by Kam McKellar
"Jamie," he corrected. He plowed his fingers through his hair, let out a deep sigh, and then held out his hand. She looked at it like it was a snake. He frowned. "I'm trying to make amends, Riley. We've both had a rough time of it. Shouldn't have called you on it. Not sure why I did. Hey, misery loves company right?" Christ, that sounded lame.
Not happy about it, she slid her hand into his and let him pull her to her feet.
Once she was up, her warm hand in his, standing awfully close and looking at him with those eyes, he didn't want to let go. Not yet. It had been so long since he'd felt good things like this—warmth, softness, the sweet scent of a woman. Feeling like he had nothing to lose, he tugged her hand, pulling her against him.
"Look," she began to argue.
"Just dance with me, Riley." He slipped his free hand around her waist and with the other, pulled her hand up to his chest and held it over his heart. "It's been a while."
She was stiff as a board and it made him smile. He had to admit, he liked getting under skin and throwing her for a loop. It gave him a jolt, a sense of pleasure. It was the little things in life. And it struck him that those were thoughts and feelings the old Jamie would have had. Maybe he hadn't lost as much of himself as he thought he had.
Okay. This was not good. Standing up against James—Jamie—was risky business. She'd been trying to avoid all contact since she'd met him. Of course, being that they were both in the wedding, she'd seen him for nearly every meal and excursion for the last eight days. Eight days of trying not to stare at that face... Eight days of avoiding the small little fantasies that tried to wiggle their way into her brain.
He smelled way too good, so good it made her want to put her mouth on his neck and see if he tasted as good as he smelled. He was tall and sexy and tormented. And so hot it'd take very little effort to light her world on fire. A lethal combination, one Riley knew she should avoid. She had a terrible track record with bad boys. With Mark, though, she'd finally beat her weakness. Mark was refined, professional, and his manners were impeccable—well, accept the whole cheating thing. In that respect his manners sucked.
Jamie bent his head. "You're thinking too hard, New York."
His warm breath on her neck sent shivers skittering along her skin and butterflies loose in her stomach.
Not attracted to Jamie. Not. Attracted. To. Jamie.
"I don't think this is a good idea," she blurted, leaning back to look at him. The way his brown eyebrows angled over those blue eyes, gave him a predatory look, but the thick eye lashes softened it somehow—a wicked combination. She loved the way his stubble framed his full lips, the way it outlined his jaw, the way his eyes fixed on her with intensity. He was bad all right. And she was drunk. This could only spell trouble.
He rocked slowly to the music. Not really moving, just swaying. "We're just dancing, lass," he murmured, holding her tighter.
Her eyes rolled at the name, at the voice saying it, at the way her body practically sighed with pleasure. Thanks to all those romance novels she and her cousins had read, she was a sucker for hot men with accents, for warriors and heroes, for men who loved as hard as they fought. James MacLaren stood with her in a house whose foundations were over five hundred years old. Five hundred. And it had been in his family from the beginning. There were old portraits of his ancestors on the walls. They'd fought in battles for king and country. And James seemed to embody all of that and more.
A small voice inside her head tempted her to just go with it. She angled her head to look at him again. Why not? She was alone now. Single…
As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, James stopped moving. Tension filled the space between them. The room grew hot, and her skin tingled with apprehension.
"You can't look at me like that," he said in a strangled tone. "Stop biting your lip for God's sake."
A flush spread through her body like lightning. Her breath went shallow. "Or what?" Part of her couldn't believe she'd said that, had put out the challenge. In fact, her entire face burned. Jamie wasn't the kind of man to back down from a challenge. He was the kind of man who rose to the occasion, and took challenge to a whole new level.
The way his eyes raked over her, with such potent lust, set fire to her insides. Oh boy.
She wanted this. Wanted him. Wanted so badly, she had visions of shoving him down on the floor, ripping his clothes off, and climbing on top. It was the alcohol. It had to be the alcohol.
James cupped her jaw. Riley's heart pounded so hard she could barely hear the music anymore. She licked her lips. He groaned and moved in.
"Riley?" A very familiar masculine voice called from somewhere far off. "Riley, are you out here?"
Chapter 3
As soon as the voice echoed through the conservatory, Riley went ramrod straight and practically leapt out of his arms. Jamie noted the way the blood seemed to drain from her face, leaving her skin pale. Her eyes went round and stunned, and a little dumbfounded. She blinked and then swayed.
He stepped forward and caught her arm. "Whoa. Take it easy."
"Riley, there you are—"
A man drew up short by the potted tree, his sharp eyes taking in the scene. Jamie waited until Riley was steady and then let go of her arm. Kate ran in behind the man, out of breath, and looking shocked, though nowhere near as shocked as Riley. It didn't take much for him to figure out what was going on.
Riley's ex-husband had come calling.
And the bastard had bloody bad timing.
He knew he should excuse himself, but he didn't. He'd heard plenty about the crap Riley had been through and about the man who had ripped out her heart and handed it to her crushed and unwanted. No. He wasn't leaving her alone with this tool.
Dev came up behind Kate and also took stock. His eyes met Jamie's and his brow lifted in suspicion. Jamie mimicked the look back at his brother. None of Dev's business what he and Riley had been up to.
Jamie scrubbed a hand down his face, shaken by what had almost happened, the after-effects of the 'almost' kiss still lingering. And he planned to finish it, too. The ass who'd broken her heart could just hop back on a plane and fly the hell home.
