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will never hurt you again.” His voice didn’t have the light, carefree tone it normally had. There was no joke in it, not anything other than a hard promise.
    “It’s my battle.”
    He shook his head. “You can think that, Kaitie lass, but it’s a battle I’m not going to sit back and let you fight alone.”
    Kaitie lass. It was the second time he’d called her that.
    Part of her hated that another man thought he knew what was best when it came to her. But another part was . . . relieved. Relieved she had someone on her side.
    She shrugged. “He’ll get the picture eventually. Maybe I will just move.”
    Jock rubbed between her brows again. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Sorry I brought him back up.” Then he smiled, though his eyes were still bright, like sapphires. “So, Kaitie, can I kiss you?”
    She smiled at him. “You’re asking now?”
    “I should have asked before.” He was so serious, so sincere, she fell in love with him just a little bit then, or more than she already had. Stupid of her, she knew, but she understood now what her mother had meant when she’d said when you meet the one, you’d know.
    She’d thought it had been Landon, but that had been gradual, slow, sneaking up on her, a habit of acquaintances seen often.
    Jock Kinncaid was anything but gradual, or sneaking, or a habit. He was just . . . just . . . there. Like the bright first rays of sunshine after a long dark night. There was no getting around him.
    Though she could create a habit out of him.
    “I don’t know, should I ask if I can kiss you? Seems only right we’re both agreeing and—”
    He grinned even as his hand slid to the nape of her neck, his thumb rubbing along her jaw.
    His lips on hers promised things she didn’t understand, promised a haven, promised things she wanted.
    Kaitlyn wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer to her, getting lost in Jock’s kiss.
    Lips met, glided, opened and gave. When his tongue slid along the seam of her mouth, Kaitlyn opened. She knew how to kiss a man, though that was about all she’d done with them.
    Their tongues met, twirled, tasted, vowed. What, she wasn’t sure, but she wanted to find out.
    Their hands roamed, caressed. He made her feel . . . safe, and cherished.
    A twig snapped and Kaitlyn jerked in his hold.
    Jock looked over her shoulder. Another couple topped the rise and the man, carrying a picnic basket over one arm, said, “Oh, sorry.”
    Jock shook his head. He looked back at her, wiped her bottom lip again with his thumb and said, “We’ll see where this goes.” Then he stood and held his hand out to her, helping her up. To the man and woman he said, “No problem. We were just leaving.”
    “We can find—”
    “No, I’ve had her outside most of the day. Time to head in and warm up,” Jock said.
    Kaitlyn was in a daze as they made their way back down the hiking trail.
    Was she a bad person? She had a fiancé—ex. She had an ex-fiancé who she knew still considered her his. Though that was hardly her fault.
    Now she was here and kissing another man. A really sexy, very handsome man.
    Jock never let go of her hand as he helped her down the incline, always making sure she was okay.
    She didn’t know what to do with that.
    She’d been on her own for so long and then there had been Landon.
    “I wonder if I want to know what you’re thinking,” Jock said, pulling her attention back to him.
    “I don’t even know what I’m thinking.”
    He grinned. “Good, sometimes we think too much when we should just go where fate takes us.”
    “Fate?”
    “Fate, God, whatever, whoever.”
    She smiled. Grammy would like him. Her other grandmother, probably not, but then Grandmother didn’t want her to move here, didn’t want her to be working, only wanted her to get married and be someone’s wife. Preferably someone important. Grandmother would love it if Kaitlyn married Landon Goldburg III and then produced at least three