All sound save that of a throat clearing as a young maid arrived with a basket of food.
Dani launched herself away from him, back up onto the bench she’d somehow slid off of, her hands splayed across her pink cheeks.
Oh, yes, at this very moment he could think of many things worse than spending his life with a woman like this.
WHAT THE HELLhad just happened?
Dani ran her hands over her hot cheeks before lacing her fingers together in her lap.
One minute she’d been warning Malcolm about that creepy groomsman spying on them, and the next she’d been about to eat his face.
Good Lord. When the Faeries had transported her over, she must have left her self-control on the other side. At least any self-control where Malcolm MacDowylt was concerned.
He accepted a basket from the young woman who had—thankfully!—interrupted them, and spread out a selection of bread and cheese on the bench next to her. When he leaned in close to wrap a plaid around her shoulders, her heart beat so loud she was amazed he couldn’t hear it.
Perhaps he did. The lopsided grin he wore had been put there by something.
The breeze blew a curl across her face and she realized that somewhere along the way the stick she’d used to hold up her hair had failed her.
Probably about the same time her good sense had.
She lifted a shaking hand to remove the stick she’d threaded through her hair, wincing when the bark tangled.
“Allow me.” Malcolm stood and leaned over her, carefully separating the hair from around the stick.
Only when he stepped away, once again seating himself on the ground with his back against the tree, was she able to fully fill her lungs.
“Our watcher seems to have disappeared. Perhaps the serving girl frightened him away.”
Or perhaps he’d just had an eyeful.
Which would have been Malcolm’s intent.
Dani wanted to slap a hand to her forehead. What a dunce! It was as if she’d completely forgotten they were trying to convince Dermid that they were an item. No wonder he’d kissed her right after she’d told him they were being watched.
And here she’d allowed herself to think he might feel . . .
She seriously needed to get a grip. After all, the whole idea of using her as a distraction had beenheridea to begin with. She must have spent too long breathing in those fumes from the vats of ale this morning.
Hopefully, he’d assumed she was acting too. But just in case he hadn’t, she needed to keep it light and breezy now.
“Do you want some of this?” She held out a piece of bread, willing her hand to stop shaking. “Sitting out here with our meal is just like having a picnic on a date, isn’t it?”
He refused her offer with a shake of his head, his hands busy with his knife and a small stick. “Picnic?” His brow wrinkled in confusion as his eyes darted up to hers and back down to the idle whittling of his hand.
“Picnic. It’s when you pack up some food to take with you to eat outside. For enjoyment.”
“Hmmm,” he responded, as if he were trying to understand the concept. “And for this you set a meeting. A date, you called it.”
“Meeting? Not exactly.” Even though the Faerie Magic had done something so that she could communicate with people in this place and time, there were still many differences in their understanding of individual words. “Where I come from, a date is when two people spend time together to help determine if they really like each other. Sort of a bonding experience. To help you find the person you want to marry. Or just to have a good time.”
“And this . . .” He lifted his chin, motioning around them. “This is what a date is like?”
“More or less.” It was certainly uncomfortable enough to qualify as first-date territory.
“Well then . . .” Malcolm pushed up to his feet, straightening his plaid and replacing the small knife he’d used into the bag he wore at his waist. “I’ve work to do today, lass. Work that’ll no get done as long as I sit and enjoy yer company. Here.” He held out the stick he’d been carving. “To catch up yer hair. Without the bark to snag and pull.”
She accepted the token, surprised that he’d thought to do something like that for her. “Thank you.”
