Hot for the Scot

by Janice Maynard

  The minister stood to go. “Do you have that little book you recommended, Màiri?”

  “Och, yes. It’s in my bedroom. I’ll fetch it.” Then she looked at me. “Or perhaps Hayley would be so kind.” She sat down at the table as if her legs wouldn’t hold her up. “I hate to bother you, dear. It’s on the dresser. A little navy book with gold lettering.”

  “Of course,” I said. Something in her gaze made me uneasy, but I couldn’t say why.

  Màiri had made herself at home during her time with Angus. Her things were scattered all over the room, with no indication that she was planning to move back to her own house. I zeroed in on the dresser, spotting the blue book immediately. It was a collection of poetry. If Màiri and Fergus had progressed to sharing poems with each other, perhaps there was a chance for a mid-life romance yet.

  The top of the dresser was cluttered. As I picked up the little book of verse, my hand dislodged a letter beneath it. The crisp white pages fluttered to the floor. Muttering at my clumsiness, I crouched to pick them up.

  Phrases jumped out at me. Join the team. Play for us. Argentina. My heart stopped. Now I knew why Màiri had sent me down the hall. She wanted me to know that Angus had plans, big plans. And they didn’t include me.

  I couldn’t read anymore. The correspondence wasn’t meant for my eyes. I drew the line at snooping in someone’s private mail, even if it had been served up to me on a silver platter.

  When I returned to the kitchen, the reverend was gone. I held up the book, frowning. “I thought he was waiting for this.”

  Angus poured himself a glass of wine and sat down. “He got an emergency call and had to rush out.”

  Màiri nodded. “Leave it on the counter, dear. Fergus will be back tomorrow.”

  Chapter 33

  I was trembling and upset, but I couldn’t pretend that I hadn’t seen what I saw. I would face the problem head on. Leaning my hips against the counter, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Angus…”

  “Yes?” He looked up at me with the damned sexy grin that destroyed me every time.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about Argentina?”

  A frown creased his brows. “It never came up.”

  “And you didn’t think I might want to know?” I had asked him specifically about his plans for the future, and he had evaded my question. Now, I knew why.

  He seemed genuinely puzzled, the big dolt. “It didn’t have anything to do with you and me.”

  I flinched inwardly, but I wouldn’t let him see me cry. When I glanced at Màiri, the triumphant expression on her face told me everything I needed to know. She wanted me out of her son’s life, and she had taken steps to let me know I was nothing but a passing fancy to him. A tourist who would be gone by month’s end.

  The lump in my throat made it difficult to speak. “If you’ll both excuse me, I have a headache. I think I’ll lie down for a bit.”

  Angus gave me a look of puzzlement. “Don’t you want something to eat? We didn’t have dinner, remember?”

  I remembered everything. Every shining, perfect detail. That was the problem. “I remember,” I said. “But I’m not really hungry. I may grab a bowl of cereal later.”

  Somehow I made it out into the hallway without blubbering. In the midst of my heartbreak was anger. Not only anger at Angus but anger at myself for weaving fairy tales.

  I had to get out of this house. Fortunately, most everything I had brought with me to Scotland was in two bags in Angus’s car. When I stumbled outside, it had started to rain again. Of course it had. The stupid country couldn’t go one day without the skies opening up.

  So far, I had loved the rain. But now it seemed to mock my heartbreak.

  I grabbed my backpack and my overnight case, wondering if I could manage the big SUV. It was too huge for my comfort. Instead, I went around to the back of the house and found the Jeep Angus used around the property. The keys were in it. Good enough for me.

  I made my way down the hill with the tires slipping and sliding over the rain-slicked track. I couldn’t go back to Annis’s house. She was living upstairs in a tiny attic apartment until her floors were redone. I knew the few available accommodations in the village were filled with refugees from the flood.

  I decided to use the phone at the pub and call the hotel up the road where Angus and I had caught the boat to Urquhart Castle. Fortunately, they had one room left, a single. Perfect for people like me who were all alone.

