Cian nudged me behind him. “A storm pushed her far off course. She found m’ home and took shelter there. The storm made it impossible to leave, but as soon as it relented, she insisted I guide her to Aviemore. She kenned the risk folks were takin’ on her behalf, and she put an end to it as soon as she could.”
He turned his back and waved for me to go ahead of him.
“But tell us, Ghost of Glenmore, when exactly did you fall in love with her?”
He turned back. I held my breath.
He didn’t miss a beat. “Same as any man. When she cooked fer me.”
Sayinghellowas a thousand times sweeter than our farewell might have been.
We only made it ten feet inside the room before he spun me to face him, caught me, and kissed me breathless. He smelled like cold air and pine trees, and like a fur hat that I hoped he would never wear again.
When we stopped to grin at each other for a minute, I remembered what he’d said to Nick.
“Did you mean it? You saiduntil we’re back in the States. Does that mean you’re coming with me?”
“I willnae allow ye to leave without me. So if ye mean to go, I’m comin’.”
“Even though you’ve only known me for two days?”
“Hearts dinnae ken about time, lass. I’ve loved ye a hundred years in those two days, and a hundred years more since we were parted unexpectedly.”
I pulled his head down to prove I felt the same. And from somewhere outside our delicious, magical haze, came a knock. I couldn’t believe anyone would dare come looking for us after all the entertainment we’d provided in the pub, but they did.
He didn’t want to let me go.
I laughed and pulled out of his arms. “I’ll answer it, then I’ll put a note on the door.” I looked out the peephole and saw two older women and one extremely handsome man with hair almost as long as Cian’s. Not that I noticed…
I opened the door and stood in the gap, blocking their view into the room. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, dear. We need to speak to Cian.” The woman blinked rapidly, all innocence.
“Uh…” I remembered I’d called him by name after he hit Phillip. “Can I give him a message?”
“No, dear. It’s not the sort ofsubjectwe should discuss in a hallway.”
The other woman, obviously her sister, made a pained face. “You see, it’s a matter of…time.”
My eyes flew to the man, and I didn’t have to ask to know that this was the traveler—the time traveler—who’d been hunting Cian and forcing him into hiding.
CHAPTER 26
Terror exploded in my chest like a firework set off inside a box. But my instincts worked, so I slammed the door in their faces and locked it. I rushed back to Cian and lowered my voice. “We’ve got to find another way out of here.”
“Who is it?”
“A man. Two old women. Your time traveler! He must have been watching the news. That stupid reporter!” When he didn’t move, I grabbed his shirt, along with the plaid sash across his chest. “This stupid tartan!”
His shoulders fell, and his eyes closed.
“You can’t just give up!” I tried to shake him into action, and when I failed, I ran for the turret and tried to open the windows.
“We’re only one floor up. We can jump. Or you can. I’ll only slow you down. We can meet up at John’s when the coast is clear.”
“Matty?” His calm scared the shit out of me.
“Come on, Cian! There’s no time!”
