Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“It’s always this hot back home.”
“I’m used to it, but I’m not sure anyone else would be. Anyway, you look hot, my love. Do you want a drink? I can go get us something.”
“No.” I pull her into my lap. She protests for half a second, swats at my arm, and then melts into me. “No, I’d like to be doubly as hot, just like this. I don’t mind when it’s you melting and sweating into me.”
“I don’t sweat! Not all over you. I contain it, thank you very much.” She lightly swats my arm again. “Your mom and dad will see us.”
“And they’ll not mind at all, my lady.”
“Unhand me, sir knight, so I can get us beverages. I’m parched.”
“In just one minute, my lady love. I’d like to enjoy just one blissful moment with you this way.”
She relaxes into me, and one of her fingers twists through the back of my hair. Time for a haircut. But we’ve been here for a few weeks, and I can’t cheat on my barber. He’d be destroyed if I went anywhere else. It’s been wonderful being out here, but we’re going home to Tampa in a few days. It’s Evilla’s fourth trip out here with me, and we both took three weeks for the grand opening of the castle. Neither of us have come here for more than two weeks before.
She must be thinking about another bench at another time when we were two different people over a year ago—different but still very much the same.
“I’m sorry that it seemed like I didn’t have enough faith in you that day when you told me about this in the park.” I was right. She was definitely thinking about that day. “I just saw the worst coming for me, but it was my past dictating my vision. I told myself I would never let that happen, but it did. I didn’t mean for you to have to defend yourself. Not from me.”
She’s dry-eyed when she looks up at me. She’s perfectly sincere, without regrets or the heavy weight of the past dragging her down. “Hey, we’re all allowed to have a past. We’re allowed to have hurts and feelings about it.”
“I didn’t ever think of you in the same way as someone who would just cheat on me and bail on me and the life we were supposed to have. I’ve never even thought for a fraction of a second that that’s the kind of man you are.”
“I know,” I assure her gently.
“Today just had me going back to that moment on the bench, but right after that fraction of doubt, I thought about what came next.” I love the sweet smile she gives me. I’ve never seen her bestow it on anyone else. “The moment where you first kind of said you love me, and I kind of said it back. I knew I’d remember that afternoon forever, even as it was happening. I thought about this moment too. The day this place would be finished. I thought about coming here with you, and I thought about thinking about it as it was happening, and I did.”
“It’s a beautiful place. I could build you one of your own if you like.”
“Oh, goodness.” Her finger makes a corkscrew out of my hair, twisting until it pulls a little. But I don’t mind it. “As much as I feel like a historical lady from the pages of old, I’m not sure I want to make Scotland my permanent home. It’s so nice to come and visit your parents, but I would really miss Tampa.”
“I could build you a castle anywhere. We could find one somewhere else and fix it up. Or we could build a metaphorical castle. A modern one, wherever you want.”
“Does it make me sound terribly provincial that I like our condo?”
My condo has become our condo, and it’s the best thing that ever happened to it. For our first Christmas together, Evilla surprised me by decorating while I was here in Scotland. I came home to a house that was fully festive, including garland and lights strung up around the bear and the sheep’s arse.
“Mrrrhrrmhrrrm, darling…” That’s my best sexy bravado drawl slash growl. “Do you know how sexy it is that you’re learning historical turns of phrase from all those romances my mom begs you to read?”
She pulls a face. “In that case, it makes choking back another Duke Who Seduced Me, Duke Who Bedded Me, Duke Who Fake Married Me, Duke Who Poked Me, and Duke Who Licked Me all worth it.”
“What’s this about poking and licking?”
“I’m kidding. They all have blatantly smutty titles, but those are just ones I made up on the spot.”
“How disappointing. It would be rather amusing to find a book with the cover photo to match.”