We reached the terminal, but he didn’t take his hand off the small of my back, and I didn’t want him to. I liked the feel of him touching me. I liked how he smelled, crisp and fresh, like clean laundry and mint.
“Would you like to show me around the town, Tink? Maybe we could go to the gardens you mentioned?” His voice was filled with nervous energy, sweet and hopeful. My shoulders sagged as I glanced toward the sliding doors which led out to the parking lot. Part of me wanted to say yes, but the other, bigger part said, you have so much on your plate right now. A fling with a hot Scot isn’t on the menu.
I licked my lips, turning to face him. He towered over me, the tension between us pulling me toward him rather than pushing me away. “Come on, lass. What do you say? Be a little bad with me?”
“I...”
“Would the passenger who belongs to an orange Jeep Wrangler please return to your vehicle and disembark the vessel?” blared over the loudspeaker.
“Bloody hell.”
I couldn’t keep from laughing. “Wait. You drove on the ferry?”
“I might’ve done.”
“What are you waiting for? Go. They can’t load the boat if you don’t leave. They’ll tow you.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at me expectantly.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m programming your number into my phone. What does it look like I’m doing?”
I couldn’t stop grinning. “Oh, is that what’s happening here?”
“Aye. Don’t be the reason my car gets towed off the boat, Tink.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
Then I rattled off my digits for him.
“Would the passenger with the ostentatious orange Jeep Wrangler please return to your vehicle aboard ship and disembark the vessel?”
I slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Go. You have my number. You can find me. Get out of here.”
He winked. “I’ll be in touch, Tink. You can count on it.”
Then he turned and jogged back toward the boat. I wasn’t ashamed to say I watched his ass the whole way. My smile didn’t falter as I walked to my car or even as I got in. And then, when my phone buzzed in my purse and I looked at the screen, that smile turned to a laugh accompanied by a racing heart.
Unknown: I told you I’d be in touch, lass. If you change your mind and decide you want to spend some time with a bad influence, give me a call. Taylor.
3
TAYLOR
I knew it was her the moment I saw the fall of her blond locks as I walked into my favorite coffee shop in Seattle. Becca sat in a cozy chair nestled into the corner of the room, A tablet open, and a frown of concentration on her face. I didn’t think twice about going to talk to her. It’d been a week since I saw her last. I needed a fix.
“So it seems we meet again, this time on my side of the water,” I said, approaching Becca.
She smiled, her eyes bright and amused as I took a seat across from her.
“Taylor, right?”
“Aye, lass, and you are Becca.”
“That’s right. Good memory.”
“Of course I remember you. There’s no way I could forget you, my little Tinkerbell.”