huge eyes. With a grimace over my unlucky timing, my best friend dove into the bathroom. The only word I caught in her hasty retreat was “shower.”
“Sorry to intrude.” Duncan held a small silver tray in his big hands, embarrassment evident on his face. “I brought ye your breakfast, Mackenna.”
The tray contained a mug of coffee, a covered plate, and a small green vase bursting with lavender. As I leaned over the arrangement and inhaled, my childhood came rushing back. All my happy summers spent in Alloway. Even the vase was a miniature version of Aunt Gracie’s, right down to the design and shade—which made total sense, if hers had originally also come from Doon.
I breathed in again, pulling the calming scent deep into my being. “Not that you’d have any way of knowing, but lavender is my favorite flower. Thank you.”
Duncan’s gaze traveled from my face down the length of my body and slowly back up. “’Tis customary, I hear, when a girl sleeps with you.”
“But we didn’t—” His lopsided smirk stopped me midsentence. He was teasing me—at least I thought that’s what he was doing. His light demeanor carried an undercurrent of something more serious that I couldn’t completely define.
“Funny,” I drawled, as Duncan set the tray on the end of the bed. “I was under the impression that if a maiden slept with an ogre, she’d wake up with a prince.”
“And didn’t ye?”
I slowly shook my head. “Sadly, no. Just the same smelly old ogre.”
“Tha’s too bad.” His intoxicating brogue dropped a full octave. “Because I woke up with a vision o’ loveliness.”
The sparkle in his eyes confirmed he’d slain whatever demons he’d been battling the night of the blizzard. Just to be sure, I asked, “So you’re, um, feeling better?”
“Aye. And I owe you an apology for my unconscionable behavior. Please allow me to make it up to you by escorting you to the ball tonight.”
Duncan’s resulting smile put an end to any lingering objections. He removed the top off the silver tray with a flourish. “This is the other part of my apology. I made it myself in Mag’s kitchen.”
I leaned over the dish of fruit blobs and a plate of unidentifiable brown stuff. “What is it?”
With mock affront, he set the cover down heavily. “Melon balls and crepes. They’re French.”
I stared dubiously at Duncan’s attempted cuisine. “I know what crepes are, but someone forgot to tell that stuff on the plate.”
“You’re a right hilarious lass, Mackenna Reid.” He gave me a playful shove that would’ve knocked me onto my breakfast had I not tensed for it. The playful gleam in his eyes faded into something more responsible as he bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet. “Unfortunately, I canna stay. I’ve much to do before the coronation.”
Disappointment burned through my chest. By tomorrow, I would be gone. Did he really want to waste the time we had left? Feeling reckless, I picked up a piece of melon and slowly slid it into my mouth with a throaty murmur of delight.
Duncan’s gaze riveted to my lips as he eliminated the space between us in two strides.
His large hands settled firmly, yet gently, on my hips. I angled my head to the right in feigned surprise and his tipped left in a hormonally charged game of chicken.
Batting my lashes, I whispered, “Sure I can’t tempt you to stay?”
“Nay.” A muscled ticked in his set jaw as his dark head managed a nearly imperceptible shake.
He was trying to beat me at my own game. But my acting skills gave me an advantage, both in discernment and one-ups-manship. I pressed my palms flat against his chiseled abdomen—low—and had the satisfaction of seeing his nostrils flare as I gave him a light shove. “Then you’d better go, Ogre.”
He overpowered my feeble attempt to repel him as if I were a paper doll. My heart thrummed against his body like an overexcited bird as he closed the gap between us. My eyelids drifted closed, as Duncan … kissed the tip of my nose?
I sensed him straighten up, while I waited idiotically with my eyes shut and my lips puckered. I might as well have worn a neon sign around my neck that said, “Desperate.” My lids snapped opened to find Duncan grinning at me. He appeared quite pleased with himself.
“Good-bye, Vision.” With a light chuckle, he released me and walked away.
The pompous jerk had won our little match. But the knowledge that he could and would walk away from me left a bitter taste in my mouth. Yes, I wanted him to get on with his life, but I didn’t want it to be easy. It wouldn’t be easy for me.
Listening to Duncan’s retreating footsteps, I felt like the unfortunate recipient of one of those cheesy vacation T-shirts: I slept with a Scottish prince and all I got was this lousy breakfast. Nauseated, I put the lid back on his sweet attempt at a homemade meal.
As soon as the front door closed, the bathroom opened behind me. Certain Vee’d been eavesdropping on my encounter with Duncan, I braced for her unsolicited opinion. Rather than comment about the tray of misshapen breakfast food, she tossed Aunt Gracie’s journal on the nightstand and turned to challenge me. “Maybe you should think about staying.”
“Not gonna happen.”
Her big turquoise eyes pleaded with me to be reasonable. Well, her version of reasonable. “At least think about it.”
“I have—and if I don’t leave, I’ll be trapped here. With no Broadway, and no guarantee that it would work out with Duncan. What if I stay for him and then he imprints or something?”
“Imprints? Uh, he’s not a werewolf.”
“You know what I mean. What if he has a Calling? Then I’ll be forced to spend my very long life watching him make googly eyes at some skank that I’ve sworn to hate on sight.”
Vee’s eyes turned fierce as angry tears gathered in the corners. “Love is a risk. Even with a Calling, nothing is sure. But if you want him, you need to fight for him!”
Holy segue, Marvin Hamlisch! We were no longer talking about the absurd challenges of my love life. “So Jamie admitted that you guys have a Calling?”
She flopped onto the bed as if her bone structure was no longer capable of supporting the crushing weight of her disappointment. “Pretty much. But he’s also got a duty to his kingdom, and a fiancee.”
“Alleged fiancee,” I countered as I sat beside her. “I haven’t seen a ring on that freakishly tiny finger, have you?”
Vee propped herself up on her elbows so that I had the benefit of seeing the determined expression fueling her counterargument. “No. But Jamie’s an honorable guy. If he’s got an understanding with Sofia, he’ll keep it.”
“What about the honor in obeying his Calling?”
“Please, just stop.” She rolled away from me onto her side, signaling I had pushed enough for the moment. Vee didn’t buckle easily, so I took the cue and backed off. She was afraid of getting hurt. I got that. People had been letting her down her whole life. But if she wanted this bad enough, she still had time to make it happen.
Changing tactics, I stood and walked around to sit on the other side of the bed. “Fine. You can make like Cinderella and disappear at the stroke of twelve. But until then, I’m acting as your FG.”
“FG?”
“Fairy Godmother.” I took Vee’s hands and gently pulled her up until we were eye to eye. “I’m going to make you all fancy, then you’re going to go to the ball and party like a rock star to ensure Jamie MacCrae regrets letting you go for the rest of his very long life.”
Vee chewed her lip as she thought over my proposal. “Okay. I’ll be your cinder girl, if you do something for me.”
