Chapter 9
NINE
UNLESS I KISS YOU FIRST
Callum
Every little noise of delight Mathilda made on the castle tour had my pulse spiking. Each time she squeezed my fingers it was like she had a hold of my heart and was plucking the strings.
I walked her to the west entrance first, showing her the big dining room with its heavy, scarred wooden furniture, the den with battered green sofas abused by the twins, and then the kitchens.
We climbed the first set of steps in the tower to see the gym, not going up farther as those were Gordain’s rooms. Every time we passed the great hall, Mathilda’s eyes were agog.
But I wanted to save that for the end.
Outside, I showed her the various repair work we’d done or had planned, and the vision I had to add a glassed-in atrium on the south side. In winter, daylight was rare. The five of us men were used to the gloom, but an outsider might not be. A woman from the south of England, say.
We returned to the big front door opening into the great hall.
“This is the perfect backdrop for wedding photos,” Mathilda breathed. She climbed the deep stone steps and placed a hand on the door.
I swallowed, loving the sight of her about to enter the heart of my home. I bounded up to stand beside her, an idea catching me. “Weddings, aye? Indulge me?”
She regarded me, her perfectly applied makeup showing off her gorgeous eyes. “Okay. With what?”
I swooped, catching her up in my arms, then I shoved the door fully open and strode through.
“Callum!” Mathilda shrieked, but she clung onto my neck as I advanced farther into the interior. I placed her down carefully before stepping back.
Holding her was nice. Very nice.
“Worth it.” I grinned, though my heart raced.
She stared at me, her hands smoothing over her skirt. The skirt which had been sliding up her thighs all day and driving me wild. “I can’t even remember the last time someone picked me up. I’m not the smallest of women.”
“You’re perfect.” I was far from being a small man, and her height was part of the attraction. I wouldn’t have to stoop so far to kiss her red lips. Mathilda pursed the lips in question as if she knew where my mind had gone, but I couldn’t drag my eyes off them.
I’d had more than one dream involving Mathilda Storm.
Not all of them hot and heavy. In the one last night, before I took the 5A.M. flight to fetch her, she’d been standing in the hall directing some of my estate staff.
Overseeing a busy morning, confident and in control.
She’d been at home, and my chest had ached something fierce when I’d woken.
I knew I’d projected too much on a woman I’d met for a single night and morning a month ago. Except spending today with her, and the way she’d handled the surprise confession I’d choked out in the car, told me how bang on my instincts were.
Mathilda was beautiful, strong, far smarter than me, and calm where I was heat and instinct. I hadn’t a hope of keeping cool like she’d asked. Impossible, when all I wanted was to push her back against one of the pillars that lined the east wall and kiss the living daylights out of her.
I drew a breath, watching as Mathilda turned full circle on the flagstones, taking in the hall. “This place is amazing. Everything I hoped it would be. I’d tried to guess from the pictures online but I didn’t even come close.”
“You looked me up? And you had hopes?” I blinked, and she threw me an amused glance.
“For you to hold weddings here. Target the American market. It’s perfect in every way.”
Hmm. “We’ve had a couple of people wed here, but we didnae charge much. Not for locals. Would it bring in enough to make it worth the effort?”
“Do you know what a venue can charge for a three-night event?” She gave me a figure, and my eyes widened.
I mean, damn.
“How is that possible?”
“You offer a full package. Accommodation, transport, privacy, so no other guests like a hotel would have. Entertainment, such as walks up the mountain, drives to see the deer, or boat trips on the loch. You haven’t shown me the bedrooms yet.
” Her gaze flitted to mine and away as she tapped her fingers against each of her points.
“But as long as you have somewhere beautiful for the bride and groom, the rest of the guests can stay in the hotel in the village. Or if you converted some of those cottages we passed back near the gates, you’d get even more income.
You have no idea how close you are to being able to do this. ”
She gestured with her hand, stepping closer to me.
I mirrored the position of her body. “A few lights and chairs, and you don’t have to do anything else to this room.
It’s already so picturesque. That fireplace with the carved chimney breast is incredible.
I love it. And you have ancient swords up the wall. It couldn’t be more perfect.”
“Gordain put those up. We found them in the cellars.” It had been my idea, too, along with the tattoos my brother and I had gotten, but Mathilda’s enthusiasm was having a strange effect on me, and I had to keep talking to hide my reeling senses.
