I walk over to her, my voice low and teasing. “This seat taken?”
Her soft chuckle lands like a shot of adrenaline. “Come on now. I’m sure you have a better pickup line than that.”
Challenge accepted.
“Ah, lassie, don’t flatter yourself. You just looked a bit lonely, and I figured you could use the company.”
Her eyes sparkle with amusement as she nods, clearly satisfiedwith the answer. “That’s better. Permission granted. Take a seat.”
I don’t need any more encouragement. I grin and slide into the chair with a bit more confidence than I should have, but hell, she makes it easy.
“Must be my lucky day,” I tease.
She goes quiet for a second. Not awkward, just…somewhere else. Like her thoughts aren’t meant for sharing.
She glances over, her eyes a little softer, a little distant. “You’re just lucky I’m trying to do things differently these days.”
I tilt my head. “Different how?”
She lets out this slow, almost reluctant breath. Then comes a little shrug. “Got tired of playing it small,” she says quietly. “Living small. Showing up for everybody but me.”
I feel that. Right in the center of my chest. I’ve been walking that same damn line so long it’s almost second nature.
“Funny,” I say, meeting her eyes as a grin tugs at the corner of my mouth. “Thought I was the only one daft enough to do that.”
Her gaze snaps up, startled, possibly. Or maybe just seen.
For a second, neither of us says anything. Then she huffs a laugh. “Daft, huh?”
“Aye,” I say, my grin tugging a little wider. “But in good company, apparently.”
She clears her throat, her fingers tapping on the edge of her mug as she gestures toward the counter where Lucy’s busy organizing pastries and the small crowd is going about their day.
“So, tell me,” she says, a mischievous glint igniting her eye, “is there anything the MacKenzie family can’t do?”
I lean back in my seat, folding my arms across my chest. “Mm, you’re aware Lucy’s my sister?”
“I was here with Aunt Rose a few days ago. She looped me in on the secret. Besides, I think I would have figured it out eventually. The similarities are striking.”
“Aye, well, Lucy’s much better looking.”
Her eyes narrow just slightly, assessing me. “Your sister’s gorgeous, but I have to admit, you’re more my type.”
I catch the flush climbing her neck, barely there. I don’t say a word. Just let my eyes linger, soaking in the way she fidgets slightly, pretending I’m not grinning on the inside like a damn idiot.
She clears her throat, quickly shifting her gaze away from me, like she’s pretending she didn’t just let something slip. Damn, if it isn’t adorable how easily she sparks up with fire one second, then tuck it away the next. It makes me want to close the space between us just to see if she’ll light up again.
“You know what?” I lean in, dropping my voice to a more intimate level. “I’m going to take that as a compliment and run with it.”
“You should,” she says, the corner of her mouth lifting. “It was meant as one.”
I rest my elbows on the table. “So, Juliette from Kentucky, how are you finding our little corner of Scotland?”
“I love it. I’m fully immersing myself. I’m even helping your sister with her local author night next week.”
“I didn’t realize my sister was recruiting beautiful Americans for her literary endeavors.”
I didn’t expect that to come out of my mouth. It’s not like me. I’m usually the type to keep my thoughts to myself, but with her, the words seem to slip out before I can stop them.
