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“I thought you were going to introduce me as your fiancée. That was the plan… right?”
“Yep.”
“So what happened?”
“I was a wee bit off my game what with you begging me to have sex and all.”
“I did not beg.”
He bumped her shoulder with his. “Aye, lass. You did. A man remembers a thing like that.”
“Why aren’t you in bed sleeping off your hangover?”
“’Twas only wine, ye daft girl. A Scotsman’s weaned on whiskey. It would take a lot more than last night to get me sozzled.”
“I see.”
Actually, Bella didn’t see anything at all. She was completely and unequivocally confused. About herself. About Ian. About the hazy future.
They sat there for the longest time, not speaking at all. It was a comfortable silence. Peaceful. Almost like the feeling she’d had in the small chapel.
Groups of hikers appeared, took pictures, and made their way back down. Ian offered his services to most of them, except for the ones determined to take selfies. Bella sat and meditated in the hot sun.
Gradually, her stomach and her head recovered enough to realize she was actually hungry. When she said as much, Ian produced two packets of cheese crackers from the pocket of his jacket. “Here ye go. Never let it be said that I let a woman go hungry.”
“My hero.”
It would have been nice if they could have stayed up here forever. Down below awaited all sorts of beasts. Manic paparazzi. A super important ceremony in an actual castle with an actual queen.
And then there was the question of whether or not Ian and Bella would end up in bed tonight. Their track record wasn’t great to this point.
He flipped her ponytail and leaned back on his hands. “Made any progress on your dissertation topic? Or your novel?”
Trust the dratted man to hit on the one glaring problem with her sojourn in Scotland. “Not exactly. I’ve futzed around with an outline. What would you say if I told you I was thinking about walking away from the doctoral program?”
“Aren’t you finished with all the course work?”
“Yes.”
“So only the dissertation?”
“Yes.”
He shrugged. “Kind of a waste, don’t you think? With the degree you could always teach down the road. Insurance, if you will.”
She’d been hoping he would tell her to follow her bliss. “I have a mental block about it. All I want to do is work on my novel.”
“Hmm…”
That was annoying. The vague syllable could mean anything. “You enjoy your work, right?”
“Of course I do.”
“So shouldn’t I do the one thing that gives me joy?”
He gave her a wry, somewhat fatigued grin. “I fear this is a test, and one I haven’t studied for.”
“Should I point out that you just ended a sentence with a preposition?”
“I’m getting a very important award tonight. I’d think you might show me a bit of respect.”
“In your dreams.” She linked her hand with his, and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Did I really beg? I was hoping that was a nightmare.”
“You begged, lass. I was there.”
