‘This is me. This is the legacy that Angus left me.’ He put his hand over hers and squeezed tightly. ‘It means so much more than bricks and mortar. Angus, and the people here, helped me grow into the man I am today.’ He traced a finger down her cheek. ‘One that knows if you love someone, you should always put them first.’
Her voice trembled. ‘What do you mean you can’t get past me, Callan? What are you saying?’
‘I’m saying whatever your decision—about Annick Castle, or about your job—I want to be in your life. I want to be part of your life.’ He put both of his hands on her cheeks. ‘I want to be your family.’
Tears glistened in her eyes.
‘You have to know that I’ve never connected with anyone the way I’ve connected with you. I don’t want to let you go. I don’t want this weekend to end.’ He held up his arms. ‘I wanted to ask you to stay with me this morning, Laurie, but I didn’t know where I’d be. I didn’t know what I’d have to offer you.’
Her voice cracked. ‘Why would you need to offer me anything, Callan? I don’t expect anything from you.’
‘But that’s just it, Laurie. I want you to. I want to be part of your life. I want to be here for you. Wherever you want to be, just tell me. I can find a way to make this work.’
He could see her breath catching in her throat.
Her head was spinning. He was asking her to stay. He was telling her he wanted to be with her. But he hadn’t said the words. The three little words she needed to hear.
She took his hands from her cheeks and intertwined her fingers with his. It had finally stopped raining and the sun was peeking out from behind some clouds. Beneath them the gardens lay out in all their coloured glory. Who wouldn’t want to look out at that every single day?
She took a deep breath. ‘I’ve been so confused, Callan. You’re right. From the moment I set foot in Annick Castle I feel as if it’s got a hold on me. I love this place. I love every single part of it.’
She hesitated. Should she say the next part?
‘You’ve made some of my dreams come true, Callan. I never expected it. I never imagined it.’
His hand clasped over hers. ‘Every girl should have their own Sound of Music gazebo. Every girl should have their own princess staircase.’
‘But I don’t want every girl to have you.’ Did she just say that out loud? In another life she might have cringed, but not here, and not now. This was the moment she found out if her life was going to change for ever.
His voice was low and sincere. ‘Every girl can’t have me. There’s only one girl I want. There’s only one girl I want in my life, now and always.’ His hand reached up and stroked her cheek. ‘Know that I will go anywhere with you, any time.’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I can Blether all over the world, but there’s no one else I want to blether with. It’s you or nobody. I love you, Laurie Jenkins. Please say you’ll stay with me. Please say we have a future together.’
She reached up and caught his finger in her hand. ‘I love you too. I can’t imagine spending a single day without you.’
She was going to cry again. The tears were building in her eyes.
‘Can I interest you in an Edinburgh town house, Laurie Jenkins?’
‘Can I interest you in a slightly dishevelled castle, Callan McGregor?’
He smiled, his eyes crinkling as pulled her towards him in a kiss. ‘Let’s begin negotiations. I think I’m going to need a good lawyer.’
She laughed. ‘I know just the person.’
EPILOGUE
AS SOON AS he walked through the doors all he could smell was the wonderful array of baking. Gingerbread, chocolate cake, freshly baked scones and the bubbling smell of lentil soup. His stomach growled in instant response but there was a bus tour due in an hour. He had to keep his mind on the job. ‘Laurie, where are you?’
The former icehouse was exactly as she’d planned. Windows all the way around showing views of the gardens and views of the sea. Red and white checked tablecloths, comfortable chairs at the tables, a separate play area for kids and a very expensive coffee machine that Callan had already burned himself on. Still, it was red and matched perfectly. And it had put a huge smile on Laurie’s face.
She appeared from behind the counter, looking a little flushed, wiping her hands on a towel. ‘It can’t be that time already?’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘It is.’
‘But I haven’t got changed, or fixed my hair, and my make-up must be halfway down my face.’
He shook his head and put his hands on her waist. ‘You look perfect.’
‘But I’ve still to—’
He bent down and kissed her to stop her talking. It was amazing how often he had to do that. But it worked like a charm every time. She wound her hands around his neck. ‘You’re distracting me,’ she murmured.
‘It’s my job.’
He pulled back and smiled. ‘I have two special customers that we can’t keep waiting.’
Fourteen months of blood, sweat, tears and lots and lots of special memories. Annick Castle was theirs. Together. And it was now open to the public. The repairs had been put in order. They’d been exhausting and daunting. There had been hours of planning and negotiations with local authorities. They’d even had to redo the steps down the cliff side and install a proper handrail.
But the important thing was that they’d done them together.
And the truth was he’d never seen her look happier. She gave a nervous laugh. ‘Customers. Now I’m really scared.’
‘Oh, don’t worry. I think they’ll like this place,’ he said with confidence as she flicked the sign on the door from Closed to Open.
Marion and Bert didn’t waste any time. Bert went straight to the strawberry and cream sponge sitting under a glass dome. ‘I’ll have a bit of that and a mug of tea.’ He wagged his finger at Laurie. ‘Don’t be giving me any of those fancy china cups.’