  By this time, my emotions were numb. I told myself nothing had changed. I still had some days and nights remaining in my vacation. All I had to do was relocate and enjoy what time I had left.

  Thank God my plane ticket was still intact. I would contact the principal at my school first thing in the morning and tell her the e-mail was a joke, a bad joke…that I would report for duty as planned. That I had definitely not met the love of my life, and that I was kidding when I said I might be staying in Scotland indefinitely.

  Hopefully, she would buy that explanation.

  To add insult to injury, the Jeep wouldn’t start when I finished at the pub and went back outside. I kicked the tires—hard—which accomplished nothing more than to make my foot throb. I couldn’t go back to Angus’s house. I wouldn’t.

  The only thing left was to walk to the hotel. It wasn’t terribly far. I’d certainly walked longer distances.

  I slung the backpack over my shoulders and lifted the suitcase. There was no point in bothering with an umbrella. Suddenly, I flashed back to the day I arrived in Drumnadrochit. It seemed impossible to me that so much had changed in such a short time.

  I let the tears fall at last, knowing that no one was going to see me, and even if they did, my wet face would be attributed to the rain.

  I had trudged perhaps half a mile when a large black SUV pulled up beside me. The driver’s door swung open, and Angus glared at me. “What in the hell are you doing, Hayley? Get in the damned car.” Apparently, when he was really frustrated, he lapsed from Gaelic curses to good old American profanity.

  But I wouldn’t be bullied. Not today.

  “No thank you,” I said. I put my head down and kept walking. My pants were wet and muddy up to knees. The road was narrow. It was all I could do to keep from stumbling into the ditch.

  Angus inched the car forward, the door still open. “I am not in the mood for this,” he growled. “I’ve already got one unreasonable female on my hands. Get in the car. Now.”

  He dared to lump me in the same category with his mother? Neanderthal. I shot him a sideways glance, trying not to remember how he had looked, naked and hungry in our bed last night. “Go away,” I said.

  For once, I had the upper hand. There was absolutely no place for Angus to pull off the road, and if he remained where he was, he might cause an accident when somebody came around a curve behind him.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised when he gave up. But seeing his taillights disappear into the distance made me even weepier. I dried my face with my sleeve and reminded myself this was for the best.

  It took me forty-five minutes to make it to the Clansman Hotel. When I staggered into the parking lot, my right arm felt as if were going to fall off from carrying my suitcase, and my clothes were plastered to my body.

  Angus sat waiting for me, car door open, a scowl on his face. Unfortunately, I had to pass right beside him to check in.

  “Go away,” I said again.

  He got out and grabbed my arm. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  The rain had increased in intensity. His hair was as wet as mine in minutes. He stared at me through spiky lashes, his jaw working with the effort not to yell at me again. I could read him easily in that moment.

  I refused to play tug of war with my body. “What do you want?” I asked, my tone sharp.

  “I want you, little peach.”

  Before I could divine his intentions, he took the suitcase from my hand, tossed it into the car, and bent me ov
er his arm for a long, hard kiss. I was so surprised I forgot I wasn’t supposed to kiss him back.

  It was electric, amazing. Infuriating. After long delicious moments, I jerked out of his embrace. “I won’t be your tourist booty call,” I said, my nose in the air. “Go home to mommy.”

  It was a cheap shot. And one I regretted as soon as the words left my mouth. But Angus let it go. “We need to talk, Hayley. Do you have a room here?”

  “I do.”

  “Then please check in, and we’ll clear the air.”

  I wanted so badly to be convinced, but I felt like a fool. I had actually taken steps to give up my job for this man. What was I thinking?

  “I’ll check in,” I said, “but I have nothing to say to you.”

  “I’ll wait here.” The way he stared at me made my nipples go tight beneath my layers of clothing.

