“Want to start a film?” he asked, nodding to the couch. “I’ll bet we have at least twenty minutes of quiet left.” He was already rounding the kitchen counter and heading to the old television he kept hidden away in a rusty filing cabinet. She had meant to find him a cute armoire for it, since he didn’t seem interested in a flat screen upgrade, but then she’d moved out.
“Dinosaurs or space?” he asked, holding up Jurassic Park and a Farscape dvd. None of his movies were from the current century and they’d watched all of them repeatedly.
Already she felt her tense muscles sinking into his ridiculously comfortable couch. It was the nicest thing he owned and she loved it. Squishy, plush, overstuffed and the most soothing shade of deep grey. She could hypnotize herself just running her palm back and forth over the thick, velvety pile. Her head felt heavy and her back screamed for her to sit down.
“I can’t make a decision like that,” she said, easing herself onto the couch, letting every vertebrae melt into the luxurious cushions. Oh, it felt like home.
“Dinosaurs it is, then,” he said, winking at her. He knew her so well.
When he got the movie set up, he plopped down on the couch next to her. “I’ve filled the fridge with that bubbly swill you like,” he said.
She couldn’t help smiling at that. Diet Coke. He thought it was an abomination but she was utterly addicted to the stuff. Oh dear, things were beginning to be almost comfortable. Was the couch made of magic? She snuck a glance at his rugged profile.
“I think I have Maltesers, if you want a true cinema experience?” he continued solicitously.
“That’s okay,” she said, patting her belly. “I still have to lose a little baby pudge.”
Sam eyed her midriff, one eyebrow raised, until she began to feel warm under his scrutiny. He used to lay his head on her baby bump, waiting for Magnus to kick him in the side of the face. “I don’t see any pudge, Evelyn,” he said sternly.
She almost giggled and grabbed the remote to fast forward through the opening scenes. This was something they had done when Magnus was first born. Too exhausted to do more than collapse onto the couch each night, they’d race through their favorite movies, laughing at nothing in a slap happy, tired way, trying to get a few minutes together before they passed out between feedings.
He tapped his knee into hers, jolting her back to the present. She jumped only the slightest bit and had the presence of mind not to recoil. His smile was radiant. He’d shrugged out of his flannel shirt when they came inside and now she was faced with a close-up view of his rippling biceps and dear God, his chest was really about to burst out of his t-shirt.
Maybe she should pick him up some in a bigger size next time she was down at the shops. For her own sanity, because at that moment her hand was itching to reach over and rest right above his heart and then slide down over his bulging muscles. She pressed her lips together to keep from groaning.
“It’s going to be all right, Evelyn,” he said with another knee tap.
“Of course,” she said with a friendly eye roll, edging surreptitiously away all the same.
“This is so nice right now. You were right, you know. We got together under such intense circumstances, and then, well, everything happened so fast. We had such crazy chemistry …” He raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged. “Things got a bit tense there for a while, but we’re really fine now aren’t we?”
Were they? If he thought so, she supposed she could go along with it. She looked down at their knees, which were still touching, and wanted to jump out of her skin.
“Yes, of course,” she repeated, only sounding a bit strangled.
He smiled again, and she looked away, unable to bear it. “We can read, be friends, take care of Mags. No drama,” he assured her. “It’s going to be great.”
Oh, she wanted to believe him. She wanted to swing her legs up into his lap, or worse, more horrifying, rest her head on his newly brawny chest. With a sinking heart, she realized how badly she want to kiss him.
But he’d told her things she’d wanted to hear before. Things that weren’t true. She had to remember that. She closed her eyes and relaxed into the couch, letting the familiar sounds of the movie wash over her until Magnus woke up from his nap, and prayed she hadn’t made the worst mistake in her life moving back in with Sam.
Chapter 3
Sam smiled ruefully as his old friend Leo dropped a roast beef sandwich onto the table in front of him, then slid his large frame into the other side of the booth. The restaurant was empty, one of the perks of being best friends with the head chef, so no one else could see his woeful demeanor.
