Large round tables were packed efficiently into the tight space, and just past the shiny square of dance floor, the band was playing a slightly modern version of “The Way You Look Tonight” to an appreciative couples crowd. Within seconds, Sean had my hand tucked fittingly in his and a spot for us among the dancers. A tiny spot, just big enough for one person to stand comfortably—he was very close. Body parts were getting acquainted.
“You’re not here with someone, are you?” Before I could answer him firmly in the negative, he was tightening his grip on my waist and leaning down to speak close in my ear. “Could get a tad awkward, explaining just how we met ...”
As he pulled back, his eyes darting sideways to meet mine, I finally found my voice.
“No. I’m here by myself, and I thought that subject was officially closed.” I lifted a single eyebrow, both in question and warning.
“You’re right. No more talk of escapee fungus. A fellow proponent of the ‘less talk, more action’ philosophy. Excellent.”
Oh. My. God. My synapses were slogging along here, unable to keep up with this man and his wealth of innuendo. Generally speaking I knew how to deal with men—I’d had plenty of practice walking the tightrope between “just friends” and the uncomfortable beyond. But this was definitely falling.
I was aware of every little brush of his body against mine—solid male against cowardly custard. Closing my eyes, I took a deep, calming breath and smelled peppermint, laundry soap, and spicy aftershave. It had been a long time since I’d been this close to a man. My grip tightened reflexively on his shoulder as I realized I’d really like to hang on to him for a little while.
My eyes were drifting closed in contentment when I noticed the little pewter pin flush against his collar. I inched closer, up on my toes now, to get a better look. It was an archer’s arm encircled with some sort of belt and words that weren’t English. I let go of him long enough to run my finger curiously over the pin’s surface. His fingers tightened at my waist, and his head tipped down to watch me. Self-conscious, I licked my lips, suddenly struck by an almost irresistible urge to lick his too, to just do it.
Skank Alert!
The little angel and I were tight, but I wasn’t used to having a devil on my other shoulder, throwing a kink in the works. What was I doing? Seriously thinking about licking this stranger’s lips? That even sounded slutty. I let my eyes flicker over them one more time, testing myself. Okay, no good. Now I wanted to nibble.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to regroup. The man was a stranger, for God’s sake. The last thing I needed was to be fantasizing about his lips. Never mind that I’d been doing it with a vengeance ever since he’d whispered in my ear and they’d skimmed hot on my skin. It didn’t matter—I planned to adopt the Las Vegas slogan for the entire evening: What happened at the wedding, stayed at the wedding.
That solution sounded stellar until the little devil spoke up again, reminding me that we were still at the wedding, and there were opportunities for the taking.
“What does it say?” I asked, glancing again at the little pewter pin and hoping to distract myself from further absurdity.
“Ghift Dhe Agus An Righ.” My knees buckled just slightly, hearing the lovely, lilting words spoken in his deep, dark voice. “It means ‘By the grace of God and King.’ It’s the MacInnes clan motto.”
The man spoke Gaelic—at least a little. As sexy goes, it was a major draw.
“Do you wear it all the time?”
“Not when I’m naked.”
My entire body went on full alert as I began to picture this eventuality, and there was suddenly a free-for-all in my head, with loud and urgent voices spouting off all kinds of inappropriate suggestions. “Can I arrange a viewing?” was my personal favorite.
“With Sean meanin’ ‘God’s gift’ and MacInnes ‘Unique One,’ it’s a lot to live up to.” It was impossible to tell from his grin whether he was teasing or serious.
I stared up at him, gaping probably, before my mouth eventually curved into the smile I reserved for that irresistible cockiness only certain guys could pull off. At that moment our song ended and was immediately followed by an up-tempo, brassy, big-band number. Giving Sean a sharp little shake of my head to warn that I wasn’t at all up for swing dancing, we stepped off the dance floor, our fingers still entwined.
It felt as if my temporary fantasy was in a fuzzy, in-between, about-to-change-back-to-reality limbo. Instinct had me turning toward the stairs, pulling him along behind me as we spiraled our way back down.
In the darker, quieter calm of downstairs, I turned to face him with a catch in my throat. “Thank you for the dance—and your help with a certain never-to-be-mentioned mushroom incident. Now, when I snap my fingers, you will remember none of this, particularly the search and rescue.” I caught his eye and snapped my fingers.
He let his eyes, twinkling with amusement, roam around the little castle, seemed to be considering, and eventually leaned down toward me.
I skittishly angled my lips away from his, just in case, but the closer he came, the more tingly I felt. And the devil was starting to get very persuasive ... Before I could do anything truly mortifying, his voice settled over me, that lilting, lazy accent skittering up my spine.
