Outside, a clear night reigned. Blue-black velvety skies showcased dazzling white and multicoloured stars, a blanket overhead of sparkling pinpricks. I gazed up and kept on staring. For most of the time I’d been in Scotland, it had been cloudy. But the lack of light pollution made for a spectacular display of our galaxy.
Cameron paused beside me. “Beautiful, no?”
“I’ve never seen the stars like this.”
He unlocked the car then paused at the door. “A great place to see this is down by the loch; the expanse of open water reflects the sky. It’s pretty. I could stop there on the way to taking ye home. If ye like.”
He’d read my mind.
“That could be nice.”
We held each other’s gaze for a long, testing second, and something new sparked low in my belly. Cameron gestured to the car, and we climbed in.
This time, I set the music, choosing a Pearl Jam track I could play off by heart.
In a few minutes, he’d eased the big car back through the forest, down a track, and on to the side of the water.
We stopped by a pebble beach, a wooden deck running out into deeper water.
Outside the car, Cameron rounded the bonnet, pausing instead of approaching me.
He had something to say, but so did I.
“I’m a mess,” I announced out of the blue. “Like fucked-up-likely-to-do-something-bad kind of mess. I overreact to you pretty much every time we meet, and I wish I didn’t.”
He stuck his thumbs into his belt loops and pressed his lips together, maybe knowing I had to say my piece.
“Last night, I was rude. I saw the camera bag and had to get out of there. God knows what your parents must think of me.”
“They won’t think anything,” he replied, low.
“They should. You should. All I’ve done is be mean to you since I landed. I’m horrible. Yet every day, you’ve showed up and tried to make nice. Why?”
He raised a shoulder. “I dinna think you’re horrible. Just hurting.”
I opened and closed my mouth, suddenly acutely aware of being outdoors. Against the car, I shouldn’t be visible to anyone spying. If anyone was even out there. I’d had people haunt the bushes outside the gates of Mom’s house for up to a week before.
My heart sped at the memories, and I lost myself to whatever the big Highlander said next.
Cameron sighed and strode the short distance until he was right in front of me.
Then without ceremony, he pulled me against his chest, wrapped his arms around me, and held me. From the car, Pearl Jam still played, Black coming on.
Cameron’s method, bringing me closer rather than crowding me with his body, alarmed me far less that it should.
“Before ye ask what I’m doing, if anyone ever needed a hug, lass, it’s ye.”
“I don’t, I mean, I wasn’t…”
“Hush a minute.”
I stopped trying to speak and gave in to the hold, resting my head on Cameron’s chest, over his soft t-shirt where he’d held the newborn.
He smelled of Baby G.
The too-familiar music lulled me.
Cameron’s heartbeats became my focus.
I counted them, every thud, thud, thud. Slowly, so slowly, tension left me, until my own rapid pulse matched Cameron’s steady one.
Like the baby, I’d been calmed by an all-encompassing sense of safety. Every single one of my jangled nerve endings dimmed in their intensity. I huddled closer, a rapid addiction forming, calling me to keep with this new drug of choice.
This solid, dependable man. So big against me.
How long we stood by the car, the waves gently breaking on the shore over Cameron’s shoulder, I couldn’t say.
I couldn’t care either.
When the song came to an end, Cameron released me.
I didn’t miss the small smile at his lips. “Want to meet someone fun?”
“Who?”
“Max. Another cousin. He’s been messaging me this evening. You’ll like him. We can hang out for a while.”
“Okay.”
He sent a quick text then put a hand out for me to walk down the dock. I reached and took his fingers, chasing that connection.
Cameron’s hand curled around mine, and his thumb rubbed over my knuckles.
“Wait,” I said halfway along the dock. “I always loved those travel pictures where the person looks like they’re leading their loved one somewhere beautiful.”
“Want me to take another photo for your fans?”
“Do you mind?”
He extended his other hand for my phone, then aimed it down his arm to line up the shot.
“I’ve set the flash. Look away so it doesnae blind ye.”
I did as ordered, and he took the shot.
At the end of the dock, we sat on the warm wood, and I loaded the picture. This one showed my hand in what was clearly a man’s, a leather tie over the smattering of hair at Cameron’s wrist, and me half turned away to dance towards the rippling water.
