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“No. Way.”
The little girl inside me danced for joy.Dolphins. They rose and fell in a cluster, their dorsal fins cutting unmistakable lines in the waves. Others swam farther across the channel, slipping to the surface before disappearing again.
“You got to see them after all,” he said.
I grinned until my face hurt, watching the dolphins frolic in the waves. A small crowd joined us, counting the fins and commenting on their every move. A few of them pulled out cameras for quick pictures, and I remembered I needed one, too.
“I almost forgot.” I grabbed my camera and offered it to Duncan. “Do you mind taking a picture of the two of us? I don’t have any of me in Scotland now.”
“Sure.”
He accepted the camera and wrapped one arm around me, leaning in close until our helmets clunked together.
“Say ‘Lochan Uaine.’”
I burst into laughter as he clicked away, his arm along my back and his hand resting on my shoulder. Maybe the Fairy Glen really had worked a spell on me—I could have stood there all evening with his arm around me and not cared a second about the pictures.
eighteen
If a limit existedfor the number of little stone houses I couldoohandaahover before I got sick of them, I hadn’t reached it yet. We pedaled toward the pick-up point, but I had to stop to take a photo of a majestic old church. Duncan didn’t seem to mind the delay. I wished I’d had time to stroll through the whole village, but that seemed to be the theme of the trip—always wanting more.
We got going again, but I spotted something that made me bring my bike to a halt.
“What is it?” Duncan asked, a touch of amusement in his voice.
I nodded at a storefront. “I’m required by law to buy something here.”
He followed where I looked, and tipped his head in a reverent nod. “I’m not one to argue with the law.”
The smell of chocolate overwhelmed my senses in the little sweet shop. The scent hung in the air like a cloud of spun sugar I could almost taste on my tongue. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, breathing it in. Heaven.
When I opened my eyes again, Duncan stood close by, his gaze heavy on me.
“You do like your chocolate.”
His low voice was richer than the most luxurious dark chocolate. He’d left so little space between us, he could have leaned down and kissed me. I willed myself not to tilt my chin and beg him to do it.
“This is definitely first rate.” I didn’t mean the chocolate.
“Only the best for you.” He let one hand graze over my hip, and my breath hitched. Duncan probably knew a thing or two that could make me forget all about Guylian milk chocolate with sea salt caramel.
Before I could let temptation get the best of me, I darted away to inspect the chocolates. Little bundles of bars in every variety I could think of sat stacked on shelves and displayed on wooden stands. They had a huge glass case full of truffles, candies, and dipped fruit laid out in mouth-watering rows.
I pointed out one section of round little treats and nudged Duncan in the ribs. “Whisky-filled chocolates.”
“We need some of those.”
We left the chocolate shop with our treasures, AKA, several boxes of handmade artisan chocolates. Before we climbed on our bikes again, we each sampled a whisky chocolate. With all the tang of the liquor and a sweetness that tempered the burn, whisky-filled chocolates were actually pretty incredible.
“Will this count as drinking and driving?” I sucked a bit of melted chocolate from my fingertip.
Duncan’s gaze stayed stuck on my mouth, and my heart hammered at the hungry look in his eyes.
“I think you’ll keep your head about you.”
Pretty sure I’d lost that ability days ago.
The town gave way to a wooded slope leading down to the firth. We cycled through more villages and along the beach, gradually turning back until the road veered uphill again. I stood as I pedaled, using all my weight to keep the bike moving forward. My legs felt almost no pain, they’d become so numb, my hands ached from my fall on Ben Macdui, and my lungs burned on every breath. I wheezed a sigh of relief when we passed back into the country lane we’d started on.
