“You can do anything you like. As long as you don’t make me get married wearing a snake.”
Finally, she managed a smile. “Snakes are going to be a big part of my life. The blog has taken off like you said. And not just because of you. I started to write what I’d always wanted to write instead of what I thought I should, and it turns out people like it.”
“Of course they do.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long velvet pouch. Too big for a ring. Too small for tickets. Hammering like the pistons in Hank’s old tractor when it was finishing up time, Janie’s heart raced ahead to a future where she woke up with Blaine every day. It was a pretty delicious future.
“I want to show you the world, a world that needs more of you in it. You can be anything you want to, Janie. If you want to study, study. Grow beets, then you’ll grow beets. Turn your blog into a global talk-back snake show, then go for it. I’m not going to make any money to start with, but that’s going to change, I can feel it. And as long as I get to share your bed, my home will be where you are.” He handed her the pouch, and she opened the deep purple velvet. Out slid a silver chain with a perfect globe charm, a tiny snake, and a monkey nestled side by side.
Janie’s eyes bulged. “It’s beautiful.”
“Just like you.” He took the necklace from her and fastened it around her neck. “The world is, well, you know what it’s for. The world is yours Janie, but I think you’ve already worked that out.”
“It’s perfect.”
Blaine took her hands again. “I mean it. I want this to work.”
“Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“Okay we can start over.”
Blaine’s smile stretched nearly ear to ear. “You won’t regret it this time.”
“I better not,” she said, and pulled him closer so she was tucked up against his glorious chest. “Screw with me again and you’ll have more than dead fish in your hubcaps. You’ll have the whole of Little Acre on your ass.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
He stroked her hair and it sent shuddery strands of yum down her spine. “The question is, if you survive the night, will you survive the morning?” she said with a level of huskiness to her voice that surprised even her. “Little Acre can be a tough crowd, and they’ll string you up on a tractor in the middle of a beet field if I don’t give them good reason not to.”
His laugh was light, but not yet easy. “I’m hoping I can give you plenty of reasons to give them the all clear. Starting with letting me apologize, properly.”
Janie bit her lip. “Big words again, McDashing. Better get your shirt off and see if you’ve got what it takes.”
He smiled at her calling him McDashing again. “That sounded awfully like a challenge, and you know how I like a challenge.”
“Well, you’ve got a lot of apologizing to do,” she said.
“Hopefully that means I get to do this.” Wrapping one arm around her waist, Blaine tipped her chin up and dusted a soft kiss on her lips.
“That’s what you call an apology in Scotland?”
The grin reappeared. “Oh no, a proper Scottish apology needs far fewer clothes.”
Oh. Yes. “Good man.” She took his hand and led him to the room she’d been making over to live out her days in Little Acre. Now though, it was just going to be the room she shared with Blaine until they worked out where they would go next.
Her mother had been right all along: the world was her oyster for sure, and she was going to make sure she lived every moment.
For her mom. For her family. For her future.
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Acknowledgments
An enormous thank you to Alethea Spiridon who keeps laughing at my jokes. To Heather Howland for asking for an escape romance on a tropical island with a twist. To Alexia Janie Evans for entering a competition and getting herself a spot as Aunty Alexia in the book. To my real life friends Janie and Tina, #girlbosses both of them. To Tawna Fenske for reading this in record time to come up with a cover quote despite her box of RITAs to read and judge. To my hubby and kidlets for putting up with me locking myself in my office on weekends. And to my always awesome Critique Partner Talia Hunter for being plain legendary. But the biggest thanks as always goes out to readers, without you my books would just be words on a page, you guys make these characters come alive!
I love to hear what you think, so do come stalk me on Facebook, Twitter, or via my website.
About the Author
Being a writer was not what Michele was supposed to be when she ‘grew up’. But then neither was being a dancer! It’s no wonder a little sparkle of the stage is often in her work. Creating new worlds for her characters is a now highlight of her daily life. Living in in New Zealand with her husband and two small boys after traveling a plenty, Michele writes from an office where the sound of the tapping keyboard is only rivaled by the whisper of wind in the trees.
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Her Scottish Mistake (A Perfect Escape) Page 19
