he so desired. It was oddly comforting and disconcerting all at the same time.

“I remember you,” she said, a smile touching her lips.

Those impossibly blue eyes dropped to her lips, and Violet sucked in a breath, unconsciously leaning in closer to him. And then, in an instant, the moment was gone as he stood and stepped to the window.

“Well, that’s something,” he said as if praising her for recalling anything at all while at the same time glossing over the significance of the recollection. He leaned up against the frame of the frosted window and crossed his muscular arms over his chest, unaware of how it made him look as if he were a model in a GQ spread.

Violet blinked, wondering what had just happened. Had he wanted to kiss her? Well, if he did, he certainly didn’t want to now. Not that she could blame him. She’d spent the night in a hospital, and she sat here before him in her own dried-up sweat, never mind her mouth hadn’t seen a toothbrush in twenty-four hours.Gross. Of course, he’d moved away from me.

“My memories are all coming back this morning. Thank goodness,” Violet added brightly, even though she was feeling a bit more self-conscious now.

“Och, I’m so pleased to hear that.” Even from across the room, warmth emanated from him. “I confess, I was worried for ye lass.”

“Fortunately, it was a temporary little brain scramble,” she quipped, liking how he called her lass.

“Aye, well, I’m truly pleased that ye are well. It must huv been quite frightening for ye.” He dropped his arms, and his big hands curled casually over the window sill.

“It was such an odd thing,” she said, reflecting on how it felt. “It was as if nothing existed prior to that moment. My mind was just totally blank. I literally had zero recollection of anything before the fall.”

“I can no' imagine.”

“It was so weird,” she continued, hugging her knees up as she tried to wrap her brain around it. “It is amassiverelief that my memories are coming back. Even menial, nothing stuff from yesterday, like what I had for breakfast. I never thought things like that would be happy memories,” she joked light heartedly.

“I’m sure.” His lips tugged in his side smile that grew sexier every time she saw it.

“Well, I’m genuinely so pleased that yer so much better, lass. It’s nice to see ye upbeat and…” His voice trailed off, and he got that sheepish look again.

“And able to hold a conversation?” she supplied with a laugh.

He chuckled and nodded. “Aye. It is nice to huv a proper blether with ye, lass.”

Violet was momentarily confused by his Scottish slang, but then she realized thatblethermust mean conversation or something like it. “Thank you,” she said genuinely. “It feels good to be myself again.”

Putting the flowers on the bed, she stood gingerly, and her knight was across the room in an instant, reaching out an arm to steady her. Sheesh, was this guy for real?

“Is it okay if I give you a hug?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Och, aye, I think we could both use a goodcoorieafter everything.”

Violet assumed coorie must be another Scottish term. From the way he said it, it sounded cozier than a hug—more like a cuddle. And looking at the broad, handsome man before her, she definitely wasn't opposed.

She was a relatively tall woman at five-foot-eight, but it was still a stretch to reach up and hug him. The man had to be at least six-foot-four. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, and in turn, she felt his strong arms wrap around her waist. There was a rightness to being in his arms that she couldn't explain. Violet settled in, laying her face against his chest, hearing the steady beat of his heart, and feeling his warmth wrap around her like a sun-drenched towel after a cold swim in the sea. He curled down over her, pulling her in closer to him, and a little sigh escaped her.

It seemed such a natural thing to do. They might be strangers, but they’d been through an intense ordeal together. It felt right to hug the man who’d virtually saved her and cared enough to get her help and even come back the next day to check on her.

Her knight was a good guy…with an incredibly broad, firm chest. A new awareness tingled through her as his hand stroked down her back. It was as if time stood still as his deliciously muscled arms snugged her in closer. Her head nestled perfectly into his chest.Mmm, and he smelled yummy—clean and fresh with a hint of expensive spiciness. Unfortunately, she remembered her own disheveled state: stale and sweat-laden skin and clothes after a long night’s stay in a hospital.

Reluctantly, she untangled herself from their embrace. Aside from her current hygiene-deficient condition, she probably shouldn’t be lusting after the man anyway, especially not in her hospital room.

Chapter 6

Popping the Big Question

Lachlanwasmuchrelievedto find the lass doing so well and recovering from her ordeal, but what niggled in the back of his mind was the awareness that relief wasn't his primary emotion.

There was something more than concern or common courtesy, but Lachlan couldn’t identify exactly what it was. Every time she pinned him with those beautiful eyes, he felt a visceral connection that defied logic. He always made eye contact when speaking with someone, but with Violet Munro, it felt intimate somehow. It wasn’t something he could wrap his mind around. Needing to look somewhere else, he made the mistake of dropping his eyes to her mouth, and his dream about their almost-kiss slammed back into his thoughts.

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