She opened the door and found Guthrie standing there, frowning. She felt her whole body warm uncomfortably, worried that he knew what this was all about.

“Baird?” Guthrie asked.

She didn’t want Guthrie and his family to know the financial bind her family was in. Some things were just private. If she’d already been mated to Guthrie, that would have been different.

“I…was just talking to my parents. Checking on them to see how they were doing on their trip.”

“What’s wrong, Calla?” He placed his hand on her cheek. “You’re ice cold.”

“I took the call outside until I realized how cold it was out there without a coat.”

He took in a deep breath of her, smelling her anxiousness as a wolf would. He took her hand and led her to the two chairs and table in a corner of the room. Instead of guiding her to one of the chairs, he sat down and pulled her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, warming her.

She didn’t need this right now. Wanted it, aye, but she needed to learn if she could find out anything about the money. She felt stiff in his arms, unable to relax.

“Okay, tell me what’s going on.”

“They asked me to run to the bank and take care of some business for them.”

Guthrie looked like he didn’t believe that was all there was to it. Not the way she was reacting. She wanted to ask him how long he’d been standing at the door.

“Do you need money?” he asked, coming straight to the point.

“Personal finances aren’t something one discusses with just anyone,” she said, frowning at him. He had listened at the door! Or overheard some of the conversation when he approached. That was the problem with enhanced wolf hearing.

He began stroking her back, trying to get her to relax. “I overheard something about financial difficulty, though I hadn’t meant to. Let me help.”

“Nay, Guthrie. This isn’t any of your business.”

“All right. Then do you have enough money to cover the expense?”

“Guthrie, some things are…well, just not discussed.”

“But if you need money, I can get it for you—”

“Nay.” She got off his lap. “I really need to go into town and see what I can do about this.”

“It’s that urgent?” he asked, standing.

“Aye, it is.”

“It’s too late to do anything about it tonight. You’ll have to wait until morning.”

She was so flustered that she hadn’t even realized it was way too late for anything to be open.

He hesitated, then pulled her into his arms and held her tight. She didn’t embrace him back, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible and unable to think of anything else. But he didn’t seem to care, or maybe he understood she was feeling ultra-distressed. He rubbed her back again, and she looked up at him, fighting damnable tears. How could he be so caring and tender when she was trying her damnedest to keep her mind on business and maintain her family’s secret? Should it get out, her family’s business and their home would be lost.

“You can always talk to me about anything,” he said, then kissed her lips gently, a no-pressure kind of kiss.

That made her swallow hard as she nodded and pulled away.

“I could sell my carriage house and move into my parents’ manor house…”

“It seems a shame to split up your parents’ estate. What if you leased it out? Or used it as a bed-and-breakfast?”

“My parents were looking into having one. Their estate is near the lake, and the mountains are close by for hiking and climbing. A river for boating. Aye, it could work. And the income from that could help to pay off their debt.” She hadn’t realized her mistake until she’d said it. She hadn’t meant to tell Guthrie this had all to do with her parents.

“It could. We need to settle this little bit of business between us first, though.”

“I don’t want you to feel pressured into making any decisions about us right now. You and your family have done so much for me already, and—”

“Calla, this is not about saving your parents from a bad debt. Your family has been friends with ours forever. We would help out as much as we can anyway—especially considering what must be at stake. Protecting you from Baird was something we would never have given another thought.” He took a deep breath and took her hand and kissed it, his gaze focused on hers. “I would have you for my mate, Calla Stewart, if you will have me. If you’re not ready for marriage, then we’ll wait. Though it could possibly kill me.”

“What about your family? How will they view this?”

“Lass, if we didn’t mate, my brothers, and possibly my mother, would kill me. I’m sure my Aunt Agnes would. And there are my brothers’ mates and my cousin Heather. I can’t tell you how long that list goes. Getting Ian to capitulate to have the festivities at the castle was enough to make everyone love you. Me, most of all.”

She smiled a little.

“What about your parents?” he asked.

She felt her face flush with heat. Guthrie smiled. She didn’t want to tell him that her parents wished her to marry him—afraid he would believe it was all about wanting the MacNeill clan to help pay their debts. And her parents weren’t like that. Not normally. They’d want the best for her, and they knew the MacNeill pack was a good family-oriented pack to belong to. But Calla had to tell him the truth.