“You’ve a bit of a thing for me, don’t you?”
He pulled back just in time to avoid my head whipping around in shock. I stared wide-eyed at those long, long lashes curling around sparkling eyes, taking in his raised eyebrows and quirked lips. I couldn’t answer. Denying it now would come off as childish, cranky, and patently untrue. Much as I hated to admit it, I kinda did have a little thing for him. Some wedding fluke of a thing that shouldn’t even merit a mention. Sensible girls should never tell charming, accented men that they were powerless against them—it tipped the balance of power in precarious ways.
Besides, I was pretty sure it had been a rhetorical question, so I’d match him with one of my own.
“Do you have one for me?” Sooo not what I’d been planning to say ...
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Talk about your awkward situations!
“You don’t even know me.” I’d intended this to come out with just an edge of attitude, but he was so messing with my head that it came off embarrassingly coy. This had to stop.
“True, it’s early going yet, but so far I’m smitten.” Placing his hand on my elbow, he led me toward a private alcove, limned in candlelight.
“So far? You mean after our shared participation in an awkward mushroom incident and one casual dance.”
“I don’t think either of us believes it was casual.”
I shot him a vaguely concerned glance before letting my eyes settle on the pewter pin once more. “What part of Scotland?”
“Near the Isle of Skye, if you know where that is.”
With a soaring, overly optimistic feeling of possibility, I wondered if he could be one of the expatriots who’d come over from Scotland’s Silicon Glen to work in Austin’s semiconductor sprawl. Maybe underneath it all, he was a geek at heart.
Not bloody likely ...
“Why Austin?” I was fishing.
“It’s the Live Music Capital of the World.”
I held my smile in place expectantly, waiting for the rest. But it wasn’t forthcoming.
“What else?” I finally prompted.
“South by Southwest.”
Okaaay.
“Pretty serious music fan, huh?”
“You could say that.”
I felt like I was missing something, so I crinkled my forehead in confusion and stared back at him, waiting.
“I’m with one of the festival’s showcased bands,” he confided, eyebrows raised, waiting for a reaction.
“Oh wow! Really? That’s awesome. I understand there’s some pretty stiff competition.” I shot him a shy smile. “I’ve never actually met someone in a band.” So much for the moratorium on flirting.
“Well, now ye have.”
“What’s the name of your band?”
“Loch’d In, with an ‘h’ instead of a ‘k,’ playing on the whole Scottish thing.” He was adorably disarming.
“Ah, clever. How many band members?”
“Four, including me. Ian on drums, Simon on keyboards, and Connor on bass guitar. They all do backup vocals as well.”
“What, no Scottish beauty with a killer voice?” I teased.
“Well, there is me, luv.” How was it that he was always one step ahead of me, and I was always stumbling to catch up?
“So the band doesn’t interfere with any of your jobs, or lives, or anything?”
“Not so much interfere as dominate.”
And then, like a flash, I got it, and my body began to cringe, curling in on itself, shirking the incompatibility. No wonder I’d felt so utterly out of my element.
“Sorry. I’m slow—you guys are professional musicians, right?” Sean was smiling, clearly amused to see me floundering.
“Pub players,” he finally answered. “And what about you, Ms. James?”
“I’m a product engineer at Integrated Micro.”
“Ah, so you’re one of those geeky girls.” I could tell by his smile that this was good-natured payback. “I suppose I should have pegged you from the start.”
“How could you not, given the circumstances?”
“I saw that mushroom go in, and my mind was wrapped around search and rescue. It’s the curse of the superhero, I’m afraid.”
Breathing deep, relaxing a little despite the dizzying frenzy of emotions ping-ponging inside me, I realized we were engaged in the clichéd wedding chitchat. Which made me wonder ...
“Hold on. You’re not a wedding crasher, are you?”
“Why? Are you?” After all the playfulness, his deadpan response took me a little off guard.
My eyebrow lifted all on its own. “You haven’t picked up on the higher concentration of geekiness in the vicinity? Most of the guys here are engineers at Micro.”
“So I’m sort of the odd man out.”
“Ya think?” I muttered.
“I’m actually backup for the band tonight. One of the guys—an old friend—has a wife who’s ready to have her baby. It’s down to the wire now, and he’s ready to bolt. He’s wearing a pager and two cell phones.”
“You can just step in and take over, just like that?”
“Pretty much.”
This didn’t seem like a big deal to him, but I was very impressed. I had no musical skills whatsoever, hence my “no karaoke” rule.