“What do y’mean, then, you’ve got her to move back in with you?” Leo asked, dipping his sandwich in horseradish sauce and taking a bite. “I had no idea she’d moved out.”
Sam sighed and wrinkled up his forehead. He’d been in such a state after Evelyn left him, and then all that nonsense with Lachlan returning, and then Magnus getting snatched … it was impossible for him to keep up with what he’d told whom and who knew about what. He hated to burden anyone with his problems. He felt now that was one of the things that had annoyed Evelyn.
“Well, yeah,” he said.
He dipped his sandwich and took a lusty bite. It was as delicious as anything ever was at Maison Craig, the finest restaurant in Castle on Hill. He’d just come from a vicious workout and needed the protein. Evelyn’s look of admiration— yes, he’d gratefully noticed her checking him out— was enough to get him into the gym and do some extra reps.
“So, you two broke up, but now you’re back together?” Leo clarified. “What happened?” He jumped behind the bar to pour them out a pint.
Sam frowned. He was in charge of Mags in just a bit, and declined the beer. He’d take Leo’s eye roll over Evelyn’s censure any day of the week.
“Damned if I know,” he said. “I thought everything was fine. We never argued. I went out of my way to make her happy.” He shook his head, not wanting to dwell on how he’d been completely blindsided by Evelyn’s sudden change of heart after Magnus was born. “At any rate, we’re living together again,” Sam said cagily, hoping Leo would drop it and they could talk about something else. He cast around for a change of subject. “What about you? Didn’t you go out with Knickers Marley a bit ago? How was that?”
“Well, if you call her Knickers anymore, you get a hard punch to the soft parts,” he answered. “Katie Marley and I were just not compatible it seems.” Leo adjusted his position in the booth, as if painfully recalling the hard punch. “Perhaps we need to import more Americans.” He took another bite and looked wistful. “Even Padma had to go to London to find someone.”
Sam nodded. Their mutual childhood friend Padma was now dating a musician from England. He himself had met Evelyn when she came from Texas to visit. He snorted, thinking that their other friend, Pietro, had to be whisked back to the eighteenth century to find love, but of course, Sam couldn’t tell Leo that.
All in all, it was terribly difficult to have a relationship in a tiny town where everyone was so close to everyone else, and had known each other from birth.
“Well, I’m glad to hear I don’t have to think poorly of the mother of your child,” Leo said.
Sam snapped his head up. “What?” he asked. “Why?”
Leo nodded to the far corner of the restaurant. “A couple weeks ago, she was in here at dinner time with that solicitor, and their heads were together pretty tight. I didn’t know you two were on the outs at the time.”
“Herb?” Sam asked. “Dinner time?”
His stomach tightened along with his fists. Evelyn had to take care of the estate the entire time Piper had been missing, so she’d had to have plenty of meetings with that git, Herb. It was clear he thought she was fascinating and brilliant, and she was so gorgeous, a little thing like being pregnant with another man’s child wouldn’t stop the wanker from trying to slither into her affections.
But Piper had returned more
than two weeks ago. There really wasn’t any business reason for Evelyn to be having dinner with him then. The savory roast beef sandwich turned bitter as he thought she might actually like the man’s company, might actually be moving on. He pushed his plate away, appetite completely gone.
“Sorry,” Leo said. “It was probably nothing. Though if you want my advice, you should have proposed a long time ago, locked her down. Might have bypassed all this heartache.”
“Shut up,” Sam groaned.
“Listen, mate. You truly don’t know what went wrong?”
Sam shook his head. He’d gone over it a thousand times. As far as he knew he’d done everything in his power to make Evelyn happy. There had been some tension after the baby was born, but he’d chalked it up to stress, possibly even a bit of postpartum depression, and had been completely gobsmacked when she packed up and left.
“Then here’s what you need to do,” Leo said. “You have to treat her like she’s a human being and talk to her. Ask her outright what happened. Tell her how you feel.”
