“I’ll take over from here, boss,” Hamish says to Avi, ushering her out of the kitchen. “Now y’all get out of here.”
Grandad must’ve assumed we’d all be eating dinner together, because when we get to the dining room, the long table from that first time I met Nox is waiting for us. But this time I have him and Avi beside me and my heart inflates in my chest, putting pressure on my sternum.
The table quiets when Grandad pushes laboriously to his feet, glass in his hand. He may be sick, but at this moment, he’s the man I’ve always looked up to. The patriarch of our family.
“I think a night like this deserves a toast. Our two families have been long connected by proximity as well as friendship, but those are the least of the things tying us together now. As far as I’m concerned, every person at this table is family, and I’m grateful to have gotten to see us come together in this way. This is my home. It has always been my home. And it’s yours now too, all of you. Slainte!”
He lifts his glass and we all follow suit with our own shouts of “slainte.” Under the table, Avi slides her foot across to caress my leg, and I catch her eye. They’re glistening as she nods. Then I look at Nox, his gaze bouncing between me and his mum, and the smile on his face matches my own.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Avonlea – Now
When Angus asked me to accelerate our move up to Skye, everything was such a whirlwind that the actual prospect of leaving my parents, the Green Gables, and our life in Glasgow behind was almost an afterthought. Especially with Lennox still there, tying us to that place.
But Mum and Dad headed back this morning, leaving Lennox and me here. That chapter of our lives is closing and, though I’m excited for this next one, I’m a little sad to let it go. I miss them already.
“You in your head?” Jamie asks from his spot on the bench swing. He’s relaxed, with a book in one hand and his other on my feet that are propped in his lap.
I lift my head from the cushion. I’m fully laid out, enjoying the quiet of the garden and the sun and breeze on my face while I take a short break from the kitchen. “I’m just thinking about my parents.”
“They’re not too far away. We can go visit and you know they’ll come up here too.”
“I know. It’s just that their unwavering support has been my constant. They’ve been my rock, my solid place to stand, for so long. Even when I was away in Paris, they were the foundation. Does that make sense? This feels different, like I’m really standing on my own for the first time, and the ground beneath me feels foreign.”
“I thought I was the writer here.” He chuckles and squeezes my foot. “But seriously, it’s understandable to feel that way. Although, these legs look pretty damn strong to me,” he offers with a wink, then slides his hand from my foot, up my calf, until it rests against my thigh, his fingertips trailing lightly toward the inseam of my shorts.
“Jamie,” I hiss, looking around. But Lennox is with Aileen on a walk to the loch, Angus is resting in the cottage, and the kitchen staff are all busy—or they should be—since I’m on my break.
“What? They are strong.” He kneads the flesh of my thigh and his hand slides just slightly higher. “And, not that you need someone to support you—because you don’t. You’ve proven just how capable you are of supporting yourself and Lennox. But I’m here now too. And my grandparents. Now that we’ve covered that, back to these legs…”
He reaches with both hands so they skim up my legs until he has both hands on my waist, almost bent over me, and with a lift of his eyebrow, he yanks me toward him. I squeal and then begin to giggle as he uses his fingers at my waist to tickle and tease. I sit up—whichis clearly what he wanted, because he can now leverage me onto his lap so I’m straddling him on the seat.
“Jamie…” I say again, but it’s a soft exhale of a word.
He plants a soft kiss to the hollow of my throat before he works his way up my neck to my ear. “I love these legs,” he whispers, and his fingertips press into my flesh, my denim shorts riding up indecently high. “And these hips. God, these hips drive me crazy.” He grips them now, pulling me down against him until I drop my forehead to his shoulder at the feelings that course through my body. Next, he skims his thumbs up, just under my shirt so they slip across my stomach above the waistband of my shorts.
Every time he touches me, there’s a reverence to it, like he can’t believe he gets to. Like he can’t believe I’m his to touch. Like there isn’t an inch of my skin he doesn’t love.
“Have I told you today how beautiful you are?” he asks, dipping close to my ear again before lightly nipping at the earlobe.
I gasp against his shirt, glad I’m hiding my face because lord knows it must be as red as his hair. “Jameson…” I warn, because it’s unfair for him to get me all worked up when I have to go back to work in a few minutes.
He doesn’t seem to care. He threads a hand into my hair, making me lift my head, and then he pulls my lips against his. They’re warm and soft and taste like black tea and sunshine.
It’s our first unbridled kiss since Lennox arrived. We aren’t keeping any secrets from him—I learned my lesson—so he knows Jamie and I aren’t just friends anymore. He also knows Jamie’s staying in Scotland. But he’s only ten and doesn’t need to see us making out, so we’ve kept things pretty tame the last two days.
But Lennox isn’t here right now and goodness I’ve missed these lips—these hands.
“How much longer is your break?” Jamie says against my lips, unwilling to allow even the smallest amount of space between us.
“Ten minutes max,” I say, and then squeak in surprise when he stands from the bench, hands under my ass. I wrap my legs around his waist with a tight squeeze and he grunts at the friction between our bodies. I giggle, loving that I can affect him this way.
“I can work with that,” he husks, then he carries me around to the inn’s back door, one that avoids any prying eyes and leads directly to his room.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Jamie – One Month Later