  Angus knew people at this hotel…people who might think it strange that a man who had a brand-new house nearby was in need of a room. I was a nobody, and thus able to register without fanfare. With the key in my hand, I was tempted to exit through the rear of the hotel and access my room in a roundabout way.

  But that would only postpone the confrontation.

  When I went back outside, Angus was huddled under the overhang, his shoulders hunched into his jacket. Though it was August, the steady rain had dropped temperatures. I was miserably wet and cold.

  “Why didn’t you wait in the car?” I asked.

  “I didn’t want to have to chase you all over Scotland again if you bolted. Can we please go inside now?”

  I felt his eyes on my back as I led the way to room 22A. The lock turned easily. Inside, I found a bed that was larger than a single but smaller than a double. The windows opened onto a terrace. If it ever stopped raining, I would be able to see the loch.

  My suitcase was still in his car. I’d have to figure that out later. For now I dropped my backpack and peeled off a couple of layers. Even my shirt was damp. But I kept it on.

  I sat in one of the two small armchairs. I wasn’t sure Angus would fit in either one. But he chose to stand, or to pace, the more accurate term. Though there wasn’t much square footage, he crisscrossed it six strides at a time.

  Maybe he was waiting for me to say something, but if that was the case, he was going to be here for a mighty long time.

  At last, he stopped in front of me, his hands shoved in his back pockets. “What’s going on, Hayley?”

  I bit my bottom lip to keep it from quivering. “Nothing. I’m finishing my vacation.”

  “Without telling me? Without mentioning that you were moving out of my house?” I couldn’t decide if he was angry or hurt or both.

  I dared not look at him. His face was so dear to me it actually hurt to see it. The firm jaw, the full lips, the crooked nose. The beautiful eyes with lashes that were wasted on a man.

  He sat down on the end of the bed, his knees nearly touching mine. “I don’t understand. Was it something I did?”

  I swallowed hard. “Yes. In a way. Or something you didn’t do. I thought we were getting close, Angus, but you never so much as mentioned Argentina to me…not even when I asked you point-blank about your plans for the future. It’s not any of my business. I understand that. And I understand that I was making assumptions about where this was going…assumptions that weren’t true.”

  “This?” He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

  I waved a hand. “You. Me. It’s not your fault really. You never gave any indication that you wanted more.”

  “You mean more than world-altering, incredible sex that turned us both inside out?”

  I twisted my hands in my lap. “Is that what it was for you? Or was it the result of a long, dry spell? Darn it, Angus, I don’t even know if that celibacy thing was a line to win my sympathy.”

  He pursed his lips, his expression grim. “I have never once lied to you, Hayley Smith. And I think you know it. The sex was phenomenal. But not because of any ‘dry spell,’ as you so quaintly put it. If you’d get your head out of your arse, ye’d know that.”

  As always, his accent increased in direct proportion to his emotional state. It was difficult to be strong, but I wouldn’t be swayed by the musical sound of his voice. “Why didn’t you want me to know about Argentina?” I asked. “Why, Angus?”

  He banged his fist on the mattress and stood to pace again. “There is no Argentina,” he said forcefully. “That letter is from eight months ago. I turned them down.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “My mother wanted you to think that I was leaving. So you would leave and she wouldn’t have to worry about being ousted from the seat of honor in my life. But rest assured, Hayley. She and I have had a very long talk. That’s why I didn’t come after you right away. I told her I’m moving to Georgia so you and I can be together and decide how to handle a bi-continental relationship.”

  My lips went numb. Was I having a heart attack? “Georgia?” I whispered. My Georgia?”

  At last, a glimmer of his usual humor resurfaced. “Aye. If you’ve no objections. I think you and I both want to say the L word, but it’s a fast and furious thing we’ve done here these last weeks…falling for each other. I know how sane and sensible you are, and I realize you would feel much better if we took our time and got to know each other better before doing anything rash.”

  Sane and sensible? He really had been paying attention, after all. And he was doing his best to accommodate a girlfriend who was a list maker and a planner and a weigher of pros and cons.

