Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
I’d deal with the tension between me and the director when I returned. I was only in Scotland for two nights, and I was like a kid at Christmas as the plane landed, desperate to deboard.
Uncle Lachlan greeted me as soon as I bounded off the plane. After hugs and reassurances, he gave me the keys to one of the vehicles in his estate fleet and sent me on my way to the village. I’d called Mum and she’d told me I could find Lewis at the Gloaming. I needed to reassure myself he was all right. I knew he had to be sick with worry over Callie. It made sense to pop into the pub first since it was on the route home. When Mum mentioned he was meeting Fyfe, I experienced a mass fluttering of butterflies in my stomach.
I couldn’t wait to see him. We’d been chatting every day for months either via text or call, but this would be the first time I’d seen Fyfe in person in a few years.
Pulling the SUV into an empty spot outside the Gloaming, I jumped out and locked it, anticipation fizzing through me. So many emotions. Plus exhaustion. I was a jittery mess as I hurried into the pub, not making eye contact with anyone in the hopes of getting to Lewis and Fyfe without interruption.
Striding into the restaurant, I sidestepped a waiter and caught sight of my big brother at a booth table with Fyfe.
They were in profile, and Fyfe … Fyfe was beautiful.
I mean, I already knew that. But in real life, he was bigger than I remembered. He was now a tae kwon do instructor and the physicality of that showed in his body.
The expensive blue shirt he wore stretched across his broad shoulders and he’d turned the sleeves up to reveal thick, veiny forearms. He gestured with his large manly hands as he chatted with my brother.
Fyfe Moray had grown from a wiry, slightly nerdy but unbelievably cute teenager into a man. His brown hair swept back off his forehead in thick waves. A short beard made him look older. Older than twenty-five. Closer to thirty.
It worked for him.
He was so handsome, he took my breath away, and that was only in profile.
My attention reluctantly moved to Lewis. If Fyfe looked like a sexy businessman with a casual edge, my big brother looked like a biker. Long hair in a man bun, his beard thicker than Fyfe’s. Tattooed. Jeans that had seen better days. Biker boots. Chunky silver rings adorning his fingers. Impossibly, Lewis was taller and broader than Fyfe but not by much.
Homesickness swept over me.
I missed my brother.
As I approached the table, their conversation drifted to my ears, and I almost faltered when I realized I was the subject.
“Eilidh is getting cynical in her old age,” Lewis replied to something Fyfe had said. “And since when do you talk to Eils?”
Fyfe’s gaze dropped to his menu. “She reached out after that video call. We text now and then.”
Now and then?
Try every bloody day.
Something about his blasé demeanor bothered me.
“All above board, aye?” The warning in Lewis’s voice made my pulse leap as I drew closer to their table. They hadn’t even noticed me.
“For fuck’s sake, Lew, what kind of question is that? It’s Eilidh. I wouldn’t touch her if she was the last woman on earth.”
Fyfe’s words might as well have been bullets for the way they ripped through me.
I was at their table now, though. They were seconds from noticing me.
And I didn’t want Fyfe to look up and see the truth.
That I was in love with him and he’d just devastated me.
Good thing I was a damn good actor.
I crossed my arms over my chest, making sure the internal wound he’d inflicted had no chance to bleed outwardly. “Good to know.”
My brother’s and Fyfe’s heads whipped around in surprise. Fyfe blanched as he realized I’d overheard everything.
My smirk was firmly in place, but I couldn’t quite keep the bite out of my tone as I continued, “And for the record, I’d rather have a love affair with my right hand than repopulate the world with you, Fyfe Moray.”
Remorse flickered in his dark eyes and he parted his lips to speak, but Lewis beat him to it.
My brother slid out of the booth and yanked me into his arms.
I squeezed my eyes closed, gripping onto his strong back as I melted into him.
Home.
“What are you doing here?” Lewis huffed out in delight.
“Weekend off. Thought I’d fly home to make sure you and Callie are okay.”
My brother gently eased out of my embrace. “You came all the way from Romania for a weekend?”
“I was worried, and my production team is great.” No need to burden him with the truth. “They chartered a private flight for me in the early hours of the morning. Uncle Lachlan let us use the airfield on the estate. Are you okay?”