Too soon, the song stops, and so do we.
I pull Rowan in for a final spin, and she misses her footing, tripping over her own boots and colliding with my chest.
There she is. Her heart is racing. I can feel it against my ribs. Tendrils of hair have escaped her braid and are plastered on her forehead. Her mouth hangs open a little, revealing the flash of her teeth.
She looks raw. Like something I want to devour. Like someone I want to protect.
“Angus.” The way she says it is almost a question.
I lower my head. I know my answer.
Then Priya clears her throat beside us, and it all comes flooding back. Where we are. How many people are watching.Friends.
“Buy you a drink?” I ask instead, regretfully removing Rowan from my chest and placing her a safe distance away.
“I’ll buy you both bloody drinks,” Lila chimes in from below. “Look at my baby! Look at what she’s doing!”
“Lila!” Ewan chastises. “Not in front of Priya!”
“She can’t hear me anyway. Now, who’s for a pint?”
Rowan looks between us, taking in the sudden space. She frowns. Her lips part.
The urge to kiss her overtakes me again.
“I’ll have a pint,” she says instead, hopping off the stage and dissolving into the crowd.
I shake myself into sanity and follow. But the imagined taste of her lingers on my tongue.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rowan
The air outside is blessedly cold after the furnace of the dance floor, and my mind instantly clears when we collapse through the double doors, sides still aching with laughter. My cheeks hurt from the smile I’ve worn all night, and my companions wear matching grins. My skin tingles. Every part of me feels alive.
And when I look at Angus, remembering the feel of his arms on mine, his firm, broad chest, my heart begins to thrum.
“I haven’t laughed that much in years,” Lila declares, as we walk down the steps. “That was wonderful. Thank you, Angus.”
“For what?”
“For bringing us somewhere so fun! I never would have thought to come here without you.”
“Ach, it’s nae trouble,” he says, sounding even more Scottish than usual.
“I’m exhausted.” Priya collapses on the steps. “Mum, can we go to bed now?”
“Agreed.” Ewan levers himself down beside her. “That was mental.”
“You didn’t even dance.”
“But I watch, and even that was a lot. Did you see how many people were in there? My eyes are tired.”
“Such is the stamina of youth,” Lila says fondly. “Come on then. I’ll get us a taxi.”
“Really?” Priya asks, eyes shining. “No more walking today?”
“I've had quite enough of that.” Lila gets out her phone. “Rowan, Angus, do you want to join?”