“I love it. I’ll post it tonight.”
Cameron gazed at me. I stared right back.
“I did something really stupid before I left LA,” I said in a rush. “My ex-boyfriend had… He’s a fucking asshole. He went on a date with a friend of mine then was awful to her. We dumped horse manure on his car.”
Cameron widened his eyes. “Holy fuck.”
“I know! The friend works at an equestrian centre in Burbank, not far from where Derren and I were filming. Long story short, she drove to the set, I gave her the car park code then met her. She parked beside Derren’s open Lamborghini, and we…” I mimed us carrying buckets and emptying the manure into the car.
“It stank. Dripping, well-rotted shit slopped all over the seats. Oozing into the controls.”
This was the story I’d expected to break any day. There had been no direct witnesses in the twenty seconds it took to carry out the act, but there was also no doubt who could’ve done it.
Ruining Derren’s precious vehicle was nothing compared to what he deserved, but it had been planned before the last day of filming. Before his awful act. I’d done it on autopilot, still reeling from what had happened, but needing to support my friend.
To my surprise, Cameron put back his head and laughed, a deep rolling sound that had me fascinated with his show of raw emotion.
I laughed with him, for the first time in forever.
“Did ye see his face when he found it?”
“I wish. Sadly not.”
An engine roared along the track.
“Ah, lass, you’re a hoot. I hope the bastard got the message.”
“You know, you’re fun,” I blurted. “You asked if I wanted to meet someone fun, but I already have.”
In a moment of madness, I leaned in and pressed my lips to his cheek.
The roar neared, a motorbike, heading our way.
The biker shot past Cameron’s big car and across the beach to the narrow dock. He bumped up onto the slats and bore down on us.
Fast.
Then he braked hard and stopped three feet away, idling the engine.
Cameron shook off the stupor from my errant kiss and rolled his eyes. “Max is way more fun than me,” he yelled over the racket. Then he regarded the man on the bike. “What the fuck are ye going to do now? I hope ye fall into the water.”
Cameron was right, Max had no space to turn around. The water looked deep here, too.
The other man killed the headlight then the engine and leaned on his handlebars, no helmet on. “Ye doubting my skills?”
He was a few years younger than Cameron but cute, with that bad boy look women went for. A devilish smirk, angled jaw, and cocky set to his features. A real heartbreaker.
“Max, meet Elise. Elise, meet Max. He’s an idiot, but I think you’ll like him.”
I waved.
Max winked and coasted the bike off the deck in a perfect straight line until he reached the beach. He left it there and strolled back to us, his grin still in place.
“I know ye contacted me,” he pointed at his chest, “but got to say I’m feeling like I’m a third wheel right now. Is this a date? It looks like one.”
A date? I drew away an inch and considered the word. I hadn’t expected to feel the tiniest sense of romantic inclination.
Yet something stirred in my blood for Cameron.
Cameron saved me. “Naw, we’re just hanging out. Elise is Leo’s guest.”
Max sat cross-legged beside us. “Hold the fucking phone, I know ye. I’ve seen your films. Cameron plays them all the time.”
“Shut up, Max,” Cameron said.
Max’s smirk grew. “He’s had the biggest crush on ye for years. Did ye know he named his dog for ye?”
I started on a laugh. “You’re kidding. Ellie is named for me?”
Cameron placed his head in his hands. “Seriously, Max?” He peeked at me. “Aye, that’s true, but I already told ye my teenage crush is long dead. I’m naw chasing ye.”
I poked him with a finger. His embarrassment was beyond cute.
“Your family keep dropping you in it.”
His cousin tilted his head. “Who else did?”
“His mom. She thought he was out with me late one evening.” I eyed Cameron again. “Where were you that night? I’ve been wondering.”
“Ask Max,” he rumbled from the depths of his hiding.
“We went for a wee swim, that was all. Off a tall cliff.” Max’s eyebrows merged, and he switched his gaze to his cousin. “Cam, I have a question for ye.”
“I figured as much since you’ve been blowing up my phone all evening.”
“I’m thinking about moving into Cait’s old cottage. It’s sitting there empty, and it’s time I had my own place. Want to split the rent?”
