Page 63 of Scotch & Dreams

“FUUCKK,” she hollered out to the cool quietness of her room.

Chapter 37

All the Gossip

Violetawoketothesound of the sea crashing in the distance. She opened her eyes to a dimly lit bedroom and glanced out the window on a stormy Sunday morning. Rain was blowing hard against the glass.

Normally, she’d go to the sanctuary on a Sunday, but today, she didn’t think she could. The truth was, she was afraid to see him again. Afraid he’d had his fun and was done. Afraid he’d be just her lovely amazing boss. How was she supposed to deal with that? She looked at her phone. Two missed calls from Fiona and still nothing from Lachlan. Her overzealous heart hurt, and she sighed heavily.

There was a knock on her door, and in a flash, her heart popped back to life.Here we go!She wanted it to be him. God help her, there it was.She wanted it to be him. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she stood up, took a quick look in the mirror, and wiped some makeup from under her eyes—not her best look, but no time to fix it now. She reached the door holding in her breath. Pulling it open, she found Fiona on the other side, drenched as a rat holding a tearing wet brown paper bag. A wave of disappointment washed over her. She recovered quickly, though.

“What took ye so long?” Fiona asked, chucking off her boots and barging past Violet, heading straight for her kitchen.

Violet smiled. “Good morning, Fiona.”

“Morning? It’s half past noon, ye daft lass! Have ye just woken then? I’ve been trying to ring ye all morning.”

Violet looked at the clock, confirming Fiona’s claim. Violet couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept past ten a.m., never mind noon! She must have been more exhausted than she realized. She had tossed and turned much of the night before falling into a fitful sleep.

“I had no idea the time,” Violet said with a yawn, pulling her fluffy yellow bathrobe tighter around her—funny how she’d looked at texts but not the time.

“Clearly. So how was your evening then?” Fiona asked with a conspiratorial look as she brought a plate full of bagels into the living room.

“Mmm, yum. Thanks,” Violet said, snatching up a buttered cinnamon raisin bagel.

“I’ll put the kettle on. I want the details,” she said, walking back to the kitchen.

“What details?” Violet asked from the living room with her mouth full. She hadn't realized how hungry she was.

Fiona came back a few minutes later with two mismatched mugs of tea and sat on the sofa across from her friend. Violet had picked up a few random mugs at a flea market, but there was a certain charm to them that she just adored.

As she picked up her mug from the coffee table, her mind flashed back to Lachlan’s sugar and creamer set. The one he’d gotten all weird about. The one that was garish and pompous looking, and suddenly, she understood. It was Anna’s.Ugh. Had they lived together?Retracing her memories, she wondered if she’d missed any other signs of that woman in Lachlan’s home. Interestingly, that was the only thing that screamed Anna MacDonald.

She polished off the first bagel and picked up another, ripping off a small piece and popping it into her mouth.

“Jeez, woman, when did ye eat last?” Fiona said, picking at her own bagel.

“Sorry, I didn’t really eat anything at the gala.”

“Too busy drinking and schmoozing, I suppose.”

“I guess.” Violet continued to devour her second bagel.

“Ye left without me and Andy last night,” Fiona said like it was a question. “When I couldn’t get a hold of ye this morning, I wondered if ye might be somewhere else?” She threw her a conspiratorial smile.

Violet laughed. “No, I was here. I had a headache.” She took a sip of tea. “Sorry, I ducked out on you guys. I was exhausted, so I slipped out. I didn’t want to cut your evening short.” It was partially true.

Fiona was way too perceptive, and Violet wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about last night. “How was your night? Did you have fun?”

“Braw!” Fiona beamed.

Violet wondered why her friend had a little twinkle in her eye today.

“Gosh, it was just a dreamy night, wasn’t it?” She didn’t wait for Violet to respond. “I felt like Cinderella going to the ball! The food, the dancing, the ambiance. Did you dance at all? I kept looking for ye, but ye were nowhere to be found. Andy was useless by the time he came back from the whisky tour. He was three sheets to the wind. I dinnae even think he remembered he’d gone on it with ye down there. Where’d ye get lost to then?” Fiona asked expectantly.

“Oh, I just spent a little more time down on the tour than Andy did, I guess.” Violet didn’t want to lie, but she wasn’t ready to divulge about her night.

“Ah, right, you’re into all that stuff then? Whisky making and such.” Her voice sounding bored by the very idea.

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