He considered. “Ewan Cameron told me that pressing one’s suit prematurely can lead to flight by the object of one’s affections.”
She pursed her lips. “Those lads, Oliver, as I continue to warn you, are not your friends.”
He smiled. “I was offered a new addition to my book yesterday which outlined useful ideas on pursuing one’s desired object.”
“And what were those ideas?”
He reached out and captured a pair of stray strands of hair blowing over her face and tucked them behind her ear, then smiled at her. “Well, the first was to take one’s beloved on a date to the seaside. Which I’m doing.”
She felt herself beginning color, but that could have been blamed on the chill in the air. “Is that going well?”
“She hasn’t bloodied my nose yet, though she’s been particularly reluctant to acknowledge that she might like me.”
“I like you just fine,” she said primly.
“And I like you more than that,” he said seriously. “Unfortunately, your grandfather seems to have a schedule for these sorts of things that might override what’s in my book.”
“It was generous of him,” she said. “What he did for me this morning, that is.”
“Well, you are his granddaughter,” Oliver said, “which I think leaves him simultaneously pleased and unnerved. I also think he wants you to feel that you have options in case you decide you’d rather date a man who wears more browns than black.”
She shrugged lightly. “Black does make your hair look very lovely. I might like a few pieces of clothing in that same color.”
He smiled and it felt as if the sun had come out from behind a cloud. “You would look marvelous in them. So, let’s say you buy a few things in black and have your life in front of you. What else do you want to do?”
She took a deep breath. “Everything.”
He laughed a little. “That might be the least surprising thing I’ve heard from you today.” He glanced at her. “Want company on your adventures?”
“Are you suggesting something?”
He took a deep breath. “I’m terrible at this.”
“Go read your book.”
He smiled. “I will and I’ll do better tomorrow. And speaking of tomorrow, what would you say to coming to Cameron Hall with me and meeting my family?”
“Sunshine and the Cameron?” she asked. Those two, at least, she had met before.
He nodded. “And the lads will want to meet you.” He paused. “You did tell me—you know when—that your scribe had hidden his manuscript in a crypt.”
“In the abandoned kirk up the road just inside McKinnon lands,” she said, then she looked at him surprise. “When will this stop?”
“I don’t know if it will,” he said honestly. “Will you survive it?”
She would have answered him, but they were suddenly overrun by children needing to be fed. Oliver handed them pieces of paper that apparently served for funds in the current day, then held out his hand to her.
“Lunch?”
She nodded and walked with him back toward where he’d left their belongings. She looked at him to find he was watching herwith a faint smile. It seemed like an affectionate smile, though, which she appreciated.
“Is this our third date?” he asked.
She considered. “Second, I believe. Why do you ask?”
“The new part of my book that was delivered this morning suggested that a brief, innocent kiss might be appropriate on a third date,” he said solemnly. He considered. “Wasn’t our first date whilst we sat atop that rock on Cameron soil?”
She conceded the point with a nod.