“What else can you do?” I asked, suddenly fascinated.
He blinked but took the high road. “I play the guitar, I’m decent on keyboards, and I’m told my singing voice is not too shabby.”
“My next-door neighbors could really use you at their Friday night karaoke parties,” I joked.
“So invite me,” he flirted, sliding his thumb over the back of my hand.
With no clue how to respond to that, the suggestion ended up dangling awkwardly between us.
“Allow me to demonstrate,” Sean said, clearly amused. “My band is playing Maggie Mae’s Thursday night. Will you come for a listen? I can leave passes for you with the manager.”
With the sconces above us flickering with candlelight, I opened my mouth to decline, but then glanced up at his face, letting that boyish grin melt me just a little. “Sure,” I finally answered, a resigned smile curving my lips. I knew that seeing him again and letting my mind get all tangled up in him was probably not a good idea. And yet, it’d be a shame to miss the chance, because I suspected he had a very talented mouth.
The sound of silver ringing against crystal kept that image from pulling me under, and as conversation gently died down, the announcement followed:
“The bride and groom will now be cutting the cake, if everyone would like to make their way into the foyer.”
My eyes met Sean’s, the question clear: Shall we?
Rather than answer, he settled his hand possessively at the base of my spine, gesturing gallantly for me to proceed him, and we abandoned our alcove to follow the crowd.
Even surrounded by wedding guests, I was aware of only Sean. Standing behind me, he was out of sight, and his hand, tracing shivery circles mere inches away from racy behavior, was driving me out of my mind. My breathing was erratic to say the least, and then he leaned in, his breath skimming my cheek.
“If he knows what he’s doing, he’ll muck it up, miss her mouth completely.”
His lip glided casually across my cheek, and my heart started to pound out a rhythm: Oh. My. God. Oh. My. God ... I didn’t even attempt a response.
“Real men lick the icing,” he teased, his voice as velvety as his lips. “I’ll snag you a piece.”
Then he was pulling away, taking all his warmth and innuendo with him. And cathartic relief was vying with pervasive disappointment. I was just barely recovering when he was back, with one single sliver, which he handed to me.
I awkwardly offered him the first bite. He grinned wolfishly and leaned down to take it. I forked up the second bite and closed my eyes in pleasure as the feather-light cake and decadent cream filling melded on my tongue. Finally ... cake.
Awareness snapped at me like a live wire. I’m having my cake.
Sean, who a moment ago had been intently watching me savor my first bite, was now looking at me curiously, probably wondering if my cake had gone down the wrong way. Sean, whom I’d just met.
Have your cake ... but meet him too.
Oh my God! How did I miss this? I was just about to follow Brett upstairs, thinking he was him, and then there was that damn mushroom ... and Sean. Oh my God! Is it possible the magic—or voodoo—or whatever it is—isn’t confined to the journal? Did Fairy Jane somehow flick a mushroom down my dress and finagle this whole thing merely to make me forget about Brett and ... Shit—Brett! I totally left him hanging—I never went up—Oh. My. God. I did go upstairs—I went up with Sean, danced with him, drooled over him ...
“Nicola, are you all right?” The concern was clear in Sean’s voice. But I couldn’t handle this right now—I didn’t want to think or explain. I just needed to go.
“I need to go.” This time I said it out loud, my voice watery. I looked for a place to dump my plate. Even the cake no longer appealed, almost as if it was tainted.
Sean stepped forward, took the plate, and set it in a niche beside a beautiful bouquet of wedding flowers. And then his hands came around me, moving me off, away from the crowd.
“What is it?” His eyes had sharpened their focus and darkened with concern.
Forcing a smile, I made myself look into his eyes as long as I could before letting my own dart away again. “It’s nothing. It’s just that I’m cold and my feet are nearly numb.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Sean was generously shrugging off his jacket.
“Daft! Just distracted, I guess. I assumed you were warm enough wrapped up in your scarf. That’s not to say that I missed even a single opportunity to ogle your lovely bare legs.”
Now I definitely didn’t need the jacket—I could feel the warm tide of a flush creeping up my neck and settling on my cheeks. But as he swung it around my shoulders, I put my hand out, brushing his raspberry-colored sleeve.
“Seriously, though, unless you’re up for trading shoes, I should probably go. I just want to get out of this dress and these shoes and go to bed.” I heard the way that sounded and thrilled just a little at his pained expression.
“Is this your way of letting me down easy? Because if so, you’re failing miserably.”
I let a laugh escape and stepped backward, away from temptation. “Thank you for the cake and the dance. And the company. And the superhero save.”
