Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
TORIN
It had been a hell of a day.
Week, month, year even. But that was just life. There was no use moaning about what had happened. I always found it best to crack on with what needed to be done. And what needed to be done was not fall head over heels for the impossibly beautiful Liora Webster.
It didn’t miss my attention that every time I told her she was beautiful she looked shocked. Who had she been dating that hadn’t complimented her? Eejits, probably. Stupid eejits who didn’t realize what they’d had.
Just thinking about having Liora’s lush body in my hands again was enough to make lust drive through me, and I had to take a deep breath and count to ten while I put the lasagna in the oven and pulled out the bottle of wine I’d opened yesterday.
Pouring Liora a glass without asking, I busied myself with getting plates out while I thought about my reaction to her.
Particularly because I couldn’t trust myself to speak right now without blurting out every nonsense that popped into my head.
Like how Liora was a freshly planted tree in my forest. What kind of ridiculous poetry had spewed out of my mouth?
I could only imagine the lads taking the piss if they ever caught wind of the way I was carrying on with Liora.
But, bloody hell, I’d meant every word of it.
Last night, after we’d kissed, and after I recovered from the shock of just taking her like I did, I’d lain awake for quite a while, drumming up the memories of Liora and Avery together.
Memories of Avery were mostly unpleasant, at least once I’d unpacked our relationship in the fall-out of our breakup.
We’d never really been a great fit, if I was honest. But when I thought about Liora and Avery’s friendship, I realized they’d never been particularly close friends—at least not from the way Avery had spoken about her.
We only saw Liora occasionally at the pub or when she was over for a glass of wine every now and again.
But of all of Avery’s friends, I’d liked Liora the most.
Avery had complained about her a time or two. Liora this and Liora that. She’s always in some sort of mess or another. Why can’t she get her life together?
Sure, from what I’d remembered, Liora had always seemed to have a problem that needed fixing, but she’d never really asked anyone for help either.
Where Avery had been Type A and well-ordered, Liora had sort of drifted at a whim, and I’d always wondered how the two had managed to stay friends.
In fact, I’d kind of hoped some of Liora would rub off on Avery, who ran her life ruthlessly on a schedule, which everyone, including me, had been meant to fall in line with.
Along with when I was meant to propose, give her children, and settle down.
It had all been a touch too scarily efficient for me, and when she’d flipped out over some astrological reading that Liora had done for her, it tipped our relationship over the edge to where we’d been heading anyway.
Rock bottom. Avery had manufactured the whole cheating idea, likely because it was easier than looking at her own faults, and had blasted both me and Liora with it.
She’d left Loren Brae, a trail of insults and accusations behind her, and Liora had followed shortly after.
I’d only been sad to see Liora leave.
They’d both left me to clean up the mess they’d made.
At the time, it had stung, largely because I prided myself on my reputation in town and didn’t want clients to think that I wasn’t trustworthy.
Eventually, over time, the rumors had faded away and life had returned to normal.
But now that Liora was back, I was certain the rumors would surface again.
Particularly since we were dating now—whether Liora realized it or not. Her fake dating idea was ridiculous, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t lean into really dating her.
I’d spent some time today after a few chaotic meetings with clients where I’d said the wrong things—like how I thought Mr. Smythe shouldn’t cut down a perfectly beautiful oak tree simply because he was too lazy to rake the leaves—decompressing among the trees.
One of my jobs, among many, was trail upkeep in a national park close to Loren Brae, and I’d spent several hours trimming back branches, clearing wood, and basically, talking to my trees as I worked myself through it.
What I’d landed on, after a few hours of introspection, was that I just didn’t care if people thought that I had been unfaithful to Avery.
My people knew that cheating and lying wasn’t in my nature.
And most people I’d worked with since that time knew that I did a good job, priced my services fairly, and delivered results on schedule.
Once I’d come to that conclusion, peace with the situation had settled within me.
It had also given me freedom to admit that maybe, just maybe, one of the reasons that the cheating rumor had stung so much was that I had always fancied Liora.
Not that I had ever planned to do anything about it.
