“Same to you.”
I waved goodbye and squatted to pet Sir Buster and Lady Lola, who had come charging around the house after Lachlan but had been distracted by chasing a bird across the lawn.
I tried to clear my head as I walked down the lane toward the loch, but my thoughts refused to be manhandled into place. I still had to tell Z about my job and about how I’d screwed up the spell on Torin. And how was I supposed to tell Torin that I was now a part of an ancient magickal Order? He was already unhappy with me for doing magick in his house, and on the first day out on my own, I’d gone off and joined some sort of mystical cult?
Aye, I was in for it.
But maybe—maybe—he wouldn’t mind. It was hard to say with him.
Frankly I didn’t know the man all that well.
What I did know was he kissed like he had all the time in the world to savor me, as though I was the only woman that mattered, and even just thinking about his mouth on mine again brought heat to my cheeks.
At the end of the lane, I glanced toward Zara’s work, but knowing she was likely busy and it wasn’t the time to get into what had happened with my spell, I turned away from Loren Brae and headed toward Torin’s, I mean, our house. I was used to sharing a space, as most of my life I’d lived either with my sister or roommates, but still it felt odd to think of Torin’s gorgeous two-wing cottage as my home as well.
A horn honked lightly behind me, and I turned to see a lorry, with big wheels and dirt on the bumper, pull to the side. The front window rolled down, and Torin, his thick hair covered by a navy knit hat, poked his head out.
“If it isn’t the bonniest lass in Loren Brae walking home. Can I give you a lift, darling?”
You can give me a lot of things.
My cheeks flushed at my thoughts, and I ducked my head away as I rounded the bonnet and hopped up into the passenger seat.
Be an adult, Liora.Just because the man kissed you once doesn’t mean he’s going to do it again. Last night was an anomaly brought on by frustration and confusion. He’s had all day to think it over.
“Hiya, beautiful.” Torin shocked me by gripping the front of my coat with both hands, hauling me forward, and laying a searing kiss across my lips. I pushed at his chest, out of reflex more than anything, but then my fingers curled into his jacket.
God help me, but I may have moaned before he released me.
“Um, hi,” I said, flopping back into my seat. “You don’t have to do that, you know. The whole kissing thing.”
“Just gotta get something out of this shite situation you landed me in.”
I winced at his words and gritted my teeth as he pulled back onto the road.
“And I’m not talking about the dating you part. Though, to be clear, fake dating is still a dumb idea. I’m talking about the whole not being able to filter my words. It’s significantly more difficult than I thought. I was always certain that I wasn’t much of a liar, but now I realize that while I might not be a liar, I also heavily filter my thoughts around people.”
“Which is probably a good thing, no? Don’t we all do that? Not all thoughts need to be spoken out loud.”Like how he thinks I’m beautiful. I had no idea what to do with that or figure out how that made me feel. Because it definitely made me feel some sort of way.
“I’ve had some time to think.”
Here it was. I knew once Torin had a moment away from me and had some time to digest what would happen, he’d be kicking me out of his house. It was what made the most sense. My track record with tossing him into shite situations wasn’t great.
“I’m not sure I care what people in Loren Brae think anymore.”
I turned to him, my mouth dropping open, surprised at his words. What did he mean by that? Was he talking about the whole cheating rumor with Avery? Or about telling people how I screwed up a magickal spell and he could only tell the truth now? Or about the fact he’d kissed me? My mind whirled with questions, and when he glanced at me, a lightning-quick smile dashed across his face.
“You should see your face right now.”
“I mean, it’s a loaded statement, no?” I dropped back into my seat as he turned off the main road and bumped up the lane to his cottage. Our cottage. As we pulled in, a red squirrel ranacross the roof and stood on its back legs, as though waiting for us. Narrowing my eyes, I zeroed in on the small tuft of white fur at the tips of Bracken’s ears. It was how I was identifying him now, just so I didn’t try to launch into conversation with every random squirrel I met on the street.
Not that I met a ton of squirrels, but they were around.
“Hello?”
I jolted and turned to where Torin grinned at me, having turned the engine off and opened his door. I’d clearly just blanked out on everything he was saying, so focused was I on if the red squirrel staring me down was Bracken or not.
“I’m sorry, I floated away.”