Absent in the Spring (The Shakespeare Sisters 3)

She stared at him. ‘What does that mean? Duncan’s moving there?’

‘He won’t be the laird either.’

‘Then who?’

‘It will all become clear, I promise. But right now I can’t say any more. My lawyer insists on it.’ He winked at her.

‘I can’t believe you’re not going to tell me,’ she said, her mouth dropping open.

A smile danced around his lips. ‘Can’t you just be happy that Glencarraig will flourish?’

‘It’s important to you, isn’t it?’ she asked softly.

‘Yes, it is. It impressed this girl I once knew. I watched her fall in love with it, and when I saw it through her eyes, I fell for it too.’

‘She sounds like a fool,’ she whispered, her voice tight.

‘The most beautiful kind of fool,’ he said, curling his hand around the back of her neck. ‘The kind of fool you’d move mountains for. The kind of fool that keeps me awake at night, longing to talk to her, to touch her, to see her smile. The kind of fool I can’t stop thinking about.’

She swallowed. ‘She sounds fascinating, maybe I should meet her.’

‘I like to keep her for myself.’ He leaned forward, barely brushing his lips against hers. ‘She’s special.’ He breathed against her skin, making her shiver. ‘She’s clever, she’s funny, she drives me batshit crazy, but I’m already having a hard time imagining life without her.’

‘It’s a shame she lives so far away.’

He slowly shook his head. ‘I’m giving us a year, and then we’ll sort that, too. I like planes, but I like waking up with my girl more. And she is my girl.’

‘It sounds as though you’ve got it all worked out.’

‘I nearly lost her once, I don’t intend to do it again.’

‘She nearly lost you, too.’

The thought made his stomach twist. Being here with her felt so natural, he couldn’t believe they’d almost thrown it away. In the few hours they’d been back together, he’d become used to her voice, her words, her touch; to be without it would be painful.

‘And then she found me.’ He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘And everything was right with the world.’

She exhaled slowly. ‘If you keep talking like that, I might just fall for you.’

‘That’s good. I’ve already fallen, so I’ll be down there waiting to catch you.’ The moment was right, so right, and yet he hesitated. The words were on the tip of his tongue, demanding to be let out.

He looked at her, eyes closed, face relaxed. She was already his, he just needed to say it.

‘I love you.’ His voice was raspy, his throat like sandpaper.

She opened her eyes, meeting his deep-blue stare. ‘Do you know what you do to me when you say things like that?’

The band on his chest loosened. ‘The same thing you do to me.’ He smiled. ‘Let’s never stop doing it.’

‘That sounds good to me.’ She licked her lips. ‘And just in case you didn’t know, I love you too.’

‘Oh, I know.’ He winked.

‘You’re still a cocky bastard sometimes. aren’t you?’

He shrugged, the relief still making him grin. ‘Just sometimes?’

Slowly she nodded. ‘Yep. And don’t tell anybody,’ she lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘But I kind of like it.’