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Graham muttered a few less than polite words under his breath and then sighed, admitting defeat. Nobody could say no to Sophie once she got an idea stuck in her head.
“Want to get out of here for a couple of days? I’ve been invited to tour a few distilleries that want me to stock their whisky. We could even maybe get a round of golf in if the weather holds,” Graham said. “Maybe being away will give you a little time to clear your head and settle into getting comfortable with being in a real relationship. Spaces in your togetherness and all that.”
A relationship.
It struck me then that I’d never truly let myself be in a real relationship before. No wonder I was on tenterhooks the whole time. Between fear of losing Sophie, and I guess fear of losing myself, I couldn’t quite settle into contentment.
Maybe a lads’ holiday was exactly what I needed.
“You know what? That sounds perfect. When are you going?” I asked as we rounded the castle to find Sophie holding a treat in the air for Sir Buster, who sat dutifully in his kilt on the steps in front of the majestic front doors.
“Tomorrow. Think she’ll let you go?” Graham asked, needling me a bit.
“Of course. I can make my own decisions.” I shot Graham a nasty look, and he threw his head back and laughed. Turning, I saw Sophie had her camera trained on us and pasted a smile on my face.
“What’s that grumpy look for, Lachlan?” Sophie asked, tugging on the strap that held the camera around her neck.
“Graham thinks you won’t let me go with him to visit some distilleries for a couple of nights,” I said, neatly throwing Graham under the bus.
“Och, now, I didn’t say it quite like that…” Graham protested, raising his hands in the air.
“I don’t have a say in what Lachlan does.” Sophie narrowed her eyes at Graham. “He’s free to go wherever he wants.”
Why did that sound like a threat? I waited to see what Graham would say, as navigating this was new territory for me.
“Och, I know you’re a fine lass, Sophie. But not all women let their men off on lads’ holidays is all. Some get weird about it.”
“What are your plans?” Sophie scrunched up her nose, and I realized she was considering whether she was supposed to get upset or not.
“I want to visit a couple of distilleries that are asking for me to stock the pub with their bottles. And maybe a round of golf if the weather suits,” Graham said.
“I really don’t see why that would be an issue.” Sophie shrugged and then stilled, her eyes darting out to the loch. “Oh, well, maybe I do.”
“The Kelpies have been quiet,” I murmured, wrapping an arm around her waist for a moment. “It’s likely a good time for me to go.”
“That’s true. Things have much improved, haven’t they? I think you should go. It’ll give me time to do a deep delve into the accounts. I’m almost ready to launch our new advertising campaign, once I get my images and branding down, so this will be a perfect time for me to work on things.”
“I thought the accounts were doing better?” I frowned down at Sophie.
“They are, but you’re not in the clear yet. There are still some debts to be paid, and we have to repair the roof this year. I’d like to make a list of renovations and upkeep, and then prioritize them to see what can fit in the budget this year and what can wait for another time.” Sophie’s eyes gleamed, as though diving into spreadsheets was the most exciting thing in the world.
“I’ll admit, I haven’t been able to make many big improvements the last few years. We’ve been suffering, and that’s the truth of it. We dearly need a good high season, or I’m not sure what next year will bring for the castle, or Loren Brae.” Worry filled me as I looked back out to the loch, my eyes landing on the island where the Stone of Truth supposedly sat. You’d think our efforts to protect the stone would give us a miraculous windfall of luck, and instead we still struggled. I hated thinking about money and the constant burden that all our people now shouldered.
Eased a bit, by Sophie. Of that much, I was sure. I’d taken the time to look into the purchase agreement for the castle and had learned that her uncle had also gained many properties with the agreement. Somehow, Sophie had managed to arrange free rent for the year for those properties and was determined to keep that fact secret. I respected her for it and wasn’t going to be the one to blow the whistle. Her reasons were her own, though I suspected it had to do with not wanting to be put in the position of people using her for her money. From what I could surmise, being exceedingly rich seemed to attract gold diggers like flies to honey.
Not me, I promised myself. I was too proud to take any handouts, though I’d happily lean on Sophie’s expertise in both accounting and raising brand awareness. Proud, I was. Stupid, I was not.
“Okay, lads,” Sophie said, laughing at herself. “Up on the steps. We’ll leave Sir Buster where he is for now, but then I’ll want one of you to hold him.”
“Won’t this look like we’re a couple?” Graham asked, his shoulder bumping mine as we posed for photos.
“Even better,” Sophie said. “Can you imagine the fantasies? That’s what we’re selling here, people. Fantasies.”
“In that case…” Graham leaned over and planted a noisy kiss on my cheek and Sophie crowed in laughter, snapping away with her camera.
“You’d better not put that on the ads,” I warned her.
“Maybe just a few…to test ad conversion and all that.” Sophie gave me a devilish smile and I reveled in how comfortable she’d grown with me, and herself, over the last few weeks. It was like watching a rose blossom, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “Now, one of you pick up Sir Buster. Watch that he doesn’t bite.”
