Page 84 of Highland Stars
I’m finishing my last bite of dessert—raspberry ice cream with dark chocolate sauce— when the lights dim, and we’re told it's time to dance.
“Ah. The moment I’ve been waiting for,” Malcolm says, with a playful smirk.
“Oh yeah?”
“A reason to hold you close for long periods of time? Oh, aye, I’ve been waiting for it.”
I feel a flush rise up my neck.
“Oh, you’re so bonnie.” Malcolm pats his napkin over his lips, then stands and extends his hand to me. “May I have this dance?”
I slide my hand into his. “You may.”
Malcolm keeps my hand as he leads us to a nice open space on the already crowded dance floor. I feel like a princess as he spins me and brings me to him, pulling my arms up and around his neck. He leaves a trail of tiny explosions in the wake of his hands sliding around my waist. I fight ashiver as a hand slides up my spine, and he lays his cheek against mine.
“I love this dress,” he whispers into my ear.
I grin and he places a kiss on my temple.
I can’t believe this man, and his attraction to me. It’s overwhelming.
“I love it, too. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me, lass.” He pulls me impossibly closer, and his lips find my cheek for a slow lingering kiss.
“Malcolm, there are people all around us.”
He relaxes his hold just enough for him to lean back and grin at me. “Nobody’s looking at us.”
“Maybe not yet, but they will if you keep this up.” I laugh.
“I’m only trying to make sure you don’t forget me when you leave in the morning.” He kisses my forehead. “It’s my entire focus for the evening.”
I tip my face up, bringing our lips close. “On with your work then, I suppose.”
After dancing through several songs, we move to the side of the dance floor to take a break. Malcolm said he had to stop touching me for a few, or he’d never be able to stop. And I was barely able to make it off the dance floor after that heart-stopping statement was whispered into my ear.
“You want something to drink?” Malcolm asks as we come to a stop at an empty high-top table.
“Sure.”
“I’ll be right back.” He kisses my hand, and I’m struck by the fact that he’s the only person to ever kiss my hand like that.
As soon as he’s gone, an older woman I met earlier, whose name I can’t remember, sidles up to me.
“I was hoping to get a moment to speak with you alone,” she says, her voice barely audible over the sound of the music.
I smile at her, not quite sure what to say. What in the world could this be about?
“I don’t want to overstep. I know you don’t know me, but I feel strongly that I need to say something.” She takes a deep breath. “When I was young, I took a trip to Greece. I met a local man while having coffee one morning and continued to see him during my trip. So much so that by the end we were hardly spending a moment apart. It was a whirlwind romance.”
“Oh wow,” I say. I wonder why she wanted to tell me this while Malcolm wasn’t around. Unless … it didn’t end well.
“Yes, it was exciting. When the time came for me to leave, he asked me to stay. When I was unsure, he asked me to marry him. So I did. Things started off well, just like an extension of vacation, but when life became more real, it was clear I’d made a huge mistake. I spent a miserable year there, all because of a vacation romance that should have been only that.”
I’m sure I look horrified. She pats me on the arm.
“I’m not saying this will be your story. I’m only saying, when the time comes, go home, go back to real life and take a break from Malcolm. If after the break, you still want to pursue things with him, and he wants the same, then, go for it.”
