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acerbic wit. Behind all that hid
the soul of an artist. And he clearly adored his
grandmother.
    “ Your eye is incredible,
Duff.” He shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise.
“Really.”
    “ Ta.”
    Their eyes locked, the air
between them charging like a defibrillator. A slow smile spread
across his mouth, and her stomach did a little flip. “Give me your
phone.”
    Lovie blinked.
“Huh?”
    “ Yer phone.” Duff held out
his hand. Lovie fished it out of her pocket and handed it
over.
    He programmed a number
into her list of contacts. His number. Then he dialed himself to
capture hers.
    “ If you, uh, find yerself
without an escort again...”
    Call me . He didn’t say it, but Lovie heard it loud and clear. She
smiled, turning away so that he couldn’t see the heat rising in her
cheeks.
    “ Thanks, I
will.”
    “ C’mon.” He bumped her
shoulder. Other body parts grew jealous. “It’s gettin’ late. I’ll take ye
back.”

One Fine Day
    It had been another
sleepless night in Inverness. Lovie was really sick of being tired.
She stared at the ceiling above her bed, mapping the small cracks
and bumps in the plaster. Eventually, she gave up and went to grab
some coffee, returning to the room with a small pot. No pastries,
this time. She had to get Jo up and out for breakfast early. They
had a long day planned.
    A familiar bass line broke
the silence as Jo’s cell phone declared “Baby’s Got Back.” A hand
snaked out from her general location and grabbed it, pulling it
under the covers. There was a muffled ‘hello’ and then she sat
straight up, as if she were on puppet strings.
    “ Hamish! Hey! No. I was
just-” Jo eyed Lovie’s mug. “Having coffee with Lovie.” Lovie took
the hint and poured her a cup. Jo accepted and mouthed a thank
you.
    “ Today? Wow, sure. That
would be fun.” The bright smile that lit her face dimmed. “Oh,
well...hang on.” Uh oh. Puppy dog eyes.
    “ What is it?” She already
knew.
    Jo covered the phone.
“Would I be a horrible friend if I hung out with Hamish again
today?”
    “ We were supposed to go up
to Culloden today. You know. The place that you went on and on
about?”
    “ I know, and I’m sorry
but...” She grinned, pointing at the phone.
    At this point, they may as
well have taken separate vacations. Whatever. Who was she to stand
in the way of storybook romance? “Okay, fine, I can walk around
town.” Or maybe call Duff.
    “ You’ll have a much better
time without me. I’d only drag you down.”
    “ I said it’s fine, Jo. Go
grind your corn, or whatever.”
    “ Eww! It’s not like that.”
Jo giggled. “Not yet, anyway. I’m not that kind of
girl.”
    She fluttered her
eyelashes.
    “ Just be careful, okay?
Give me his number just in case. And keep your phone
on.”
    “ Yes, mommy.” She winked,
uncovering the phone. “Hamish? What time do you want to
go?”
    Jo jumped up and headed
for the shower.
    Lovie pulled out her own
phone and stared.
    Should she or shouldn’t
she? He said to do it. She pulled up the last calls and his name
popped up first. Her finger hovered over the button, but she
couldn’t summon the courage to call.
    “ I’ll text,” she said to
no one. “That way, if he wants to, he can pretend he never got
it.”
     
    Hey, I’m on my own again
today.
     
    Ditched again?
     
    Yep.
     
    Me too. Got roofers coming
this morning, but I’ll pick you up after lunch.
     
    Sounds good.
     
    Wow, okay. Duff was going
to pick her up. Lovie chose not to acknowledge the butterflies in
her stomach. There would be no butterflies, it wasn’t a date. She
was just hanging out with a new friend. A mysterious new friend. A
mysterious, uber hot professional photographer friend with killer
blue eyes and a body she wanted to climb like a vine.
    But still, just a friend
that offered to show her around.
    At the insistence of his
grandmother.
    But he had been a little
flirty.
    Maybe he just felt sorry
for her.
    Then again, he did give
her his