Page 91 of Scotch & Dreams

"I did, didn't I?" She grinned up at him.

He kissed the tip of her nose.

Then she recalled one more thing that she'd been wondering about.

"On the night of the gala, I saw you dancing with Anna.”

Lachlan sighed and rolled onto his back, pulling Violet in against his side. She nestled there, knowing full well, that no matter the past, he was hers.

"Trust me, I dinnae want to.”

Violet smiled. "Orlagh said as much.”

"Aye, Orlagh has a very keen sense of things. Anyway, ye are aware the MacDonalds have generously donated to Highland Haven.”

"Everybody knows." She quipped.

"Aye, well, Anna gave us a cheque at the gala for a rather large sum. To be honest, given that we hadn't spoken since breaking up, I didnae expect she would show up at all. Maybe I shouldnae huv been surprised. She was never one to miss an event, especially where her generosity could be put on full display for everyone to fuss over her."

"I gather she likes attention?"

"Aye, she does. Anyway, when she sought me out and asked me to dance with her the first time, I thought it was perhaps a peace offering, and then, given the circumstances of being the host and her being a donor, I didnae think I could huv gotten around it. It seemed easier to agree. Thinking we could be adults and leave the past in the past, I danced with her.”

"Thefirsttime?" Violet eyed him, wondering just how much time he'd spent dancing with his attention-seeking ex.

"Aye, I got stuck dancing with her twice. Believe me, I didnae want to.

"It looked cozy," Violet hedged, remembering their smiles.

Lachlan looked at her like she'd sprouted the horns of a highland cow. "I assure ye, it wasnaecozy. I suppose if ye saw the first dance, it was moreamiablethan the second, but definitely no'cozy."

"What happened during the second dance?" Violet was almost afraid to know, but at the same time—she needed to.

"Good question. I truly didnae want to dance with her again. In fact, I'd just spotted ye and was intending to come whisper in yer ear what a tempting goddess ye are—when Anna approached me."

Violet laughed, "Damn her!" She joked, but his words sent a little shiver of delight down her spine. She snuggled in closer to Lachlan's warm muscled body, savouring the feel of being there with him.

"So what happened with Anna then?"

"Well, I tried to keep it pleasant, but then she went down the weird rabbit hole of wanting to get back together or something like that—I dinnae really ken—I was too busy watching ye with some guy," he said pointedly looking down at her.

She furrowed her brow raising up onto an elbow. "What guy?”

"He was wearing a kilt and jacket."

Violet laughed. "You just described every guy at the gala.”

"Fair point," he conceded. "I saw ye go to wait for the whisky tour with him.”

"Oh, Andy." It dawned on her who he was talking about. "Andy is just a friend.”

"That's good to ken." Lachlan stoked her arm that lay over his chest as she settled back against him. "I suspected as much. Ye didnae look at him like ye look at me,” he said rolling her onto her back and gazing down at her. He leaned in, brushing a soft kiss over one eyelid, then the other. She sighed, relishing in his affection.

"So ye forgive me for not connecting with ye after we first met?” he asked.

“Well, in fairness, I wouldn't have wanted to be your rebound girl.”

"Trust me, lass, ye would huv never been that." He slid the sheet away from her breasts and glided his hand between them, making her breath catch.

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