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Amends.I let the word sink in.“How do you plan to do that?”
He started around the breakfast bar, still holding the bakery box, and halted half a step away. He was so imposing when we were this close, a gentle giant who held the power to wound me with only his words.“However you want… however you’ll allow. I’ll do anything, princess, just name it.”
Ah.“You mean like sex?”
He coughed so hard it sounded like he was choking.“Jesus, April… no! I mean… aye that’s what I want, it’s all I can think about half the damn time, but—”
“What about the other half?”
His grey eyes flicked over my face with a softness I wasn’t accustomed to.“Your texts. How you make me laugh in ways no one else can. The way you treat Dudley and Boy like they’re your actual children. The cluster of five freckles across your clavicle.” His voice pitched low and he inched closer, nodding to the covered spot between my throat and shoulder. It burned through my thick pyjama top.“The fact you feed a pack of wild foxes and haven’t contracted a deadly disease yet. The smile you wear only when you watch the sun rise over the water. That damn green bikini I need to see with my own eyes. Even that disgusting dressing gown.” Those eyes fell shut and when they opened again, they smouldered. My mouth dried.“So aye, princess, I want your body, but that’s only a fraction of what I want from you.”
I felt a number of things in that moment. Surprise and elation. Relief and longing. A simmering heat low in my gut as his words took root. And yet, and yet, and yet… every word out of his mouth was perfect, but my hurt from yesterday solidified that this had extended past two adults enjoying one another.Now my longing duelled with a sharp edge of fear. I wrung my hands together, time stretching as he awaited my response.“Mal…” His name was an exhale. He straightened, bracing himself for rejection, and I stared at his throat so I wouldn’t have to see it.“Can I maybe get a bit of time to think about this?” A part of me railed inside, fists banging against my chest like an angsty teenager, screaming,no, no, no.
His throat bobbed thickly.“Of… of course, take as much time as you need.” I nodded and kept my eyes averted as he stepped closer. His head descended until it almost brushed my ear, his crooked smile in my eye line.“Just so you know,” he whispered.“I don’t considertimeandspaceto be mutually exclusive, so expect to see me around.”
And then the bastard left with my muffins.
21
MAL
Oh Caroline – The 1975
Iconsidered myself to be a man of few emotions. Anxiety, obviously. Annoyance, rarely, usually just around my father. Was hunger an emotion? It felt like one. What I’dneverbeen was so easily frustrated, especially when it came to the opposite sex. That was on me, I guessed, when I’d never found myself in a situation where a woman had a reason to avoid me, and if I had, I certainly hadn’t noticed.
As it happened, turnaboutwasfair game because I’d been avoiding April for weeks and now that I wanted to spend every single second in her sunshine presence, she was avoiding me.
Had she found it this irritating? Probably not.
Work was my only distraction. Jacob and I had pulled some extra hours to get enough product ready for the tasting. He’d been excited to open the forty-seven-year-old sherry casks, reminiscing on the exact day they’d been sealed, while I swore I could feel Kier breathing down my neck with every drop I poured.
But it wasn’t enough to completely clear April from my thoughts. I wasn’t only frustrated, I was impatient. She continually skipped breakfast and avoided the distillery. Yesterday, I’d sought her out as she was coming out of the tasting room, only for her to duck behind a hedge the second I spoke her name. She played it off, claiming she’d dropped an earring. When I offered to help her find it, she said perhaps she wasn’t wearing earrings after all and hurried away.
I didn’t know what to do with that. Leave her alone, or keep trying? If Callum wasn’t interested in her also, I might have broken down and asked his advice—but he was and I hadn’t.
Which is why it had come to this.
I ran my hand over my tie again, straightening it into the hollow of my throat. I checked my appearance again in the small bathroom mirror, smoothing the heavy twill of the purple, green, and grey kilt I rarely wore.“How do I look?” I called to Boy. He lounged in his basket beside the unlit fire, chin resting on the wicker edge. He looked up and cocked his head.“That bad?” I asked aloud. His huff seemed to say“you’re taking fashion advice from a dog, you tell me.”
“Fair enough.” My clammy hands pushed a tuft of hair that wouldn’t sit right back into place.Better to get it over with,I convinced myself. April’s face came to mind, how hard she’d been working, how much this evening meant to her. I turned for the door with a touch more determination.“Don’t wait up.”
“You came.” April’s tone was so incredulous, thestatement sounded like an accusation.
She was cloistered over at the small bar with Heather, laying out a number of pristine glass tumblers onto trays. The small tasting room that had been no more than a dumping ground for over a decade looked incredible. A band was setting up instruments beside the door. Garlands of ferns, inlaid with heather and deep purple thistles hung from the beams. Round tables clung to the corners of the square space adorned with white linen tablecloths and pillar candles. A long grazing table I knew Juniper had a hand in creating was already set out, stretched across the furthest wall. Brie and handmade bread sat beside salty pretzels and dark chocolate. Grapes and figs, crackers and sweet chutneys. Everything designed to pair well with our whisky.
That wasn’t what took my breath away.
April leaned over the bar, hands a flurry of activity and… she was stunning. Her calf-length dress was a light blue, giving her skin a pearlescent glow. A full skirt swished out from her hips like a bell. The bodice made a neat heart, revealing the tops of smooth breasts. Delicate little straps tied together in tantalising bows I was desperate to tug on. My feet carried me closer as if detached from my body.“Princess…”If there was an end to the sentence, I didn’t reach it.
She turned to me more fully, flicking a long, loose curl over her shoulder. The top half was clipped away from her face with gold jewelled combs. Delicate little pearls sat in her ears.“You’re here,” she stated again. That was when I noticed her taking mein in the same way I did her—starting at my kilt and moving slowly up my body. By the time her eyes met mine, a light flush had spread over her chest. It was subtle, but enough to give me hope.
“Of course I’m here. Did you think I would miss it?” She was halted from answering when Ewan ambled through the door, smartly dressed in dark trousers and a white shirt, his red mop of hair neatly combed back from his face. He, along with Heather, would be serving drinks tonight.
“Hey, April,” he called, giving her a wave.“Where do you want me? I’m ready to be put to work.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Ewan.” She hurried over to him, heels clacking, skirts accentuating the sway of her hips. A throat cleared over my shoulder but my eyes clung to April.
“Hello, Heather, it’s so nice to see you, too. Thank you so much for spending your Friday night saving my distillery out of the goodness of your heart,” my sister drawled sarcastically.