Sam stared at his old friend. “Do you think?” he asked. It seemed too easy.
Leo laughed and ran his hand over his ruddy stubbled jaw. “I’ve no bloody clue,” he admitted. “I’m only repeating back to you things you’ve told me when I’ve had woman troubles.”
Sam dropped his head into his hands, thinking about all the times he’d been so smug and secure in his happy relationship, doling out wisdom he’d read in a self help book or on the internet. He hadn’t thought to seek out help when he was the one who needed it. He didn’t dare to hope it could possibly be that simple, but he missed Evelyn so much he was willing to try anything.
Living under the same roof with her but unable to take her in his arms, or kiss along the side of her throat like she used to love, or bury his face in her silky hair … it was torture. Every day since she’d been back was slowly killing him.
“Aye,” he said, picking up the rest of his sandwich, his new resolve restoring his appetite. “That’s what I’ll do.”
He would make a nice dinner for them while Evelyn was up at the castle, then lay it all out on the line. He would tell her he still loved her, had never stopped. Whatever had happened, he could fix it, he knew he could.
“I can’t believe you’re going to take my advice,” Leo said.
Sam smiled crookedly. “I must be fairly desperate.” He only hoped he wasn’t wrong.
Chapter 4
Evelyn snapped open the stroller and popped the car seat into place on it without waking Magnus. She felt especially confident as she loaded the items from the castle into the small basket underneath, and balanced some of the lighter things on the cheery fabric hood. After she dropped everything off at the gallery, she would leave Mags with Sam, then go back to the castle to really dig in with the research.
Her first few nights back at the house— she forced herself to stop thinking of it as Sam’s house— had gone without a hitch. They even made breakfast together the first morning and it had been drama free and only the slightest bit awkward. And he’d looked scrumptious in his flannel pajama pants.
That had been difficult, seeing him in various states of sexy disarray. Every time he looked at her and smiled, her heart jumped into her throat. She was grateful they hadn’t had any arguments, but she wished she could stop feeling so nervous and jittery around him. Or at least stop ogling him in his low riding pajamas. When his fingers brushed hers while passing her the strawberry jam, she’d almost slipped into unconsciousness, for goodness sake.
She was completely sex starved, and either needed to take up swimming in the icy cold river or start dating again. Both options were wholly unsavory.
As she passed Donna’s Beauty, she caught a glimpse of herself in the big plate glass window. She wasn’t all the way back down to her pre-baby weight, but she thought she looked pretty cute in one of Sam’s nicest sweatshirts, black leggings and her shiny new riding boots, the most prized thing she’d added to her wardrobe since moving to Scotland. Around her neck was a long string of pearls with a rhinestone bow clasp, one of many vintage necklaces from Piper’s stash. Evelyn thought it was a sassy way to say, ‘Yeah, I’m still too hefty to fit into my clothes and have to wear men’s sweatshirts all the time, but damn it, I’m still adorable.’
The sweet ginger kid who worked at Sam’s shop grinned at her through the window of Maclean Booksellers, reinforcing her jubilant mood. And the sun was shining! In late November, in the Scottish Highlands. Sam always told her she’d get used to the dastardly weather up here, and she mostly had. Investing in high tech long underwear helped, too.
Magnus woke up and was happily cooing when she pushed the stroller through the doors of the Glen Historical gallery. She waved at Sam’s young cousin working the ticket window, once again amazed at how closely knit the village was. She’d grown up in what she thought was a small town, but Dilbert, Texas was a veritable metropolis compared to Castle on Hill, where every third person seemed to be related in some way.
Weaving her way through the small group of tourists looking over the newest display of early twentieth century ball gowns, she paused to listen to a couple admiring a series of letters she’d helped to organize.
Opening the gallery had been Piper’s crazy caffeinated idea when she first inherited the castle and began sorting through all the generations of historical treasure that was left to her. It was a huge success, helping to bring much needed tourists back to the tiny town. Now that Evelyn was back, she liked to help out whenever she could, sorting things or making deliveries.
