The Calum (6 page)

His portraiture was just
as breathtaking. Lovie traced the lines in the face of one
particular man, his skin a deep mahogany and his eyes bright and
black. It was difficult to tell how old he was, but easy to see
that he’d had a hard life. His hands were gnarled and twisted like
an old oak tree, the knuckles painfully swollen. They seemed to
tell his story.

“
I took that in Sri
Lanka.” Duff spoke over her shoulder as she reverently replaced the
photo back into his portfolio. “His name is Anoop. Was...Anoop.” He
looked away, haunted by some old tragedy.

“
What
happened?”

“
Floods.” Duff flipped
through some other prints, handing one to her. A small boy, dressed
in rags, sat atop a gilded elephant. They were walking on the
beach, and the sea stretched out behind them to infinity. The
perspective was striking.

“
Did you always want to be
a photographer?”

Duff rubbed the back of
his neck. The muscles in his arm flexed, and Lovie was momentarily
distracted. “When I was
naught
but five or six, me ma bought me
my first camera. It was love at first click.”

He sifted through a stack
of photos, handing her one of a fruit stand in some tropical place.
She could almost smell the bananas, mangoes, and
papayas.

“
I spent all of me
allowance on film and development. When I was fifteen, I got a job
after school at the local photo shop. Learned to develop the film.
How to get the most out o’ the negatives.”

Lovie was beginning to see
him in a new light. He was every bit the bad boy she imagined,
quick tempered and moody, with an acerbic wit. Behind all that hid
the soul of an artist. And he clearly adored his
grandmother.

“
Your eye is incredible,
Duff.” He shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise.
“Really.”

“
Ta.”

Their eyes locked, the air
between them charging like a defibrillator. A slow smile spread
across his mouth, and her stomach did a little flip. “Give me your
phone.”

Lovie blinked.
“Huh?”

“
Yer phone.” Duff held out
his hand. Lovie fished it out of her pocket and handed it
over.

He programmed a number
into her list of contacts. His number. Then he dialed himself to
capture hers.

“
If you, uh, find yerself
without an escort again...”

Call me
. He didn’t say it, but Lovie heard it loud and clear. She
smiled, turning away so that he couldn’t see the heat rising in her
cheeks.

“
Thanks, I
will.”

“
C’mon.” He bumped her
shoulder. Other body parts grew jealous. “It’s
gettin’
late. I’ll take ye
back.”

One Fine Day

It had been another
sleepless night in Inverness. Lovie was really sick of being tired.
She stared at the ceiling above her bed, mapping the small cracks
and bumps in the plaster. Eventually, she gave up and went to grab
some coffee, returning to the room with a small pot. No pastries,
this time. She had to get Jo up and out for breakfast early. They
had a long day planned.

A familiar bass line broke
the silence as Jo’s cell phone declared “Baby’s Got Back.” A hand
snaked out from her general location and grabbed it, pulling it
under the covers. There was a muffled ‘hello’ and then she sat
straight up, as if she were on puppet strings.

“
Hamish! Hey! No. I was
just-” Jo eyed Lovie’s mug. “Having coffee with Lovie.” Lovie took
the hint and poured her a cup. Jo accepted and mouthed a thank
you.

“
Today? Wow, sure. That
would be fun.” The bright smile that lit her face dimmed. “Oh,
well...hang on.” Uh oh. Puppy dog eyes.

“
What is it?” She already
knew.

Jo covered the phone.
“Would I be a horrible friend if I hung out with Hamish again
today?”

“
We were supposed to go up
to Culloden today. You know. The place that
you
went on and on
about?”

“
I know, and I’m sorry
but...” She grinned, pointing at the phone.

At this point, they may as
well have taken separate vacations. Whatever. Who was she to stand
in the way of storybook romance? “Okay, fine, I can walk around
town.” Or maybe call Duff.

“
You’ll have a much better
time without me. I’d only drag you down.”

“
I said it’s fine, Jo. Go
grind your corn, or whatever.”

“
Eww! It’s not like that.”
Jo giggled. “Not yet, anyway. I’m not that kind of
girl.”

She fluttered her
eyelashes.

“
Just be careful, okay?
Give me his number just in case. And keep your phone
on.”

“
Yes, mommy.” She winked,
uncovering the phone. “Hamish? What time do you want to
go?”

Jo jumped up and headed
for the shower.

Lovie pulled out her own
phone and stared.

Should she or shouldn’t
she? He said to do it. She pulled up the last calls and his name
popped up first. Her finger hovered over the button, but she
couldn’t summon the courage to call.

“
I’ll text,” she said to
no one. “That way, if he wants to, he can pretend he never got
it.”

Hey, I’m on my own again
today.

Ditched again?

Yep.

Me too. Got roofers coming
this morning, but I’ll pick you up after lunch.

Sounds good.

Wow, okay. Duff was going
to pick her up. Lovie chose not to acknowledge the butterflies in
her stomach. There would be no butterflies, it wasn’t a date. She
was just hanging out with a new friend. A mysterious new friend. A
mysterious, uber hot professional photographer friend with killer
blue eyes and a body she wanted to climb like a vine.

But still, just a friend
that offered to show her around.

At the insistence of his
grandmother.

But he had been a little
flirty.

Maybe he just felt sorry
for her.

Then again, he did give
her his number. He didn’t have to do that, right?

He’s just a good wing
man.

She flopped back onto the
bed.

Crap.

