She held the bag up smiling. “I figured this was an emergency that called for donuts and lattes.”
Taking the tray of drinks from her, I motioned her inside and closed the door behind her. Once we reached the kitchen, I removed the cups from the tray to set them on the island, then grabbed some napkins and plates.
I sat next to her at the island and took a sip of the still hot latte while I stalled to find the right words to say.
She studied me over the rim of her cup. “So what happened since I saw you last? I’m thinking it was more exciting than my hangover remedy of a rom com marathon.”
I blew out a breath and set my coffee on the counter. Rotating in my seat, I decided it was best to just lay it out there. “I spent the day with a sexy Highlander.”
Her eyes widened and a slow smile curled her lips. “Dang, girl! Only you would find a hottie on your way home from drinks. And a Scottish one at that. The only guy I saw was Pedro, my Uber driver, and he was married with three kids.”
“I didn’t meet him on my way home. It sorta happened in the shower.”
She laughed and when I didn’t join her, she frowned in confusion. “Was he fixing a leak? I mean, I know you have a fantasy of banging a Highlander …”
Why was this so hard to explain? Peppermint’s a cardinal shifter and I’m a demigod. Our lives are surrounded by the unimaginable. How far of a stretch could time travel be for her to believe me?
“I didn’t actually meet him in the shower. It started in the shower and ended in eighteenth century Scotland.”
I lifted my cup and took a sip while I watched her reaction. She studied me for a moment, her head tipped to the side. Then she straightened in her chair, clapping her hands together. The sudden movement startled me and I nearly dropped my coffee.
“Just like Outlander! You’re Claire and he’s Jamie.” She released an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes. “So romantic.”
I shook my head. “It wasn’t romantic in the least. I was in the shower washing my hair when I was transported to Scotland. He was holding a bloody sword and I was naked.”
“Even better. No need to deal with all the formalities. Just get straight to the good stuff.”
Thinking of Callum and I in bed made my chest tighten. I didn’t want to tell Peppermint all of the details of my encounter with Callum. Those memories were all mine and weren’t meant to be shared.
“It doesn’t matter anyway.” Tears began to pool in my eyes and I scrubbed them away. “I’m here now and I’ll never see him again.”
She took a bite of her donut and chewed thoughtfully. “Claire believed the same thing ... look what happened to her. She found her way back to Jamie.”
“That’s because she knew it was the stones that sent her back. I have no clue what caused it for me.”
I had no idea why we were even having this conversation. Claire and Jamie weren’t real people, just fictional characters in a book. I couldn’t use the story of their life together as a guidebook to mine.
Peppermint rolled a sprinkle that had fallen on the counter back and forth under her finger. “You were in the shower when you went there. What were you doing when you came back?”
I had hoped to keep that part to myself, what happened between Callum and I was personal. Normally I wouldn’t mind sharing with her, but this time was different. Callum was nothing like any of the other guys I had been with. But if telling her helped us figure out how this all started then I had no choice.
“We were in bed.”
She smacked my arm and gasped. “So you did sleep with him. Was he huge and dominant? I always thought of Scots as dominant. Though if I were to go back in time, I think I would want a yummy Viking. You know the long hair, beards and axes. My total alpha fantasy.”
“Focus, Pep.”
“Okay,” She folded her hands in front of her, forcing her smile to fade. “So were you naked when you were in bed with him?”
I pursed my lips, not knowing if she was serious or not. “Of course I was naked. We just had sex.”
“Then that must be it. Your vagina is the portal to your eighteenth century Highlander.”
I crossed my legs as if leaving them open would suddenly suck me away. This conversation had now gone off the rails. “You can’t be serious.”
She shrugged. “What else could it be? I would say the shower, but you weren’t in the shower when you came back. It’s the only logical explanation.”
There was nothing logical about her explanation. How would I ever go to the bathroom again? What if I was sitting on the toilet and suddenly got swept into Callum’s dining hall while everyone was eating.
I mumbled, “I refuse to wear diapers.”
Peppermint scrunched her face in confusion. “What?”
“Nothing. Don’t mind me. Just losing my mind over here.” I began to think it was a mistake to confide in her. I know she meant well, but the conversation had just become ridiculous.
“What if he’s your soulmate and you're meant to be together? And that’s why you were sent to him.”
That part actually made the most sense. I had felt a strange tingle when we had first touched. Not to mention how right it felt to be in his arms. It wasn’t just sexual attraction, though there was that. What we had ran deeper. Yet I didn’t want to believe it could be true, because that would mean I had lost my one chance at finding happiness. I would just be settling with anyone else who came into my life.
“Pep, you’re over romanticizing all of this. I’m sure it will never happen again. Besides, there is nothing romantic about eighteenth century Scotland. There is no indoor plumbing, no internet, and I had no powers there, which means I would be susceptible to whatever diseases they have with no access to modern medicine.”
Tapping her lip, she stared at the ceiling. “You do have a point. About the disease thing at least. What if you could bring him here? Or even better, what if he was still alive? You could fly to Scotland and find him.”
It’s not like the thought hadn’t already crossed my mind. But finding him would be like finding a needle in a haystack. If he was even still alive. I pressed my hand against my stomach, the thought of Callum no longer being alive unsettled my stomach.
“You’re getting carried away. We made no promises to each other. Besides, even if he was still alive, centuries have passed. I’m sure he has long forgotten about me.”
Peppermint smacked her hand on the table. “I’m telling you. You were sent there for a reason and I believe that you will see him again.”
“Yes. I was sent there to check an item off of my bucket list. Maybe I can tackle the next one tomorrow.” I hated the lie that had spilled from my lips. My limited time with Callum was more than a challenge to complete.
“We’ll see.” She smirked.
I was terrified of getting sucked into the past with a man who might not feel the same way as me. And then I’d be trapped there powerless and alone. No. It was better to dream about how amazing my time with him had been and move on.
Only why in my heart did I feel he wouldn’t be that easy to forget?
10
Callum