Marion was the extreme opposite. ‘I’ll have a toasted scone with butter and jam, and a pot of tea.’ She nodded at Laurie. ‘And I do want a china cup.’
Laurie scurried off, obviously overjoyed by her first customers. Callan sat down at one of the round tables, staring out at the crashing ocean. It was August. The doors to Annick Castle opened today. His stomach was churning a little at the thought of it.
Part of it was genuine nerves about what people might think of the place he loved. Part of it was fear that things wouldn’t work out. Laurie would be devastated. He was beginning to suspect she loved this place even more than he did. Could that even be possible?
He heard the clink of china being set on a table, appreciative voices, then he felt a hand on his back and Laurie slid into the chair next to him, putting a large piece of his favourite chocolate cake on the table in front of him.
‘How does it feel?’
She smiled and glanced out of the window, looking the other way towards the gardens. ‘It feels right,’ she said quietly as she reached over and squeezed his hands.
‘No regrets about leaving London?’
She shook her head fiercely. ‘Not a single one. I haven’t had a tension headache since I moved here.’
‘Even with all the hassles with the castle?’
‘They weren’t hassles. They were teething problems.’ She leaned over and kissed him. ‘Besides I had someone I could moan to every night in bed with me.’
He gave her a wink as he put a piece of chocolate cake in his mouth. ‘I hope that wasn’t the only reason you were moaning.’ He didn’t wait for her reaction before he let out a yelp. ‘Ouch! What’s that?’
Laurie jumped up. ‘What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the cake?’
‘There’s something very wrong. I just got a lump of something in it.’ He couldn’t stop the gleam in his eyes as he preten
ded to fish something out of his mouth.
She still hadn’t clicked. ‘What is it?’ she demanded as she made a grab for his palm. ‘Oh!’
The emerald and diamond ring lay in the palm of his hand. He’d wanted to propose to her from the moment she’d moved here. But there was never a more perfect time than now—the first day of their new life together.
‘Is that all you can say—oh?’
She smiled. ‘Oh, no, you don’t, Callan McGregor. I want the whole shebang.’
He slid down onto the floor, kneeling in front of her. ‘I should have taken you to the gazebo, shouldn’t I?’
She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. ‘Don’t worry, our last trip to the gazebo seems to have left us with more than memories.’
‘Really?’ He jumped straight back up and pulled her into his arms, swinging her around. ‘Really?’ He couldn’t believe it. Nothing could be more perfect.
‘Really.’ She smiled as he lowered her to the floor.
For the first time in years Callan felt flustered. He grabbed the ring and knelt down again in front of her. ‘Then I better make this quick, before people start getting out calendars and looking at the date.’ He took both her hands in his. ‘Laurie Jenkins, I love you more than life itself. Will you do me the honour of walking down our gorgeous staircase in a wedding dress and becoming my wife?’ He slid the ring onto her finger.
‘I think you’re supposed to wait for my answer.’ She smiled.
He leaned forward and kissed her, laying his hand gently on her stomach. ‘It seems to me that you’ve already realised I’ve got no patience. How about we get ready for a castle full of them?’
‘I can’t wait,’ she replied as she kissed him again and again.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from SWEPT AWAY BY THE TYCOON by Barbara Wallace.
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CHAPTER ONE
PLEASE SAY SHE was not watching her boyfriend hit on another customer.
Okay, perhaps boyfriend was too strong a word. After all, she and Aiden had never said they were exclusive. Still, Chloe Abrams figured they were, at the very least, serious enough that he wouldn’t pass his number to other women while she was standing six feet away!
Wasn’t as though he couldn’t see her. Last time Chloe checked, between her height, her heels and her hair, she stood above the crowd by a good couple inches. Yet there he was, flashing his heavy-lidded smile at some blonde on the other side of the coffee bar, and Chloe would bet it wasn’t because the woman had asked for an extra shot of syrup.
From behind her, she heard a chuckle. “I wondered when you’d catch on.”
Great. As if the moment wasn’t humiliating enough, the resident slacker decided to chime in.
“You know she’s not the first one, right? Dude gives out his number more than directory assistance.”
Chloe dug her nails into the strap of her designer handbag and pretended not to listen. A difficult task, since the slacker’s voice had a silk-over-sandpaper quality that made him hard to ignore.
“Funny, he always gives out his number. He never asks the women for theirs. I can’t figure out if it’s because he thinks his company is that desirable or if it’s because by having them call him, he gets off the hook for paying. You wouldn’t want to weigh in, would you, Curlilocks?”
The strap on her bag crumpled, Chloe was squeezing so tightly. Problem with narrow city coffee shops was that it was hard to escape the crowd. In this case, the owner had crammed tables along the brightly colored walls, which meant that during the morning rush the patrons in line stood on top of those sitting down.
