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He’s dressed all in black clothes again today, and I don’t know how I didn’t see it before.
They clearly aren’t cheap, the clothes' cuts, and the fabric's thickness. Finlay looks like a Laird, even in a dark turtleneck, black jeans, and those dark eyes. When they focused on me, they almost turn me into Jell-o.
“Hi,” he replies, his voice smooth and deep, so unlike my own nervous and breathless voice. “I hope you don’t mind me checking in on you. After yesterday, I was worried.”
“I’m really fine,” I assure him before panic flits through my mind that I just told him, in some way, to leave me alone. “I mean, it’s really nice of you to check on me. Actually, I was thinking about you this morning.”
“Oh, really?” Finlay says, raising an eyebrow. His voice is practically a purr, like the sound of a classic car engine.
“I-I mean!” I stammer, panicking once again. “I was thinking about the estate! Yes, the estate. Um. I called Hamish – well, I called the estate, and Hamish answered. He had no idea who I was, so I think I confused him.”
“What were you going to say if you managed to get through to me?” Finlay asks with a raised eyebrow. The way he seems to be taking all of this so cooly only makes the fact that Iknowmy cheeks are bright red even worse.
“Um, I was going to ask about the deer,” I say. “We were going to look at them, but we didn’t manage to. I mean – we saw them, but that wasn’t the same. And I wanted to know if they were all okay.”
Finlay blinks as if surprised and then nods his head. “Yes, of course. They’re all fine. I managed to track down all of them last night, and there weren’t any signs that those poachers managed to take one down – not even smaller animals. We must have stumbled on them right on time.”
“That’s a relief,” I say, grinning, realizing I actually mean it. “I was so worried. Do you think we will have a chance to see them today?”
Finlay nods, a grin breaking out across his face. It was dazzling, his white teeth practically flashing as his brown eyes twinkled at me. “I can take you out right now if you’d like.
“The herd is likely to be a bit more flighty than usual, and they might not stick to their usual schedule, but if we have patience, we might be able to see them,” Finlay replies with a bit of lightness in his tone.
“That sounds great.” I grin. I gesture down at myself, the dress combined with boots just in case, and the small purse I have slung around my shoulders.
It couldn’t fit as much as my backpack did. Still, I was able to fit in some band-aids in case my shoes began to rub again, my cell phone, and a small packet of trail mix in case I got hungry.
I pick up a physical map of the surrounding area from the leaflet stand just in case I end up lost without any cell service.
“Do I need to go back to my room and get anything?”
Finlay’s eyes rake over me slowly, from top to bottom, traveling every inch of my body in a way that seems hungry.
I tremble as my cheek flame pink again.
I wasn’t imagining it, was I?
“No,” Finlay says slowly and extends a hand toward me in invitation. “I’d say you’re good to go.”
I trembled as our hands met, my body on fire again with desire for him that showed no sign of dimming down.
CHAPTERTWELVE
Finlay
Driving up to the hides with Alana has to be one of the best ideas I’ve ever had. And some of my ideas had made the estate a hell of a lot of money, so that was really saying something.
The hides were ranged out along the sides of the loch and in specific sites across the hills, all of them positioned to give people a perfect view of the local wildlife while remaining hidden.
They had been designed for hunters – the last time most of them had been updated in any way was when I was a boy. Now that hunters didn’t need to hunt, they served another purpose.
The camouflaged dens included a viewing window (without glass – simply an opening to look out of, through which you could also thrust the muzzle of a gun in times past) and were large enough for two people and a couple of dogs.
The idea was that each one would contain a gentleman, his loader, and the dogs they would send out to drag the carcass of whatever bird, rabbit, fox, or other animals they had taken down with their shot.
All of which meant they were pretty cozy – and perfect for sharing space with someone you secretly wanted to cuddle up next to.
“Here,” I say, standing aside to let her in.