  I started laughing and I couldn’t stop. I laughed until my sides hurt.

  Angus was not amused. He glared at me with all the displeasure of a thwarted Highlander.

  “Do ye mind telling me what’s so bloody funny, my little Sassenach? I’ve laid my heart on the line and you’re stomping all over it.”

  “Oh, Angus.” I went to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. My cheek rested on the spot I loved just over his heart. That organ was thumping in double time right now. “I beat you to the punch,” I said. “This afternoon while you were catching up with your friends, I e-mailed my boss and asked to take a semester’s leave. So I could stay here with you. In Scotland.”

  He held me at arms’ length, his expression incredulous. “You quit your job? For me?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Well, technically, I put my job on hold. But yes. For you. I couldn’t bear to leave right now.”

  He muttered something in Gaelic as he scooped me up against his chest. His mouth settled on mine with an awkward, enthusiastic kiss that told me Angus was as rattled as I was.

  I kissed him back, my heart racing, my world once more in balance.

  When his hand slid beneath my shirt and covered my breast, I shivered hard. “We don’t have any condoms,” I pointed out.

  “How do you feel about babies?” he asked softly as he stroked my nipple and sent fire streaking in every direction. “Little half-Sassenachs who will invade my heart and fill it up. I’ve the house for a large family, Hayley. And you’re not getting any younger.”

  I punched him, laughing. “You don’t have to be mean about it. Yes. I would love to make babies with you. Eventually.” Already I was weak with longing for the story he painted with words. “But not tonight.”

  “If you’ll remember, lass, my suitcase was still in the car. While you were registering, I grabbed a few necessities.”

  The three condoms he held up were a welcome sight. “Confident, were you?” I asked wryly.

  He shrugged. “More like hopeful. You have a way of melting when I hold you, Hayley. I was bankin’ on that.”

  He began to undress me, but I stopped him. “One last thing. I don’t want to be at odds with your mother. She loves you dearly, and she’s spent her life making sure you have what you need. I don’t want to hurt her.”

  “Ah, my Hayley.” He shook his head. “You’ve a lovely heart, woman.
My mum deliberately tried to hurt you.”

  “I know. But maybe she’s sorry. And honestly, she will make a perfect grandmother.”

  “Boundaries,” he said gruffly. “We’ll have boundaries. There will be no question in her mind that you come first in my heart.”

  Although I appreciated his assurances, I couldn’t help thinking about the old priest I had met and chatted with…was it only that morning? Good grief. It seemed as if weeks had passed and not mere hours.

  “I think love has room for everyone, Angus. You. Me. Her. Our future babies. I want to build a family and a life with you. That will include Màiri.”

  I saw on his face that he was moved by my declaration. I could understand his mother, really I could. She had raised this amazing, wonderful man, and it was only normal she wanted to dote on him. I vowed to let her see I was no threat. Angus had enough love in him for the both of us.

  My lover was intent on sealing our as-yet-unspoken covenant. He stripped me out of my wet pants and kept on going until I was naked as the day I was born. I lay on the bed and watched as he caught up.

  At last, he joined me. We moved together with sighs of pleasure and the tangling of limbs. His sex was hard against my hip. He kissed the shell of my ear, whispering softly, “I know I’m not supposed to say it yet, but I love you, Hayley. God knows I do.”

  It took me a moment to speak, because my throat was so tight. “I love you, too, Angus.”

  When he entered me, I felt everything around me shift and sway. Maybe this room was one of those thin places where we were in touching distance of another world. My Highlander came from a long line of virile, masculine men who knew what they wanted. And from the lineage of women those brave men loved, the women who tamed them. I could almost hear their voices.…

  Angus moved in me slowly, as if trying to make this moment last. It was the first time we’d made love after admitting we were in love. My heart was so full I couldn’t handle the joy. My emotions leaked out onto my cheeks…prompting my big, sexy Scotsman to stop in mid-thrust.