The slacker had first appeared shortly after the new year. If she was being honest, slacker wasn’t the right word, but she couldn’t come up with anything better. Every time Chloe came in—which was obscenely often—she would see him nursing a cup of coffee. A permanent ginger-haired fixture. Sometimes he read. Other times, she’d spy him bent over a pile of paper, scribbling away. Rugged, unshaven, bundled in a worn leather jacket, his no-nonsense presence jarred with Café Mondu’s trendy atmosphere. Usually he kept to himself.
Until today, anyway.
“If you ask me,” he continued in his quiet growl, “a woman like you could do a lot better.”
Not really, Chloe thought, but she didn’t feel like arguing the point.
“Your iced coffee is ready.” In an obvious show of female solidarity, the other barista called out Chloe’s order in an overly loud voice. First the slacker, now Aiden’s coworkers. Was there anyone who hadn’t noticed her humiliation?
“Thanks,” she replied. If the slacker wanted to assume the acknowledgment was for his comment, too, let him. Stepping toward the counter, she loosened her grip on her strap, the motion causing the leather satchel to slide downward slightly and brush the blonde’s hip. The woman stopped flirting long enough to glance over her shoulder. That got Aiden’s attention. He immediately looked in Chloe’s direction.
And winked.
Winked! Un-freaking-believable. He could have at least looked embarrassed over getting caught. No, the jerk winked, as if she was in on the joke.
“You okay, Curlilocks?” the slacker asked.
Okay? Try furious. Discovering Prince Charming was a jerk, she could handle. She was used to jerks. But to have him make a fool of her in front of the slacker and everyone else in the place? No way.
“Excuse me,” she said, tapping the blonde on the shoulder, “but you’re going to want stand back.”
“Why?” the woman asked.
“Because of this.” She raised her drink over Aiden’s head and poured.
“What the—?” Coffee and ice streamed down the sides of the barista’s face, plastering his shiny black mane to his cheeks. He looked like a long-haired dog after a bath.
Satisfaction gave a way better jolt than caffeine. “He’s all yours, sweetie,” Chloe said, tossing a smile to the blonde. “I’ve got better things to do.” Turning on her heels, she marched to the front door.
The slacker rewarded her with a slow clap as she passed. “Well played, Curlilocks. Very well played.”
At least someone enjoyed the performance.
* * *
“You did not.” Larissa Boyd stared at her with wide-eyed admiration. “The entire iced coffee?”
“All twenty ounces,” Chloe replied. “I’ve got to tell you, those bangs don’t look nearly as sexy when dripping wet.” She sat back in her office chair, smiling with a boldness she didn’t truly feel.
“What did he do?”
“Nothing. He and his new friend were too stunned to speak. I think everyone in the shop was.” Except, that is, for the slacker. She could still hear his applause.
“Too stunned to speak about what?” Delilah St. Germain’s ponytailed head poked around the cubicle wall. “I got your text. What happened?”
“Chloe caught Aiden passing his number to another woman, and dumped an iced coffee on his head.”
Delilah’s eyes widened to match Larissa’s. “You did not.”
“Is there an echo in here? Yes, I did. Blame temporary insanity.”
“No
, insane was when you started dating the jerk. This, on the other hand... I’m impressed. You’ve got guts.”
Guts or really poor judgment? Chloe’s rebellious high had started to fade in favor of foolishness.
Based on her friends’ awestruck expressions, they disagreed, so she kept up the facade. She was good at that: pretending to be unaffected. “I prefer to say I struck a blow on behalf of misled females everywhere.”
“Use whatever term you want. If I had been in your shoes, I wouldn’t have had the nerve.”
“Me, neither,” Larissa said.
They needn’t worry; neither of them would ever be in her shoes, and that wasn’t simply because they were both engaged to be married. To begin with, her friends attracted a different kind of man. Nice men who believed in calling women back. Neither of them would be impulsive enough to dump a cup of coffee over a guy’s head, because neither of them would be involved with a man jerk-offish enough to warrant the behavior.
Not that Chloe resented her friends’ happiness. On the contrary. She couldn’t be more happy. From the moment the three of them met at CMT Advertising’s new employee orientation, Chloe had recognized her two best friends were different than her. They were soft and lovable, with a smiling optimism she couldn’t muster if she tried. The two of them deserved all the happiness in the world.
“When you think about it, Aiden’s the one with the nerve.” Larissa’s voice dragged her back to the present. “Giving his number out when you were standing right there? What kind of guy does that?”
The kind of guy Chloe dated. “Apparently it wasn’t the first time, either. The slacker told me he’s a regular directory assistance.”
“Wait, who?” Delilah asked. She had a habit of tucking her hair behind her ear, a motion that caused her sinfully large diamond to sparkle as it caught the fluorescent lighting.
“The slacker. You’ve seen him. He sits at the front table every day.” She was met with blank looks. “Leather jacket? Buzz cut?” How could they not have noticed him? “No matter. He’s the one who told me Aiden writes his number on a lot of coffee cups.”
The Heir of the Castle (Harlequin Romance) Page 16