I wasn’t one to cross lines. But since it was impossible for me to lie now, even to myself, I had to admit that I’d always been very attracted to Liora.
She was just so wildly different from anyone else that I knew.
She’d been endlessly optimistic—a stark contrast to Avery who was measured and pragmatic—cheerful and bubbly, where Avery had been regimented and ruled by schedules.
Sure, Liora had been chaotic, but she had also been a lot of fun to be around.
Maybe, even though nothing had ever happened between Liora and me, Avery had picked up on an undercurrent that I hadn’t even realized was there at the time. It would certainly explain her anger, as well as how quickly she latched onto the idea and gave me no room to defend myself.
Seeing her again had solidified what I’d always thought—Liora was mouthwateringly beautiful—and she’d always been a unique and vibrant person who had interested me.
I watched, now, as Liora curled into herself, her teeth digging into that sexy lower lip of hers, her eyes wide and dreamy as she got lost in whatever she was thinking about in the moment.
She did that, I noticed, drifted away on some thought or another.
I didn’t mind, as it gave me time to observe her beautiful face freely, and it was always fun to see her reanimate when she realized that she’d floated away from the conversation.
“What’s your sign, Torin?”
This time, it was me who had to be pulled back into the conversation. Smiling, I brought her over her glass of wine and slid into the chair across from her. Her hair was plaited back from her head, and I missed it being all messy and loose around her shoulders.
“I’m a Taurus.”
“That’s right, I remember now,” Liora murmured, a pleased expression flooding her face. “What’s your rising sign?”
The only thing rising on me was something that wasn’t polite to bring up in conversation, but I couldn’t help my body’s response to that kissable mouth of hers.
“You can’t possibly expect me to know that,” I said, laughing, and she laughed along with me.
“No, I don’t suppose you would. If you could just give me your birth date, where you were born and time—”
“Liora. Tell me what happened today.” I nudged the glass of wine across the table at her.
“Och, right. I mean, it wasn’t a bad day necessarily. It was just a day. But a big day. A momentous day. I think. It’s hard to say. It’s just that…” She trailed off as I grinned at her. “What?”
“I’d just forgotten how fun it was to listen to you talk.”
“Fun? Most people find me exasperating.” Liora twisted a silver ring at her thumb, and I wanted to take that sad look off her face.
“I find you fascinating. And incredibly sexy.”
Surprise flooded her face followed by that soft wash of pleasure that I desperately wanted to see on her face again. In my bed, preferably.
Was I moving too fast? Maybe. It wasn’t entirely in my nature to be this resolved in moving forward with dating someone, particularly someone new.
But Liora was old-new. I knew her, I liked her, and I was happy to see her again.
I hadn’t been lonely per se, but her arrival felt timely.
She fits this place. She was familiar, but at the same time, I still had so many layers to peel back.
Either way, she was the most interesting thing that had happened to me in ages, and I had to admit, if even just to myself, I was captivated.
“Um, thank you.” Liora took a gulp of her wine, and I was happy to see she wasn’t entirely unaffected by me.
“So… your day?” I smiled when she faltered, and realized she’d been looking at my hand where I’d been absently tracing a finger up and down my pint glass. Picking it up, I took a sip, just to calm myself down and stay focused.
“Well, the good news is… I got a job! I’ll be waitressing at The Tipsy Thistle.” Liora beamed at me, but I furrowed my brow, as confusion filled me.
“But I thought you were an astrologer. Or is that not what you’re doing anymore?”
“I mean, I am. But also I’m not. I mean, I was, professionally.
But that’s not … it’s just…” Liora waved a hand in the air and then went back to twisting the ring at her thumb.
“I ran into some issues there. So I’m just …
taking a break. For a bit. And Graham was great.
He said I can help on weekends and that should be at least enough for me to make rent. ”
“Wait, you’re worried about making rent?
” I tapped a finger on the table. I was feeling all sorts of sensations at the moment, not the most of which was annoyance that she’d be working with Graham regularly.
Not that Graham wasn’t a nice lad, it was just that most women fell head over heels for him.
