“Thank you, darling. I’ll let her know. We’ll come visit soon, aye? Meet Luna’s sister.”
“She’d like that, I’m sure,” I say, though I don’t know for certain. At this point, I imagine Callie will like anyone who has two legs and isn’t me.
Granny gives me an update on my cousins in Dunleith and rings off shortly, leaving me with thick silence and the threat of a storm. My horses will need extra hay if that’s the case, and maybe new straw at their hooves before long. I look down at the blank screen on my iPad and let out an exhale. Quite as empty as my brain at present.
I click it off and lean back in the chair, closing my eyes. What am I supposed to do with a woman who wants nothing to do with me for the next twenty-four hours? Feed her dinner and play Monopoly? That’ll be a bowl of laughs and many trips to jail, I imagine.
We’d started off on the right foot, but I wish we’d stayed on it too. How could I have known she was unaware of my identity? Hamish had sent me multiple photos, courtesy of Luna, and I’m supposed to assume Luna had not prepared Callie the same way? We were two strangers meeting to share a ride. Of course Luna would prepare her sister so she wouldn’t enter the wrong vehicle, right?Right?
Wrong, apparently.
Americans. So bloody reckless.
The floorboards creak directly above me, and I glance up. Callie’s moving around in her room. I lean back, tracing the edges of the ceiling with my gaze, and consider the situation. She’s proven she can be fun, that we can be fun together, even. Furthermore, we’ve proven we have a good rapport. If we were there on night one, we can get back to that.
All it takes is a little charm. I can certainly be my charming self and entice her back to the land of friendship. It shouldn’t bethathard. I’ve seen enough American Christmas movies. I know what they like to do during the holidays.
Besides, I have nothing else to do.
Watch out, Callie Winter. You just became my next wee project. We’re about to become friends.
CHAPTER FOUR
CALLIE
Settling into my room,a cozy little attic I immediately fell in love with, only bought me twenty minutes. Doing my hair and making myself look like I didn’t just roll out of bed is an additional thirty-five. By noon, my stomach is rumbling, my pride is smarting, and I want a sandwich and my sister.
But, also, Luna is to blame for this situation, so the hours it’ll take her to reach us will help cool my ire.
I make my way downstairs, admiring the house. Everything about this cottage is cozy. The walls are mostly plastered on the inside, something I wasn’t expecting when we came upon it. The wall framing the large fireplace in the center of the main room is stone, and it’s gorgeous. I take my time meandering through the rooms, the soft lighting and warm, earthy tones melding seamlessly with the scenic views through each of the windows.
Photographs of Gavin with what I’m assuming are his grandparents dot the walls at different stages of his life—though there are a few with his parents too. He was always attractive, that much is clear. Maybe he’s also selfish and egotistical…because there must be a reason he’s still single.
The sweet, hometown boy-next-door vibe he’s been exuding could totally be a front. I’ll keep my eye out for the bait and switch.
Gavin is sitting at the kitchen table in front of an empty plate littered with crumbs when I find him. The table is a thick, beastly piece of furniture, set before a wide-open window. It’s long and sturdy and meant for a large group.
The kitchen has clearly been remodeled in the last half a decade, and it’s evident from the furniture in this house that someone knows a carpenter, because everything looks custom. Either Gavin comes from money or his parents take very good care of their things, because this house is incredible. He could run it as a rustic-chic bed and breakfast and make a killing. There are enough bedrooms for it.
“Hungry?” he asks.
I hover in the open doorway until my grumbling stomach gives me away. “I don’t want to impose.”
“Och, Callie. We can’t be having this all winter, aye?” He pushes away from the table and opens the fridge. “Bit of haggis with a side of haddock, then?”
I’m about to lose the lunch I haven’t even had yet. Then I notice a twinkle in his unreasonably blue eyes when he glances over his shoulder. The cheerful wretch is teasing me. “You don’t have PB&J?”
“Not on hand, no. But I can rustle up a bacon roll.”
Good heavens above, I would die for one of those, whatever they are.
He must read it on my face, because he pulls ingredients out of the fridge and starts the stove. “Drinks are in the fridge. Tap is cold as a loch.”
I find a glass in the cupboard and fill it with water. Luna drinks Dr Pepper like it’s a life source, but I’ve always been big on mankind’s actual life source. It started out when I went away to college, worried someone would spike my drink at a party. Ilived five hundred miles away from home and had to look out for myself. Then I liked not being hungover while all my friends struggled during exams. The health benefits of water are unbeatable.
The large window looks out over the countryside. The trees and mountains and gray sky look all moody and Scottish. Wisps of clouds are tucked around the tips of the peaks, moving in at a steady pace. The good weather we drove here in was fleeting, evidently.
If I wasn’t feeling defensive and just plain idiotic for my behavior last night, I would be so grateful to be here.
