Page 71 of The Grump I Married
“She’s right,” Weston said, drawing my attention again. “You are cute.”
“Cute?”
“Gorgeous,” he amended. “Sexy. An alluring siren calling my name.” He leaned in to kiss me again, but I laughed and dodged his lips, checking my watch.
“I’ve gotta run and make sure the beer tent has enough ice.”
“I’m sure someone else has thought of that,” he said, tightening his hold on me in a way that made my chest clench. I wanted to toss my clipboard aside, wind my arms around his neck, and let him kiss me into oblivion. But I knew nothing would get done that way.
I was still his assistant. Still efficient and exceptionally good at my job.
“I think Tam and Mrs. Crawford are all over that by now,” he continued.
I patted his chest. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”
He smirked, releasing me. “Don’t forget you’re judging the cheese scone competition first,” I reminded him as I backed away.
“Aye,” he said. “Though I’d rather be judging all the ways I can get you to moan my name.”
“Weston!” I hissed.
He shot me a cocky, shit-eating grin before Locke and Alistair appeared from the crowd, calling his name.
“Okay, the turnout is amazing,” Isla said, holding a half-eaten Scotch egg in one hand and her camera in the other. “I mean,I’ve only been to a couple of these things so far, but the town is packed.”
I clutched my clipboard to my chest as I watched the crowds pass on the sidewalks, letting out a relieved breath even as the fluttery nerves snowballed around my stomach. Why hadn’t it calmed down yet? “You think so?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “You did an amazing job with outreach to the nearby communities.”
“Well, I think your social media blitz really helped,” I said, pressing my hand to my gut. “And all the amazing pictures you take. I mean, who doesn’t want to come down here and try one of Liam McGregor’s steak pies when they look good enough to eat off the screen?”
She flushed. “I’d say most of the credit for that goes to Liam, not me. But look at these.” She stuffed the rest of the Scotch egg in her mouth, bringing up a series of photos on her camera.
I looked over her shoulder. Weston, mid-laugh. Weston, his arm around Jo’s shoulder as they supervised the caber toss. Weston and Tam with a pint. Weston staring down at me, his hands cradling my jaw.
“The man is ridiculously photogenic.” She scanned through a few more photos, and I had two thoughts. One, Cynthia was going to eat those up. And two, Weston belonged on the cover ofGQ. “Youbothare.” She flipped to some photos of the two of us. “Like a photographer’s dream clients.”
“We clean up okay,” I admitted with a soft smile.
Her lips twisted as she looked at me. “How’s Weston doing, by the way? I figured today might be difficult. I know there’sa lot going on to keep him occupied, but it’s also a day where everything seems to be tied to Pete.”
“He’s holding it together,” I said. There’d been a moment first thing this morning, before we’d left Lochbrae, where he’d realized he’d never been to the festival without his Grandad before, and that had made him stop cold in the middle of the driveway. “I think he’s more proud than anything right now. But I’m sure it’s also tough. He’s not really big on sharing when he’s struggling with something.”
“Men,” Isla said, playfully rolling her eyes.
“Men,” I agreed. My watch buzzed, and I glanced down at it. “Oh, crap!”
“What?”
“I forgot about judging the haggis competition.” I tucked my clipboard under my arm. “I better get over there.”
Isla strung her camera around her neck. “I should come too. Something tells me this’ll make for a great photo.”
“How long have you been into the photography thing?” I asked as we made our way down the high street toward the judging tent.
“Oh, years,” she said. “I love being outdoors, and the views are often just too good to pass up. Mom and I were in Washington State, and I can barely remember a weekend where wedidn’tgo hiking when I was growing up. The landscape is different here, but it’s just as beautiful.”
“If you didn’t already have the inn to run, I’d say you should set up a photo studio.”
