“Aye, well, what if she’s in there crying?” Cameron growls. “It’s been hours.”
Oh no. I only meant to be in here for a few minutes. I got caught up. “Lulu, I’m sorry, but I think I should go. “
“Are your men hanging around the door like giant puppies?” she says.“Okay, I’m going to set up meetings with some manufacturers. I’ll call you tomorrow, since I assume you’re being fed a four-course meal and then getting aggressively railed tonight.”
“That is my usual evening routine,” I admit.
“Ugh. I love when women get what they deserve. Ciao.” The line drops off.
I run to open the door. The three men pause mid argument, looking guilty. “Hi, sorry, I didn’t mean to be holed up in here for hours. I totally lost track of time.”
“Oh, it’s nae problem—” Fraser starts.
Cameron physically shoves him aside and grabs at me. “You’re okay,” he says gruffly, cupping my cheeks. “Not upset.”
I let him pull me into his chest. “No, I promise I wasn’t, like, curled up in here sobbing. I didn’t mean to worry you. I was working.”
“Aye?”
I nod, taking a deep breath. “I’m going to do it. I’m starting my own label.”
He pulls back to assess me, then nods once. “Good,” he mutters. “Tell me when you pick a name. I’ll carve a sign for your door.”
“God, is that all you have to say?” Fraser gripes. “Here, let me at her.” He shoves Cameron off me, picks me up, and twirls me. “I am so proud of you! My girlfriend, the fashion designer! You’re going to be amazing.”
“I hope so,” I mumble into his shirt.
He sets me back down, fixing my hair. “Youwill.” His face is fierce. He believes in me so much it makes me want to cry. No one has ever believed in me this much.
“Are you still working?” Alec asks, looking over my messy desk. “Would you like us to stop disturbing you?”
“No, I’m done for today.”
“Aye?” Fraser says, flopping down onto my sofa with me still in his arms. “What do you want to do then, sunshine? Want to watch a movie?”
“All four of us?” I look up at Alec. “Are you done working?”
Alec has been learning how to delegate these past few weeks. It’s hard for him. He still believes that things will go terribly wrong if he doesn’t control everything. But he’s hired more help and now takes evenings off, unless there’s an emergency.
“I’m all yours, sweetheart.”
I smile. “Then…I think I want to go for a swim.”
When we get to the boys’ swimming spot, the sun has dropped down over the hills. The sunset washes over everything,illuminating the loch like a pool of amber. I shiver on the bank as Alec carefully strips me down, his calloused fingers gentle. When I’m completely bare, he kneels at my feet, pressing his mouth in a series of soft kisses up the inside of my thigh.
He’s taken this position a lot in the last month. He likes to kneel for me. I sigh, curling my fingers in his hair.
“All right. That’s enough of that,” Fraser announces, tossing me over his shoulder. That’s all the warning I get before he sprints us both into the loch.
The Scottish water slams into my body like a bomb. My shriek echoes off the hills, and my fingers scrabble against Fraser’s muscular back as I try to climb him. He just laughs, swimming me farther out.
“Thank you,” he says when we’re in the deep water.
“For what? Why do you never just let me walk in like a normal person?”
“I like it when you cling to me,” he admits. “And I’m saying thank you for them.” He nods to the shore. I follow his gaze. Alec and Cameron are wading towards us through the waves. It looks like they’re bickering. As I watch, Cameron loses his footing, almost tripping on the loch bed. Alec grabs him by the arm, obviously concerned. Cameron rolls his eyes and sweeps up a wave of water, tossing it at Alec’s face.
“Thought I’d lost ’em,” Fraser says in my ear.
