Page 60 of The First Taste

“I’m not interested in dating my employer,” I bluff. “Besides, I have dated someone before that was a rich white dude. And let me tell you, they are so entitled. It’s not even funny.”

Keir shoots to his feet, rather abruptly ending our breakfast. “I should be going. Besides, if I leave now, Saffron can’t fling any barbs or make any more unwanted connections between me and the staff.”

I look at him, bewildered. He gives me a sharp glance and then waves at Saffron, tossing his banana peel to her. She gives him a glare as he strides out of the room, picking up the banana peel off her plate and setting it aside with a sigh.

“That’s my brother for you. And if you believe it, he is not the worst one.”

“I imagine that James has to be the worst one,” I mutter.

Saffron gives a light laugh. “You are absolutely right. Keir might be a perfect beast, but at least he is not a jack ass like James.” She gives a dramatic shiver.

Chuckling, I lift a piece of bacon toward her. “I’ll toast to that.” She laughs and picks up a piece of bacon, hitting mine with it. The conversation moves on to Saffron’s time at university and Isla's behavior issues at school. But my mind remains on Keir and the way that he so easily dismissed me and called me the staff.

Twenty-One

“Okay, I give up. Where are we going?”

Keir looks at me from the driver’s seat of his sleek black sedan, arching an eyebrow. “What, don’t you like secrets?”

I push my cheek out with my tongue and try to tamp down on my frustration. It seems to only fire him up and so I keep my voice perfectly calm and level.

“If I remember correctly, we came in from the opposite direction when we arrived from Glasgow. So I’m just wondering now where we could be headed.”

He gives me a tiny infuriating smirk. “If you must know, we’re headed to air.”

“Air?” I echo back to him, puzzled. “Either I don’t understand your accent or you’re using a new kind of slang that I’ve never heard of.”

“Since when do I seem like the kind of guy to use slang? What am I, lowborn?” He rolls his eyes. “It’s a small town of about 50,000 people. And you’re right, we’re headed in the opposite direction from Glasgow. Look, you can see Air appearing over the horizon now.”

Before I can even stop myself, I snap a reply. “You don’t have to be lowborn to use slang. Everybody knows that. Except for you, I guess.”

He glares at me but I turn to look out the window. True to Keir’s word, Air begins to take shape, a large city spilling down the side of a mountain and the sea stretching out its stretch of grayish blue before it. It’s pretty awe inspiring, especially since this is the first city I’ve seen in a couple of weeks.

“I love a city as much as any girl can. Probably more. But is there a particular reason that you are bringing me to the city today? You just came stomping down the stairs and told me to get in the car while Saffron watches Isla.”

He glances away and shrugs, his teasing seemingly dropping away. “I just thought you would be up for an adventure, that’s all."

“Oh,” I nod slowly, watching as the car starts across a waterway seemingly floating over the ocean. As we approach the city, I choose my words carefully. “Thanks for thinking of me, at least.”

His lips twist. “Just trying to prove that I’m in fact capable of thinking of someone other than myself.”

A laugh bubbles to my lips. I watch as we exit the bridge, turning right onto a narrow road that creeps along the shore just below the city. Above us, buildings tower, the city skyline rising quite sharply for almost farther than I can see. It feels almost dangerous to pull the car to a stop right here, but that is exactly what Keir does.

He jumps out of the car and leaves the keys inside, not even bothering to wait for me or gesture for me to get out of the car. After a moment, I climb out and scurry after him, eyeing the line of heavy buildings as Keir approaches a set of stairs that lead up toward a busy city plaza.

Behind us, someone gets in the car and drives it away. Keir doesn’t even seem the least bit worried about it, so I guess I shouldn’t be either.

He makes it up the stairs going two at a time and turns back to stare at me. I blush furiously and bow my head as I hobble up the stairs. Ever since I broke my leg, stairs have really been my secret enemy.

I make it my mission to get to the top of the stairs without wincing or making any expression at all. It’s difficult, to say the least. By the time I arrive, beads of sweat have broken out across my brow and I can feel a little sweat gathering just below the nape of my neck too.

Luckily, I think that the short dark cotton dress I’m sporting will hide any sweat. Or I hope so, anyway.

When I make it up onto the landing of the stairs, Keir grabs my elbow and steers me right, obviously heading somewhere. I’m too busy taking in the surroundings to put up much of a fight. People are going about their day-to-day lives, zipping to and fro in their cars and getting in and out of vehicles parked on the side street. A couple hundred yards away from the stairs is an impressive row of shops, the first floor is dedicated to retail while the second floor of every building looks residential in nature. I see a floral shop, a rather expensive dress boutique, and a whimsical candy shop just in front of us. My brows rise lately. Where is it that Keir is taking me?

Keir doesn’t seem to even think about that; he clearly has some place in mind.

I drag my eyes away from the young woman giving her two children pieces of pizza as she walks down the street. “Where are we going?” I ask Keir.