Page 41 of Kilts and Kisses at Highland Hall (Kilts and Kisses #1)

Bex couldn’t remember ever being on a date with someone who genuinely wanted to learn so much about her.

London men weren’t like that. Or at least the ones she’d dated weren’t.

They wanted to tell you about themselves – the deals they’d made, the places they’d holidayed, the celebrities they’d met.

They’d ask questions occasionally, but it was usually just to set up another chance to talk about their own lives.

‘So, you’ve got a brother, right? And your mum and dad – are they still together?’

‘Oh, yes,’ Bex said with a sigh. ‘My parents are the perfect couple. Totally in love, even after all their years together. It’s sickening. I sort of blame them for my hopelessness with relationships.’

‘Really? Why?’

‘It’s hard to live up to something like that. I’m always looking for a partnership that’s like theirs. Relationships should be partnerships, don’t you think?’

‘Absolutely,’ he agreed.

‘The thing is, most guys say that, but living it is a different matter. I don’t want to give up my work, but that intimidates a lot of men, especially since I tend to earn more than they do.’

Duncan arched an eyebrow, widening those perfectly swimmable eyes.

‘Well, you definitely earn more than me, that’s for sure. I don’t think Fergus has given me a pay rise in seven years.’

‘What?’ Bex’s eyes widened. ‘That’s not okay. You need to talk to him about that.’

Duncan chuckled. ‘There’s no point, honestly. I don’t pay for anything at the lodge, and to rent a place like that – with bills, water… it’s worth a lot.’

‘I guess.’

‘He also covers the car, petrol, and even tabs at the pubs. I probably have a lot more savings and disposable income than most people my age. Or at least I did until I bought the ring.’

The mood around the table shifted slightly.

‘You don’t feel like you could sell it?’ Bex said, the words an unwanted reminder that dating Duncan on any level was a bad idea. But it wasn’t like there was anything she could do about it now.

‘In order to do that, she would have had to have given it back to me.’

‘She didn’t give it back?’ Bex blurted out, feeling a jolt of shock.

‘Not yet,’ he said with a slight shrug. ‘To be fair, I haven’t asked for it.’

‘You need to. She can’t just hold on to that after what she did.’

‘You’re starting to sound like Lorna.’

‘Well, that’s just because Lorna cares about you, too.’

His smile twisted. ‘Are you saying you care about me?’

He’d backed her into a corner, and she knew it. And so much for thinking the mood had dropped. That damn static was back in the air, sending tingles through every part of her.

‘Well, you’ve helped me a lot,’ Bex said, trying to replicate the same casual shrug he’d managed while talking about the engagement ring. ‘You’ve probably saved me over a week of work.’

‘Which I regret, actually,’ he said, the slightest smirk twisting on his lips. ‘If I’d known, I would’ve made an absolute mess of things just to make sure you’d have to stay longer.’

There it was again, that electric charge between them. Bex felt her whole body ignite as if drawn to him by an invisible force.

‘I really want to kiss you,’ Duncan said softly. ‘Would that be okay? If I kissed you?’

Every ounce of common sense she had was telling her to say no. They could still leave tonight without kissing, having had an amazing night. They could be flirty friends. That would be okay. And yet he had asked her if he could kiss her. Who the hell did that?

Before she could find her voice, Bex felt her chin dip, almost as if her body was answering for her.

‘I think I’d like that too,’ she whispered.

A second later, he leaned across the table and pressed his lips to hers.

It was an explosion of fireworks. It felt like the kiss she’d been waiting for her entire life – the one that set her whole body alight.

As she pressed herself closer to him, his fingers found the back of her neck, holding her with a gentle nervousness, as if he feared she might suddenly change her mind and back away from him.

But there was no chance of that happening.

‘Your first course?’

Bex felt her cheeks burn as the pair broke away and she saw the waiter standing there, two plates in his hands. Wordlessly, he placed them down.

‘Enjoy,’ he said before disappearing.

‘I swear they did that deliberately,’ Duncan muttered.

Bex didn’t even glance at whatever it was she had been brought.

Instead, her eyes were locked on Duncan.

While he hadn’t gone the same fluorescent red she was sure she had gone, there was a definite pink to his ears, though it did little to distract from his ear-to-ear grin.

A grin that, judging from the ache in her cheeks, she was mirroring.

‘Well, that was something,’ she managed.

‘I’d say it was worth the wait for the third date.’

‘Maybe,’ she said, though it was difficult to play it coy when her heart was pounding hard enough to burst out her ribcage.

‘So we should eat,’ he said, still not having broken eye contact since the moment their kiss ended.

‘We should,’ she replied, and then, because the smell was divine and she was well aware they could be stuck in the same position all night if one of them didn’t move, she picked up her knife and fork and began to eat.

For a second, she kept her eyes on the plate, sensing that Duncan was still looking at her, when finally he let out a light chuckle.

‘What the hell are you doing to me, Barker?’ he said.

There was no denying it. That kiss had confirmed everything she feared. Bex was in trouble. She was falling for the groundskeeper. Hard.