Padma’s office had a large window facing out onto the main floor of the gallery and Evelyn saw she was in a meeting with Piper’s lawyer, so she continued circling the floor and scrutinizing the new exhibits while she waited. Just glimpsing Padma’s shiny black locks and flawless olive skin had taken her confidence down a notch and she tried to give herself a silent pep talk.
It had been difficult when she first met Sam, and Padma had not only been his trusted employee, but also one of his oldest friends. She might have gotten the notion into her head that Padma had been in love with Sam at one point, and in her lowest moments, still couldn’t help but worry about it.
She shook her head vigorously and scowled at a glass display case full of exquisite jewels. Padma was in a serious relationship with a seriously hot musician, and on top of that she and Sam were no longer together. Funny, but that should have been the first thing she told herself.
“Evelyn, you’re looking radiant,” Herb said as he approached her.
He took her hand and squeezed it warmly. He was a kind man, probably ten years older than her, with hazel eyes and a serious demeanor that belied his wicked sense of humor. He had been a lifesaver when Piper had gone missing in the eighteenth century, keeping her spirits up and guiding her through all the intricacies of the enormous estate.
“Thanks, Herb,” she said, blushing even though she suspected the compliment was merely him being polite.
She liked his old world manners. Sam was mannerly like that, or had been. She struggled to remember the last compliment he’d paid her. Dummy, she reminded herself. He doesn’t have to compliment you anymore.
Padma caught up with them and blinded everyone in the vicinity with her dazzling smile. Evelyn clung to the last shreds of her confidence, but Padma had on a pale blue, whisper soft sweater and a buttery leather pencil skirt that hugged her lithe curves. Leather, what was that about? And yet, she didn’t look like a hooker, damn her.
Sam’s sweatshirt felt bulky and frumpy and her sassy necklace now seemed like something a fourth grader would have thrown on to play dress up. At least she had on her shiny new riding boots. They were above reproach. She glanced down at her beloved boots to find the left toe was scuffed with a thick glob of mud. When had that even happened? She let her gaze pass over Padma’s mile high nude pumps and gave up.
“Oh, there’s that darling wee lad,” she squealed, leaning over Magnus a
nd rubbing his plump cheek with her knuckle. She did love Magnus, and had been genuinely nice to Evelyn since she’d moved to Scotland. “His skin is so soft, I could just eat him up,” she continued. She looked hungrily at Mags and Evelyn wondered with a start if Padma’s clock was ticking.
She was so intrigued by that, she didn’t notice Herb had asked her a question. She tore her attention away from Padma trying to interest a suspicious looking Magnus in a game of peek-a-boo and apologized.
“That’s no problem my dear,” Herb said. “I was only wondering if you were going up to the estate today.”
Evelyn told him she was going to be there the entire afternoon, flinching when Padma picked Magnus out of his stroller and his head lolled back. She kept her hands firmly at her sides and sighed with relief when he was in a more stable position a moment later.
“Did you need me to take anything up there for you?” she asked Herb.
“No, I was going up there myself this evening for dinner. There’s a couple of things I need you to sign, so I’ll just bring them with me. Actually, there are quite a few things we should get Piper up to speed on.”
Evelyn nodded absently. While Piper had been missing, she and Herb had worked tirelessly to keep everyone thinking she was alive and in the proper time, and while she was gone, Evelyn had been in charge of making a lot of the decisions. Now that Piper was back, she was glad to be free of the huge responsibility of it all.
“That’s fine,” she said. “I’ll probably just stay for dinner as well, then.”
Merciful heavens, now Padma was bouncing him. She couldn’t stand it another second and hurriedly said goodbye to Herb, grabbing up the baby before his brains got jostled. He immediately spit up down the front of her.
“Well, that was lucky,” Padma said, looking aghast and handing her some tissues.
Sam and Evie - A Lost Highlander Novella Page 2
