His expression became serious. ‘You should know I would never, ever cheat. It’s just not something I’d do.’
Her heart leapt. ‘I know that now. I feel like such an idiot. I know I should’ve just come to you and talked to you but… I was scared you weren’t interested in me that way. Especially after thinking I was a lesbian to begin with!’
He laughed. ‘For what it’s worth, I’ve been attracted to you from the day we met. Your sexual orientation didn’t stop that. And now, obviously, I realise I should’ve maybe not presumed either. We’re a grand pair, aren’t we?’
She smiled again. ‘We are.’
He pulled her close. ‘So, this… us… are we giving it a chance?’
She wanted to jump into his lap and tear off his clothes but managed to restrain herself, knowing Sophie was upstairs in bed. ‘Do you want to?’
He moved his face closer until their lips were almost touching. ‘I definitely do.’
His mouth met hers again and she closed her eyes, giving into the pent-up feelings she’d held on to ever since the day her friends had made her see him in a totally different light. His hand cupped her face and his tongue danced with hers. Her mind wandered to inappropriate things considering a child was upstairs asleep. But she couldn’t help it. It was like a flame had ignited inside of her and she had no intention of extinguishing it. Her heart felt whole… but not the kind of whole that meant she had needed a man to complete her. Simply that being held and kissed and desired made her feel ten feet tall. Invincible. And it was a wonderful feeling indeed.
Archie pulled away. ‘I’m going to have to take a breather. This is all a bit overwhelming. Sophie is—’
She placed a finger on his lips. ‘I totally understand. We can’t get carried away.’
‘So long as you know there’s nothing I’d like more than to carry you away,’ he said with another kiss. ‘So, what do we do now? Do we keep things quiet? Or do we tell people?’
She ran her fingers through his hair. ‘We shout it from the rooftops. My friends already know how I feel about you.’ She realised there was a chance he may wish to keep things on the down low due to his new position as a father and cleared her throat. ‘Unless you’d rather keep it quiet of course. I mean, I—’
He crushed his lips to hers once more and she felt him smile against her skin. ‘The rooftop is a good place to start.’ His kisses had slowed now, and he rested his forehead on hers. ‘Do you think Grace will be okay about this?’
‘I think Grace will be over the moon. She adores you. How could she not? How about Sophie?’
‘Same answer. She likes your biswits.’ He chuckled.
‘Bless her. She’s so cute. Her name for Rosabeth has kind of stuck in my head.’
‘Wozadeath,’ he said with a laugh. Dammit, he had heard her after all. ‘And Cakelin.’
‘I love that she calls me Cakelin. It kind of fits.’
He grinned. ‘It does. You’ve made me so happy, Cait. I can’t tell you how good this feels,’ he whispered.
‘I agree. I feel like I’ve known you a lifetime, but it hasn’t been that long really.’
‘No… but when you know, you know. And boy do I know,’ he said with a sexy smile and kissed her once more.
28
The Highland Games was in full swing. Glentorrin looked as picturesque as ever with the coloured bunting strung around every building, flowers blooming in every hanging basket, and the sun high in the sky overhead. It was a perfect day for the event.
Caitlin’s cake stall ran out of food around lunchtime, so she had the afternoon to spend with Archie and the girls. With Ruby’s help, Grace had taught Evin the moves to her dance routine, now that Cora was gone, and they were excited about the talent contest.
The week since she fell into Archie’s arms had been amazing. Caitlin knew, regardless of how fast it was happening, that she had completely fallen for him. Of course, she hadn’t told him yet. She didn’t want to appear anything like Barmy Budge, but in a way, she felt guilty for not believing Lyle when he said he’d fallen fast. She’d now done the exact same thing, even though she’d had no clue it was actually possible.
Watching Archie’s interactions with Sophie and Grace made her heart sing. Sophie was on his shoulders and Grace’s arm was linked through his as they walked around the stalls. Jules had a fundraising stand for the museum’s children’s area and Reid had painted mini Glentorrin pictures to sell. Archie had bought three already.
Kenneth was on the plant stall this year and Grace was, of course, first in the queue for that one. She had saved her pocket money for the day and had bought a plant based solely on its name – Cosmos. The flowers were bright pink and had the appearance of daisies. Grace had said they made her think of Archie because of the name. It was lovely to see Archie’s influence shining through. It was wonderful, too, how Sophie and Grace had taken to the new development. To see them you’d be forgiven for thinking things had always been this way.
As the sun shone down on them and Caitlin and Archie walked hand in hand, she remembered the previous year’s games and how she’d been jokily lusting after one of the contenders. How time had changed. This year she only had eyes for Archie, even when the same caber tosser took to the field, all kilted and muscled. Every so often, Archie would glance down at her, lift her hand to his lips and kiss her skin softly. He made her insides turn to jelly and she couldn’t help wondering when they were going to take the next step.
Later that evening, the talent contest in the new village hall wowed everyone as always, and when it was Grace and Evin’s turn, they took to the stage in their baggy jogging bottoms, bright T-shirts and baseball caps, and struck a pose. The opening bars to Bell Biv DeVoe’s ‘Poison’ began and Caitlin was immediately transported back to 1990. Where on earth had they found this song? She turned to see Ruby miming the lyrics and doing a more sedate version of the dance, and she laughed.Ah, okay, that explains it.
Ruby turned to face her and beamed. It was clear she was proud of her protégés. Evin would have looked right at home spinning on his head on a cardboard sheet in a street in the USA, complete with a boombox, and Grace added some quirky tap moves to the street dance piece. Caitlin too was almost bursting with pride.
