"In your breath I found entire winters that never froze me."
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The skies above were painted in the softest strokes of violet and fading blue, clouds curling like whispered promises as the late spring sun dipped beneath the rolling hills.
The breeze carried with it that sharp, slightly salty scent that told you you were near the sea. I pressed my cheek gently against the cool windowpane of the Bentley's backseat, eyes wide and glittering with quiet awe as the car wove through the winding coastal roads.
Scotland was still so wildly unfamiliar. So foreign. I hadn't quite absorbed it-its jagged coastlines, its hauntingly beautiful skies, its endless, endless green. But something about today felt... heavier. Or maybe fuller. Like something unspoken was waiting for me at the end of this road.
"I still cannot believe this is happening," I murmured under my breath, fingers curling into the chiffon fabric on my lap. My voice sounded distant to even myself.
"Hmm?" mama asked from beside me, raising a finely arched brow, her crimson lips tugging into a wicked little smile as she tilted her head.
"Nothing," I lied quietly, flushing.
But she didn't buy it for a second.
"Oh, don't even try, darling," she smirked, leaning slightly closer, voice lowered like a secret. "I know that look. And I know exactly what's racing in that little head of yours." Her fingers tapped against her thigh rhythmically as she added, "You've been trying to act composed for your daddy, but you've been practically vibrating since afternoon."
I turned toward the window again, biting the inside of my cheek.
She knows. Of course she knows. She always knows.
"And let me tell you," she continued, eyes sparkling with mischief, "I am absolutely living for this moment. I mean, Aadam Alaric Callahan? After all these years? Oh, it's a storybook, darling. Your daddy would combust if he even knew half of what you were thinking."
I choked on my own breath. "Mama!"
She only grinned wider. "Oh, come on. You think I don't know how much you were hoping this Summer storm you met in the library was actually Aadam? I mean, good heavens, even the way you described his eyes..." She fluttered her lashes dramatically. "All poetic and broody. Like obsessed, sweetheart."
I buried my face in my hands. "Please stop talking."
She didn't.
"In fact, you owe me," she said smugly, turning toward me fully now, arms crossed. "It was me who got in touch with Amelia first. And oh, darling, she was absolutely delighted. Said she's been waiting for years to see you again. She's is dying to fuss over you. That woman's always had a soft spot for you, Renna."
