“Are you all right?”
Gasping for breath, I muttered, “Yes” and looked away from his searching eyes. I’d finished reading the journal, so what was my deal? I had no good reason for keeping it a secret. All I knew was I needed to keep it to myself for the time being.
“What is a cell phone?”
Grateful for the change of subject, I said, “Oh, it’s a tiny communication device. But the battery—” His brows drew together over his nose. “I mean, the energy source died, so it doesn’t work.”
“I would love to take a look at this cell phone. It seems we will learn much through this Gathering.”
We both turned back to the view, a sudden silence stretched between us and I became very aware of his large body so close to mine.
Abruptly, Jamie stood up, and I turned to see him drag his fingers through his gold hair. As he lowered his hand, his bangs fell over his forehead, softening the strong angles of his face. In that moment he looked exactly like the boy I’d first seen in the parking lot.
“Why are ye smiling, lass?” I hadn’t realized my lips were curved until he spoke. Jamie smiled back, looking sheepish.
“Ah … nothing.” The smile dropped from my face. I wasn’t ready to have that conversation yet.
His eyes narrowed, and a muscle began to flex in his jaw. Clearly, something was on his mind, but I was oddly content to drink in the sight of him as he worked it out. What was it about this boy that I couldn’t resist? It was more than his appearance. The pull felt natural, like gravity or thirst—an inevitable force drawing me toward him. A force I needed to find the strength to fight … or did I?
“Shall we plan to get some exercise on the morrow?” Jamie asked, his dark eyes lighting up with boyish excitement. “We could take a hike to Muir Lea and then have a bit of archery practice?”
Finding my knees unexpectedly weak, I was grateful for the steady wall behind my back. Was Jamie MacCrae asking me on a date? Should I say no? Ask him what Sophia would think? Or maybe I needed to see this thing through, get to know him as a person, find out if he’d been envisioning me too. How could it hurt to spend a single afternoon with him?
Pushing off the wall, the question that popped out of my mouth surprised even me. “I thought you believed me to be in league with the witch.”
He arched a brow and considered for a moment before answering. “That remains to be seen.”
“But aren’t you afraid to be alone with me?” My pulse accelerated as he moved closer again, his eyes traveling from my bare toes up my body and finally resting on my face.
His lips slid into a slow grin. “Not in the way ye might think.”
Unwilling to analyze what he meant by that, I focused on answering his original question. “Okay, I’ll go. Sounds like fun.” I shrugged, trying to appear calm even though my pulse accelered with every heartbeat.
“Excellent.” He took a step closer, his eyes never leaving mine. I crossed my arms in front of my chest. Feeling the voluminous folds of fabric under my arms reminded me that I must look like a drowning rat in the huge robe. Jamie stopped so close I could smell the warm sweetness of his breath. “After chapel, then?”
I nodded, my eyes wandering to the adorable dimple in the center of his scruffy chin.
“Verranica?” I jerked slightly, wondering how the sound of my name on his lips could rock me every single time. Raising my eyes to his, the intensity of his stare took me by surprise. “Is that my brother’s robe yer wearing?”
“Uh-huh,” I answered distractedly as he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. The gentle touch of his fingers sent a wave of something like magma all the way to my core. Quickly, he jerked his hand away from my face and clenched his fingers into a tight fist. A vein pulsed in his throat, but his expression had gone stony again.