I beamed at him. “I like knowing that.”
“Och aye, dinna take advantage of having me wrapped ‘round yer pinky,” he said, giving me a pained look.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Hullo, you two!” Agnes’s voice sang out beside us, and we turned to look at her, startled by her sudden appearance.
“You got it all delivered!” I exclaimed, happy to see her—surprised, but very happy.
She winked and threw her arms around the two of us. “I told ye, lassie. The fey would handle it, and so they did.”
Callum shook his head but said nothing and kissed her cheek. “What mischief are you planning on getting into, hmm?”
“Fire dancing, lad! I just wanted to tell you both you looked lovely.” She turned to me, her eyes moving over the tartan I wore. “Those colors look good on ye, Del. Ye make me proud, ye do.”
I sucked in a breath. This woman had wasted no time in becoming one of the most important people in my life, and I was thrilled to be able to give even a small measure of those good feelings back to her.
I hugged her close and kissed her cheek in a mirror of Callum’s gesture. “Thank you for having me. I’m glad the fairies told you to invite me.”
Agnes glowed at my words and patted my cheek. “Yer a good lass. The best my boy could ask for. I love ye.”
A long beat passed as we stared at each other, our eyes brimming with tears, and when I sniffled Callum groaned and ran his hands through hair. “Please dinna cry. If there’s two of ye bawlin’, I’ll go mad.”
Agnes rolled her eyes at him and blinked back her tears with a toss of her head. “Dinna fash yersel. I’m off to dance!”
She waved to us as she swept off toward the fire dancers.
I shook my head in awe as I watched Agnes take up a chain that had a ball on the end. She lit it and a moment later saw her twirling in tandem with a confidence that stole my breath. “She’s amazing. That is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”
Callum raised an eyebrow. “Ye gonna try that next year?”
“Maybe. Could be fun, right?” I asked with a shrug.
But I could, if I wanted, try my hand at fire dancing. At least I could once I’d figured out the safety logistics of such an undertaking...but I could if I wanted. The freedom of my new life was still too new for it to feel normal, and I was giddy at the realization.
I could do anything I wanted. See anything I wanted. Be with anyone I wanted.
And right now I was doing all three.
I had chosen my place in Scotland, and had found my way to the one person I wanted to be with more than anything in the world.
I laughed as Callum spun me in time with the music. He filled me with such hope and excitement for the future that I knew I’d made the only choice I could have.
To be his when he was so clearly mine.
I had my Highlands holiday to thank for it.
Plus a little fairy magic.
