“See us,” he agreed. “Just wait until we have more time. I intend to take my time with ye, Del.” His words made me blush, and I bit my lip when his calloused fingers trailed over my cheek, making me shiver.
I shook my head, hoping to clear away the lust clouding my thoughts, and took a step away. “I’d like that,” I whispered.
He gave me a gentle push toward the stairs, and I forced myself not to stop until I was inside my apartment. I sagged against the door, knees weak.
“Get it together,” I whispered, massaging my temples and sucking in a deep breath. “Get dressed, get ready, and get downstairs.”
It wouldn’t do to waste time dreaming about Callum and my bedroom, especially when the quicker I got to the Hogmanay celebration the sooner I’d put myself in a position to find out exactly what having him take his time entailed.
Pushing away from the door, I headed toward my bedroom. I knew exactly what to wear to the celebration, and with just over an hour to get ready there wasn't a moment to lose.
* * *
Callum stared at me.
Well and properly stared at me, mouth open and all.
I blushed and fiddled with the red skirt of my dress. “What?” I asked, patting my hair. Or maybe it was my makeup...
He cleared his throat and took a step closer. “Yer beautiful. Stunning.”
I blushed with pleasure and gave him a broad smile. “Thank you.” I clasped my hands in front of me and took a step toward him, eating up the space between us as I looked him over.
“You aren’t too bad yourself,” I said after I had taken in the thick grey wool sweater and dark jeans he’d paired with leather boots.
I bit my lip and then gestured at the red dress I wore. “Am I overdressed?”
I had a somewhere to wear the beautiful garment, but now I wasn’t sure if my dress, as lovely as it was, would fit the occasion.
“Ye can never be too overdressed or educated,” he replied.
I raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you quote Coco Chanel?”
He shrugged. “She was a smart woman. And ye look beautiful. Dinna think about being out of place.”
I glanced out the shop window to see a group of merry-goers run past in coats and jeans. I blew out a deep breath and pushed away from the window.
“You’re right. Let’s go,” I said, but I stopped short when I realized I was speaking to an empty room. Save for the printing presses, I was alone. I blinked and headed toward Callum’s office.
“Callum?” I called. My mind flew to plausible reasons my new boyfriend had vanished into thin air. Fey, most likely, as Agnes would tell me, and I found myself not quite ruling it out when Callum didn’t answer me.
I raised my hand to push open the door of his office. “Hello?”
“Right here, lass,” Callum said, throwing open the door and making me jump.
“Where did you go?!” I shrieked, my hands going to my heart. “And don’t do that!”
He rolled his eyes and held out a bundle of cloth to me. “I had to get something.”
“What’s this?” I asked, taking the wool material from him and eyeing it. It looked like a blanket made up of red and green bands of color that criss-crossed in a pattern almost like plaid, except there was something more thoughtful, intentional, in the blocks of color in front of me, and I looked up at Callum in question.
“It’s the MacDougall tartan,” he answered with an unmistakable note of pride.
“That’s your clan,” I said, unfolding the material to get a better look. “It’s lovely.”
“I want ye to wear it.”
“Me?” I asked in surprise.