“My pleasure. I’ll walk you out.” He stepped toward me, and in reaction, I stepped away.
“It’s fine. You really don’t need to—” I so desperately wanted to be out of there before I had to face Brett. Surely he’d come down at some point for cake—probably any minute now—and that could get downright awkward. Besides, a Band-Aid-style good-bye right here would really be best. I’d make a clean break and limp out the way I’d come in, and it’d be as if this whole evening was a dream.
“Ah, but I do.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, his own spicily scented jacket now settled between us, and began to lead me through the almost empty hallways of this little fairy-tale castle. “How else do you suppose I’ll snare a kiss?”
At this point in our acquaintance, his nerve didn’t even faze me, but despite the runaway thrill that went coursing through me, I felt the need to call him on it. “You really have a knack for those one-liners, don’t you? A perfect mix of charming and presumptuous so that a girl doesn’t know quite how to take you.”
“I’m not at all picky. Just take me.”
My laugh slid out on a sigh, and the moment felt oddly bittersweet. Sean and I would never be more than strangers, crossing paths for one magical night. Disturbingly magical, if it came to that.
Reality whipped in with the tingly cold snap of wind as we stepped out of the castle, away from the reception. The temperature had probably dropped ten degrees since the ceremony, but snuggled as I was into Sean’s jacket, inhaling deep breaths of spicy male, his arm wrapped snugly around my waist, I barely noticed the cold. After stumbling over a chunk of limestone and having Sean pull me more tightly against him, I decided to fake-trip all the way back to my car. He probably thought me an utter klutz. I preferred the term “go-getter.”
When he took the key from my hand to unlock the door, I was charmed. When he started the engine and cranked up the heat, I was enchanted. And when he leaned in to me and hovered just a whisper away from my lips, I was full-out panting. I held completely still, afraid to move, to break the spell, desperately wanting this one star-crossed kiss. I could have leaned in myself, but that would have been rushing things, and I most definitely didn’t want that. So I waited.
And then he shifted, just slightly, brushing his lips over the corner of my mouth before slowly pulling away. Not the cheek, which after the time we’d spent together would have been a bit of a letdown, and not technically the lips, which might have been just a little presumptuous. A perfect compromise. I’d congratulate his ingenuity, but I figured it might ruin the moment.
My fingers were itching to touch that little wonder spot, but I didn’t give in to the cliché. Instead I hugged his jacket even closer, knowing I was just seconds away from giving it up.
With a little separation once again between us, he looked down at me, and I realized he must be getting an eyeful of my self-induced, chilly weather cleavage. I peered back up at him, unwilling to move.
“You have a dress under there somewhere, right? Let’s have a look at it, shall we?” A nod toward the car. “Your heater’s on, and you’re going home alone. And I am a superhero.”
“A superhero looking for quid pro quo?” I lifted an eyebrow and tried to hold back a grin, because I’d already decided to give him a peek. Someone should see the magnificence of this dress, and who better than him?
Or maybe Brett ... Not now, Nicola. Not now!
Shrugging off his jacket, I offered it back to him, and shivered in its absence. Then I unpinned the brooch holding me together, shifting and rearranging until I was gripping the ends of my glamorous pashmina right in front of me. I closed my eyes and braced myself against the shock of cold air before yanking the ends open, waiting two excruciating beats, and swooping them closed again. Opening my eyes to sneak a peek at his face, I couldn’t help but wonder just how nippy it really was.
“Bloody hell. Come back inside ... ?”
It was obvious he didn’t expect an answer, and I didn’t offer one. Instead he held the door for me, and we shared our last moments.
“You’ve promised to come Thursday?” His tone was almost urgent, insisting.
“I did,” I said, wondering even now if I’d manage it.
“Perfect. So this really isn’t good-bye, just au revoir.”
“Definitely,” I agreed, not nearly as confident as I sounded.
“Well, then. It was lovely to meet you, Ms. James. I very much look forward to the next installment in what proves to be a very interesting saga.”
Saga? I couldn’t tell whether he was being deliberately obtuse or merely his charming, playful self.
“Likewise, Mr. MacInnes,” I countered, extending my hand for a businesslike shake.
With a twinkle of moonlight in his eyes, he took my hand, twisted it, and brought it to his lips.
And then somehow I was in the driver’s seat. Having turned from the moon, Sean’s eyes and face were dark, and it was slightly easier, like this, to shut the door.
Driving away, I watched him, watching me, his hands sunk deep into his pockets, until all that was left was to drive out of the woods, out of the fairy tale, back to the city. The stroke of midnight was still another couple of hours away, but Cinderella had definitely left the ball.