What Were You Expecting? Read Online Free

strawberry-blonde head was bent over a cappuccino machine that was getting the full force of her frustration as she swore at it repeatedly in her thick Scottish accent.
    “Ye keech sheepshagger of a—”
    “Ah-hem,” Nils had cleared his throat to get her attention, but hadn’t prepared himself for the emerald green eyes that flashed up to meet his. He was rendered speechless by their sparkling depths, bursting with mischief and humor.
    “Ya caught me cursin’,” she said softly with an impish grin. “This damned thing willna foam.”
    He knew he was staring at her—at her smooth reddish hair that curled softly against the milky skin of her neck, at the smattering of freckles over her nose, at her cherry red lips, that spread into a bemused smile. She looked so much like…like…
    “Yer starin’,” she said, smacking the back of his hand lightly twice in quick succession. “Wake up!”
    The combination of her skin touching his and her gentle command forced him back to reality.
    “Sorry,” he muttered. “You’re new here.”
    She nodded, “Aye, that I am. I’m Lily’s niece.”
    “From Scotland?”
    “Aye, fresh from Glasgow. Ye ever been to Glasgow?”
    She turned away and when she turned back she’d placed a colorful mug of steaming coffee in front of him. He had no idea when he’d taken a seat on the stool in front of her.
    “N-no. Never left Montana.”
    “Och! That’s a shame. Scotland’s lovely, though not so much Glasgow. It’s a rough town. Gangs. Thieves!” She said this conspiratorially then grinned again like she was making a joke. “What you want is Inverness.”
    “Is that what I want?” he murmured, as his heart thumped painfully behind his ribs. Her looks were so familiar to him, but her accent kept throwing him. This isn’t Veronica. This isn’t Veronica. She’d folded her small, white freckled hands on the bar in front of him and he noticed she wore a Claddagh ring on the fourth finger of her right hand with the heart turned out.
    “Aye! The Loch Ness monster, Urquhart Castle, Cawdor Castle…d’ye like castles?” Her bright eyes captured his, animated and expectant, as he considered her question. In all his life, no one had ever asked if he liked castles. He certainly didn’t have a formed opinion. When he didn’t answer, she answered her own question. “Of course ye do. Everyone likes castles.”
    A chuckle bubbled up from his throat and before he could stop it, it escaped from his lips. The male equivalent of a giggle. It sounded so foreign and so ridiculous, his eyes flew open and he rubbed his jaw with his hand, trying to get his head around this strangely familiar new girl who fairly sparkled with teasing energy.
    “Ah! There ’tis. A wee smile. I knew you had one hidden somewhere behind all that sobriety.” She rolled the “r” grandly, drawing out the sound like a purr, and stuck out her hand. “I’m Maggie Campbell.”
    He lowered his hand from his face, unable to wipe away his grin completely as he clasped her delicate fingers in his tanned paw of a hand. “Nils Lindstrom.”
    She cocked her head to the side, smiling at him for a brief moment before pulling her hand away, but not before he noticed a slight blush flush her cheeks. “D’ye know anything about fixin’ coffeemakers, Nils?”
    And he couldn’t help it. Though he had no business offering genuine smiles to pretty girls, he’d smiled at her again.
    A cool breeze smacked him in the face and scattered his memories. How was it possible that was four years ago? Where had the time gone? He pulled the dark brown corduroy collar of his barn jacket up around his ears, grateful for his cowboy hat.
    Before Maggie’s arrival in Gardiner, Nils had been quietly satisfied with his life. He didn’t need much, and if he had longings deep in his heart for more than his life offered, he was able to ignore them. He lived quiet and alone, loving his family and avoiding anything more than an occasional