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)
It was getting too hot in this fucking kilt anyway. I wore the Sutherland tartan, which was what the Adair family wore. A dark green with red, black, and white accents. All the Adair men wore a black evening kilt jacket with regulation doublet and vest. White shirt beneath. Black bow tie. Sporran. Socks. Dress shoes. The whole works. Lewis stood out in his biker boots instead.
A kilt was hot, though. Time to divest of the jacket at least.
“You, Fyfe Moray, should be dancing.” Lewis’s mum appeared at my side. She took the glass out of my hand, rested it on a nearby table, and then tugged me out onto the dance floor. We ended up next to Eilidh and Mor, and my heart lurched when Eilidh beamed up at me. Now Regan was attempting to show me the ceilidh moves, but I didn’t care because Eilidh joined in, her hands touching me, her perfume filling my senses as her laughter filled that empty place inside me.
Not long later, so aware of her every move, I saw Eilidh duck out of the village hall by herself. Unable to resist, I followed her. The chilly October air pierced through my shirt and I welcomed it. Though I’d shrugged off the kilt jacket a while ago, I was still fucking roasting in this getup. The cool air blowing up my bare legs was welcome too. After a few seconds of searching, I found Eilidh down the narrow lane between the hall and the building next door. Barely a shaft of moonlight lit her as she braced against the side of the village hall, her chin tilted as if she was looking at the slice of sky she could see above her.
“Hey.”
She jerked, pushing off the wall at my approach. “What are you doing here?”
“Just checking in with you.” I stopped, searching her expression, blurred by the darkness though it was.
“I’m fine. Just hot.” She chuckled, and a strand of hair that had fallen loose cascaded over her shoulder.
Instinctually, I reached out to tuck it behind her ear, and Eilidh sucked in a breath.
Her awareness sent a jolt of sensation to my dick. Maybe I’d had too many whiskies, after all.
She stepped away, pressing against the building. “I just needed a breath of air. I’ll see you back in there.”
I smirked at her attempt at dismissal. “I’m not leaving you out here alone.”
“It’s Ardnoch, Fyfe.”
“Aye. But once upon a time, this place was considered the crime capital of the Highlands.”
Eilidh chuckled. “It’s been quiet for a long time.”
“Has it? Because I thought Carianne had to run down a bloke to save Callie from being shot in the face last year.” I referred to the mess Callie’s French ex had sucked her into and how my high school ex had surprised us all by extracting her from that situation.
Carianne was at the wedding reception earlier but left with some bloke. Last month she’d moved to Inverness with her new partner, and I doubted we’d see much of her going forward. Callie mentioned Carianne had thrown herself into her relationship with this single dad and wasn’t interested in anything or anyone else now. We’d exchanged a few words. I was grateful for her and how she’d saved Callie, but that was the extent of any feeling between us.
“Fair enough.” Eilidh snorted. “But before then, it was quiet for a good while.”
I settled next to her against the wall. “You happy, Eils?”
“Happier than I have been in ages. I’m so glad Lewis and Callie found their way back to each other.”
I nudged her. “You know Lewis told me that you’re the reason they did. Apparently, you invited them to the same party in London and it was deliberate.”
“You have to remember that I was still friends with Callie. I could tell, despite her gorgeous French boyfriend, that she was changed by losing Lewis. That she hadn’t gotten over it. And Lewis …” Eilidh pushed off the wall, turning to face me. “My God, how many times did you catch him creeping on Callie’s socials?”
I chuckled. “Aye, more times than was healthy.”
“Right. And they wouldn’t tell anybody what happened between them and I thought if it was so awful, neither of them would still be hung up on the other. So I took the risk and shoved them together.” I could see her cheeky grin in the dark. “I didn’t think they’d sleep together and get pregnant.”
I gave a bark of laughter. “Then you don’t remember how horny for each other they were as teenagers.”
She wrinkled her nose adorably. “Do not say the word horny when talking about my brother.”
Unable to stop myself, I reached out to stroke a thumb over her smooth cheek. There was that rushing sound in my ears again and a foggy need blocking out my rationale. “It’s so fucking good to see you like this.”