This, her being here, was so right. “What about food and waiting staff?”
“A catering company can provide that. They can even bring the chairs and tables with all the fancy settings. Give them access to your kitchens and sit back and watch the money roll in. There’s enough of you to mean you don’t need to hire that many extra people.
You’d need a coordinator to make it all happen, if you can’t spare the time yourself.
But seriously, Callum, you only need to book in five to ten of these between May and September and you’ll be laughing. ”
A buzz of excitement filled the air around her as she talked.
It was catching, and I found myself considering how we could do it.
The profit was attractive, and running around after a wedding party would be no issue.
On my land, the boys could drive legally, and they loved to chat.
They’d enjoy being put to task. Plenty of local folk needed work, too, and would be willing.
“Of everything I’ve seen today, this is the easiest to set up and run with,” Mathilda concluded.
“It doesn’t mean it’s simple, but it’s high profit for what you’d need to spend.
And just look.” She drew a breath, exhaling in glee.
“What would it be like to be married here? Even I couldn’t have imagined somewhere so romantic. ”
“You’ve imagined your own wedding?”
“Who hasn’t?”
I snorted, but she had me. I’d imagined mine. Right here, in the great hall. My brothers as groomsmen and half the village as my guests.
The bubble around us tightened a notch, and Mathilda’s gaze fell from the carved stonework that ran from the fire to the blackened rafters. “Right now, I’d trade everything I’d dreamed to marry someone I loved.”
I’d avoided thinking about the fact she was considering another man’s proposal, but now an uncomfortable jealousy crept into my chest.
We were standing very close. It wasn’t close enough.
The expression she’d been wearing dropped, and Mathilda’s brown eyes widened. “You look like you’re about to kiss me.”
“I was thinking about it.”
Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
So I took the lead. “I’ve thought about you.
About whether I’d made up how attractive you are or how much I admired you.
I know you said you had complications”—I advanced an inch—“but you wouldnae be here today if you had no interest in me. You’re hard to work out, but that alone gives this man a shred of hope. ”
I took one of her spiral curls then rolled the soft hair between my fingers. Mathilda leaned into my hand, her gaze on me, her eyes both cautious and bright with anticipation. The pink on her cheeks deepened.
“Everything you’ve described, the weddings and all, I’ll willingly consider,” I said, “but right now, my home and my problems have all taken a back seat inside my brain.”
An echo sounded in the hall, boot steps in one of the passages. I blocked it out.
“Because you want to kiss me.” She smiled, and my blood ran hot.
“No. I want you to kiss me. I’ll chase ye to the ends of the earth but only if I know you want it.”
In a move that I think surprised us both, Mathilda placed her hand on my chest, her touch gentle. She brought her other hand to join it, and I took her arm, anticipation growing as we moved in closer, her feet between mine and our bodies aligned.
“You won’t kiss me unless I kiss you first?” she asked, her gaze on her fingertips, slowly moving them north.
Christ, she was feeling me up. Just like in the car when she nearly gave me a heart attack.
“I never said that.” I left alone the soft curls I was rapidly becoming obsessed with and tipped her chin up. Just beyond mine, her lips parted. I drew in a breath and leaned forward.
“Callum? Is Mathilda still… Oh! I’m sorry,” James’s voice boomed from the top of the stairs.
I screwed my eyes tight shut. This wasn’t happening.
“I didn’t… I’m going to go.” He chuckled.
Mathilda huffed an embarrassed laugh and stepped back from my arms. Fuck. Why was he living with me again? I was going to kill the bastard.
She cleared her throat. “Did you want to see me, James?”
At the start of the castle tour, I’d had my friend—my now ex-friend—come greet Mathilda. He was the only one home with the twins being at school and Gordain still away. We didn’t have long before I had to drive her back to the airport.
“I wrote a note,” James said. “For Beth.”
Beth? Ah, right. I called to mind Mathilda’s friend. Looked like the lass made an impact with her dramatic car stunt.
He ran a hand through his hair, rumpling it. “Would you be so kind as to pass it on to her?”
Mathilda cocked her head. I couldn’t move as all my blood had rushed elsewhere in my body. “I forgot you’d even met her,” she replied. “If you want, I can text her and ask if she doesn’t mind me passing on her number? You could talk to her on the phone.”