****

When Duff arrived at the
hotel, Lovie was strangely silent. She met him at the entrance with
a quiet ‘hello’, barely meeting his eyes. He ran through the events
of the night before, looking for what could have caused her mood.
“Everything awright?”

She frowned. “Huh?
Yeah.”

“
Do I need to apologize
for me gran?”

“
What? No!” Lovie smiled.
“She was sweet.”

“
I hope she didn’t offend
ye.” He opened the car door and waited until she was settled to
close it. When he sat down behind the wheel, she turned to
him.

“
Ginny made me miss my
grams. She died when I was nine.”

“
Oh, I’m
sorry.”

Lovie shrugged but sadness
ghosted over her face. “Thanks. And no worries, your gran is
awesome.”

“
Aye. That she is.” He
started the car and eased it slowly out into the road. “She’s no
got a mean bone in her body. Won’t put up with nonsense, either.
Sees everyone as equal. Raised me ma that way, and me ma raised me,
so...”

“
So, she’s your mother’s
mom?”

“
Yeah.” He didn’t want to
get into his family history.
Well, me
dad’s in prison, me ma died of a broken heart and I’m a pariah in
my hometown.
Not exactly the best
impression to make.

An awkward silence passed
as they headed toward the motorway.

“
So, ah, let’s go shoot
some photos. Or we could go to Dunrobin, if that’s what you’d
prefer.”

“
No, I’m good with
shooting.” She paused. “Unless you’d rather go to the
castle.”

“
Well, I told gran I’d
take ye.” Lovie gave him an odd look and began buttoning her coat
with swift, angry movements.

“
You can just drop me off
in town. I’m not a charity case.” She crossed her arms in a
huff.
The hell?

“
Charity? What are ye
talkin’ about?” Duff hit the brake, stopping them in the middle of
the road.

“
You’re going to cause a
traffic jam!”

“
Do ye see any other
cars?” Duff couldn’t figure this woman out. One moment she was
normal, and the next...she was just so aggravating. “What’s all
this about charity?”

She ducked her eyes, but
not before he caught the embarrassment in them.

“
I-I was just saying that
you don’t have to feel obligated.”

Ah ha.
Duff resumed the drive. What on earth did she have to feel
insecure about? She practically had him panting at her feet. “Gran
would be the first to tell ye that
gettin’
me to do
somethin’
I don’ wanna do is
akin to bathing a wild cat.”

Lovie rewarded him with a
soft giggle which hit him straight between the legs. She tucked her
hair behind her ear, something he longed to do. It looked as soft
as a patch of heather.

“
Where were you planning
to take pictures?”

“
I was headed up to Fort
George. Ye can get some great views of the sunset from
there.”

“
Sunset? It’s only one
o’clock.”

“
Aye, but the sun sets at
three-thirty today.”

Duff briefly glanced over
to see her checking her phone. “Waitin’ for a call?”

He’d have been surprised
if she didn’t have a boyfriend back in the States. Though, if she
had, she would be likely spending Christmas with him.

“
I was just checking to
see if Jo had been in touch.”

Ah, right.
“You
known
her long?”

“
Yeah, we met in high
school and went through college together. She’s older than me, by a
year, but she’s like a little sister. Always needs looking
after.”

He could relate. “Bit of a
dreamer?”

Lovie laughed softly. “A
bit. I feel kinda responsible for her.”

Duff knew all about
dreamers. His father had been one, always with his grand plans and
lofty ideas. As a kid, he’d wanted to dream big too. Be just like
him, his hero. Up until about ten years ago when his happy family
imploded, and any remnants of his childhood were blown to
smithereens.

“
Dreams are dangerous
things,” he said. “
Chasin’
after them can cost ye and those around ye. Cost
ye dear.”

“
Wow.” He saw her turn to
him out of the corner of his eye. “That was...deep.”

“
Aye, well we Scots are
deep thinkers, ye ken.” He added a comic level of gravitas to his
voice and was rewarded by her throaty laugh.

Christ, that
sound.

She settled back into her
seat. “Duly noted.”

Lovie ran a hand through
her hair, an auburn cloud of windswept curls. Out of the corner of
his eye, he watched her struggle to tame it with some kind
of
elastic
band.

A real shame.

Duff didn’t want it tamed.
He liked it wild. Free. Her hair had a personality unto itself. It
suited her.

They passed the twenty
minute drive in comfortable silence while Duff stole glimpses of
her. He couldn’t help it. Lovie was incredibly beautiful.
Stunningly so, and yet somehow completely unaware of the effect she
had on him.

It made her even more
appealing.

He pulled up to the fort
and parked, grabbing his camera bag from the back. “Shall
we?”

Crumbling Walls

Okay, Scotland was
officially fucking gorgeous. Lovie couldn’t quite believe it was
real. The ground was covered in a vibrant green carpet, frosted
with snow in patches.

The fort sat at the mouth
of Moray Firth. The brochure explained that the site had been
constructed after the last Jacobite uprising, when the Highland
clans fought their final battles against the English. It had been
used as a garrison ever since, overseeing sea access to Inverness
eleven miles away.

Jo would have loved this
place. Maybe Hamish had taken her there, who knew? She hadn’t heard
a peep from her all day.

Lovie snapped as many
photos as she could, kicking herself for not bringing her big
camera. Her little point-and-shoot had decent quality, but she
suffered from serious lens envy when Duff unpacked his Canon
5D.

Despite not living in the
area anymore, Duff seemed to know everyone. He had no trouble
convincing the desk guard to let them wander the premises
unescorted. They walked around, stopping occasionally to shoot,
speaking only in the hushed tones that the place
demanded.