Page 19 of A Memory Not Mine (Sanguis Amantium #1)

Chapter eighteen

Mira

“ S o ye’re headed back to Edinburgh tomorrow then?

" Baird asked as we stepped out of the pub, bellies full, the gravel crunching underfoot breaking the silence that had settled between us.

I was off to finish my sightseeing; he—well…

to wherever. He tried for casual, but failed miserably—there was a tightness beneath his words, a hesitation that said more than he would.

“Yes” was all I said, watching him, waiting to see if he’d offer any hint of what was really on his mind.

“Well, as it happens, I need to be in Edinburgh later this week—some business I need to attend to…” he said as we walked to our cars, the ligaments in his jaw tightening, like the words were being dragged out of him under quiet duress. “If ye don’t have plans, perhaps we could have dinner?”

The look on his face said this was the last thing he wanted to do—so why even ask?

It wasn’t like Edinburgh was small enough that we’d just bump into each other.

And honestly, I wasn’t convinced he had any real business there at all.

If he didn’t want to see me again, we could shake hands and part ways right now .

But Baird Campbell was maddeningly mercurial—tightly guarded one moment, almost irritated that I had invaded his space, then the next, looking at me like I was some magical creature only he could see.

And then there was that smirk—the one he tried so hard to hide from me.

The smirk that reached all the way up to his eyes and completely transformed his face.

The face that had started to settle into my mind, deep and familiar, like an echo of someone I couldn’t quite name.

He made absolutely no sense to me…but I was finding it harder and harder to think about anything—or anyone—else.

“Uh… sure, why not?” I said, though I wasn’t even sure how to respond—convinced now that something was going on beneath the surface, something I didn’t fully understand.

“What’s your number?” I asked, pulling out my phone. When he gave it, I created a new contact: Baird Campbell .

“Let me know tomorrow when ye get back, just so I know ye made it safely.” His mouth set into a hard line.

I found my thoughts wandering back to our walk last night and thought again about what it would be like to kiss those lips, but I quickly pushed it from my mind.

“Aye aye, Captain,” I replied with a mock salute, wondering why he was so concerned for my safety. “I’ll give you the all-clear signal. Where are you staying?”

“Staying?” he echoed, like I’d just started speaking French.

“In Edinburgh?”

“At my house there,” he replied.

“You have a house there?” I said, a little taken aback.

“Yes, Mira,” he said, with a note of exasperation, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Maybe he really did have business in Edinburgh.

Don’t flatter yerself, Mira Garvie, indeed.