Secondly, I was confused. I’d named a fairly low price for rent, one which most people shouldn’t struggle making.
If it was such a problem, I’d be happy to get rid of it altogether.
It was just a cover, really, for me to help my mum out.
“I mean, of course, I am. I have to pay the bills somehow.”
“Liora, I don’t want to put you in a tough spot. I’m happy to cover the rent.”
“That’s ridiculous, Torin.” Liora’s mouth gaped open in shock. “You barely know me. You can’t have me just move in for free and live off you.”
“But you’re my girlfriend, right? It’s weird to make your girlfriend pay rent.”
“I’m not … it’s not. First of all, no, it’s not. Plenty of people split finances with their partners. As a feminist, I take offense that you’d think you’d need to provide for me when I can provide for myself perfectly fine, thank you very much. And secondly, I don’t need your charity.”
“It’s not—”
“So, I’ll be working at the pub, which is a great way to make friends in the community again and dispel any previous bad rumors anyone had about me. Or you,” Liora finished off, lifting her chin and giving me a stubborn look.
I knew that look.
Every man should know that look and respond accordingly.
“Well, then, I’ll say congratulations. It’s a grand place, as you know, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time working there.
” I mentally sighed. It looked like I’d be going to the pub more often now.
Like I’d let her drive home late at night in that ancient tin can of a car of hers.
Not with the way things had been in Loren Brae of late.
“Thank you. I think I will too.”
“But you’ll still do your astrology, right? Don’t you love it? I feel like I remember you being obsessed with it.” Though those were Avery’s words, not my own.
“I do. I love it. It’s just not been the most …
lucrative of late.” Liora’s face shuttered, and I wanted to ask her more about why she loved astrology so much, just because her expression lit up with joy when she talked about it, but she continued on.
“But there’s something else that happened today. Something big.”
“Hit me with it.”
Liora narrowed those gorgeous blue eyes at me.
“It’s magickal related.”
“I can take it.” I shook my head when her eyes narrowed even farther. “Promise. I told you. You can’t live in Loren Brae and not understand that there’s magick afoot. It’s everywhere, isn’t it?”
“Is it? Where do you see it?” Liora’s eyes lit, but I waved a finger at her.
“Uh-uh. Stay on topic. What big magickal thing happened today?”
“Och, right. Um, well, it turns out that Loren Brae might just need me.”
I tilted my head at her and picked up my beer again, gesturing for her to go on.
“At the castle. There’s a magickal Order. The Order of Caledonia. Um, I’m not sure if I am meant to tell you everything, but basically it’s just that I took an oath. To help protect Loren Brae.”
“From…” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Um, the Kelpies. And bad people who want to do bad things with powerful items that don’t belong to them.”
At that, both eyebrows went up to my hairline.
“That sounds dangerous, Liora.”
“Och, I’m sure it’s perfectly fine.” Liora waved my concerns away. “Sophie says that our powers will help us.”
“Your powers.” I took a deep breath. Right, I’d known Liora was magickal of sorts, but this was really driving it home. “And what, exactly, would those be?”
“Great question.” Liora beamed at me. “I asked the same. I guess they’re meant to come to me and I’ll just figure it out as I go.”
This entire scenario would have made Avery break out in hives. I found my lips twitching at Liora’s impossible optimism.
“And this doesn’t freak you out?”
“Och, no, it one hundred percent does. But I’m in it now.
And I think it’s going to be grand. There are other women in the town who are part of it.
I’ve met a couple of them already. They’re really nice.
I think… I think it’s what I’m meant to be doing, Torin.
I’m meant to be here. And maybe that’s why I’ve felt like a key that hadn’t found its lock for so many years now. ”
At the sadness that filled her eyes, I reached across the table and held her hand.
“I have so many questions. But for now, I’ll just say… ceud mìle fàilte.”
One hundred thousand welcomes.
When Liora beamed at me across the table, I chuckled. That smile. She brings me joy. And maybe she was the one extending to me one hundred thousand welcomes. Maybe she was what I needed in my life.
Maybe this was the beginning of something very good.