Cameron sat upright once more. “It’s one bedroom, aye?”
“We could make it work with the lounge.”
“I’ll think about it. If I choose naw, I’ll stay over when ye need company, ye ken.”
When he talked to Max, Cameron’s accent thickened. It took a moment for me to translate some of his words. He loved his home but he loved his cousin, too.
They had such an amazing life here. Friends everywhere. Beautiful scenery, safety, family. Tonight, I finally felt warm, and it all hit me in a wave.
Soon, I’d leave and this blip in my reality would be over.
I leapt up. “You said you went swimming. Can we swim here?”
Max waggled his head. “Aye, it’s a bonnie night. I’m up for a dip.”
“I need to burn some energy. Is it cold?” I stooped to touch the water.
The younger man batted my hand away. “Nope. You’ll never get in if ye feel the temperature. Best thing is to jump. It’s what we do for Hogmanay when there’s a layer of ice to crash through.”
“I’m fully dressed. I can’t strip in case someone sees me.”
Or photographed me in my underwear.
“Borrow Cam’s shirt. I’m sure he willnae mind.”
Max stood and dragged his sleeveless t-shirt off, then shucked his jeans. I averted my eyes, watching Cameron instead, still reclined on the deck.
“Are ye sure ye want to do this?” he asked softly.
“One hundred percent.”
I offered him my hand, and he took it, easing to his feet.
Electricity danced where we touched.
That was new.
Nice, too.
Cameron reached back and pulled his shirt over his head then handed it to me. I tried hard not to stare at his body but failed. His narrow, toned waist led to broad shoulders, beautifully formed.
Except for the scarring over his left shoulder. Moonlight glanced over dented flesh.
At some point, he’d been hurt, badly.
My split second of ogling ended as he and Max turned, facing the end of the dock and creating a barrier around me. I removed my hoodie, pulled the huge t-shirt over my head, then shed my yoga pants and shoes.
With no light on us at all, there was little chance I could be seen, and right now, the need to release energy beat all other fears.
“Ready,” I said.
Cameron reached and took my hand, drawing me next to him. “On the count of three,” he announced. “One, two, three.”
We leapt.
Freezing water rushed over me, soaking my clothes. I rose to the surface in a scramble and gasped, then shivered violently. “Oh God!”
Max yelled, rolling onto his back to splash away.
Apparently impervious to the chill, Cameron only watched me as if he needed to know I was okay. He swam a few lengths, and I followed.
Like kids, we played in the water.
Overhead, the stars watched on. Lightness filled my heart.
Too soon, the exhilaration gave way to icy shivers. We climbed out and sprinted for the car, too cold to linger. A shouted goodbye to Max saw us back onto the road, and in a few minutes, we were home.
At the door to the bothy, I shivered, my hair dripping cold water down my neck.
Cameron braced his forearm on the doorframe.
Neither of us said a word, and tension grew.
That same madness descended over me, alongside a sense of freedom after so long being a prisoner in my own mind. It overwhelmed me until there was only one thing I could do.
I pressed up on my toes and kissed him again.
What should’ve been a short but meaningful peck, my chilled, damp lips meeting his, escalated.
Heat flared between us. I grazed Cameron’s cheek with my fingertips, leaning into his warmth, all too aware of my speeding heart.
Cameron angled his head to perfect our connection, but otherwise remained utterly still, his hands kept to himself.
The sense of our bodies drawing together only grew stronger.
When I pulled away, fire danced in his eyes.
“Goodnight,” I stammered.
“See ye tomorrow, princess.” Cameron gave me a last, long look, then spun away.
The next morning, sipping coffee at the window, I saw the object of my newfound interest.
Because Cameron was exactly that.
My brain had fixated on him all night, the surprise of wanting him a shock.
In jeans and a dark t-shirt, he ran full pelt across the moor downhill from the bothy, falling to the ground behind a shrub. A second person followed, a hard-looking older man in military camo and with a shaved head.
My poor heart stuttered.
The second man spooked me. He wouldn’t be out of place in a lineup of paparazzi. What were they doing hiding outside of my cottage?
I could only guess at the answer.