"Riley?" Kate said with concern.
Riley blinked again, her gaze finally focusing. Not on Kate but on her ex. Her mouth went tight. Her shoulders went back. She shook her head as if to clear it. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Everyone looked at Mark. He ignored them all but Riley. "I need to talk to you. Just give me a couple minutes of your time. That's all I'm asking. Please."
No. Don't do it. Boot his ass into the snow.
He knew by the way her shoulders slacked and her irritated exhale that she'd relented. He wasn't sure if her irritation was because of Mark or because she'd given into his plea. She marched forward, muttering, "Fine", grabbed Mark's arm, and pulled him away.
Jamie turned his attention to Kate. Her emotions ran high--anger, concern, fear all swimming in her eyes. She put her hands on her hips, opened her mouth, shut it, and shook her head. "I can't believe he's here."
"Is she all right alone with him?" Jamie asked.
"Mark isn't violent. He's just an ass who has the superhuman power of making Riley feel this small," she said, pinching her fingers together. "He's the only one I've ever seen who can do that to her. I swear if she lets him back into her life, I'm going to kill her."
A sour taste formed in the back of Jamie's throat. His fists clenched at this sides and a tight sensation spread across his chest. "Would she do that?" he asked.
"I hope not. Riley doesn't take crap from anyone. But Mark… When you love someone it's different," she tried to explain, her shoulder slumping. "That whole 'no one can hurt me without my permission' crap doesn't seem to apply when it involves the one person you give your heart and soul to, your trust to. That person can destroy you, you know?"
Kate leaned against a table by the wall, her eyes on Dev. They were glassy and round, making Dev move forward and pull her into a hu
g. "The right one would never take what's given and destroy it or belittle it," Dev said. "He's not the right one. Riley knows it. Whether she's admitted it yet or not, she knows it."
Surprise came over Jamie at his brother's words. Who knew Dev was so insightful?
Dev gave Jamie a look that warned him to keep his mouth shut, but Jamie was already feeling the brotherly ribbing coming on. "What? Did you just finish reading Dr. Phil because, damn it man, that was just beautiful."
Dev's jaw went slack. Then, his brother smiled, a smile that grew until the corners crinkled at Dev's eyes. "Welcome back, pip squeak."
Jamie rolled his eyes and snorted against the embarrassment creeping in. "It's not the first time I cracked a joke, man."
"First one since you've been back. In six months."
Had it been? He doubted that. "Yeah well, I've had a lot to deal with."
Dev shrugged and slipped his arms around Kate. "Do you think we should go find them?" Kate asked.
"Wouldn't hurt to know where they went and be around in case she needs us." Dev looked to Jamie. "You in?"
"Sure. If he gets out of line I'll just throw my leg at him."
Kate looked at Jamie as if he'd grown two heads. He sighed. Yeah. Apparently, he'd not been himself for a very long time.
Riley was shaking inside. The shock at seeing Mark completely obliterated her buzz. It was like she hadn't drank at all. Well, except the headache she felt coming on. Leave it to him to grace her with an instant hangover. Her heart was still pounding, though now it pounded for a reason other than the kilt-clad Scot in the conservatory. She'd gone from a near, sure to be volcanic kiss to being doused with a bucket of cold surprise.
Awesome.
Riley shoved Mark through the hall and into the formal living room. Thankfully it was empty of guests. Wanting it to stay that way, she pulled the heavy doors closed, turned, and then leaned against them. Her head shook in disbelief. Mark was here, standing in front of her, looking disheveled. His usually perfect hair was a mess. Dark shadows hovered beneath his red rimmed eyes. He needed a shave, too, though the stubble on him didn't look nearly as bad ass as it did on Jamie. She blinked, annoyingly putting that errant thought aside.
"I haven't slept in twenty-four hours," he said, shoving one hand into the front pocket of his pants. It was then Riley noticed he was wearing his work clothes. Dress pants and white dress shirt—the one with the gray pinstripes. The tie was long gone. There was a yellow stain on the shirt, and it was criss-crossed with wrinkles. He glanced down at himself. "Worked all day, then hopped a flight from Denver to New York, then New York to Glasgow, then charter flight to Inverness, and had to rent a car…"
"Why?" But she knew the answer. He wanted her back. The fact that he'd done all this, had come all this way, it blew her mind and confused her more than a little. What she wouldn't have given for him to have shown this kind of devotion before, when they could have saved their marriage.
Her hands gripped the doorknobs behind her. No one had ever done anything like this for her.
Riley released the knobs and smoothed her hands down the front of her gown. If there was a time for Mark to see her, she supposed it was the perfect time given the fact that she looked pretty damn stellar in the dress, shoes, and professionally done hair and make-up.
"I need you to sign the divorce papers, Riley."
Surely she hadn't heard him correctly.
"Marta and I are getting married. We need to get the papers signed and filed. I've been trying to call you. Repeatedly. God knows how long you're planning to stay here. Why didn't you just sign the papers before you left? Would that have been so difficult? Now I had to come all this way..."
His voice faded into the background. Something about them making an appointment to be married at the ultra exclusive Wincourt Club. If the papers weren't signed and filed immediately, so that the divorce would then be official in time for the date they'd set, they'd have to cancel and wait an entire year before getting another time slot at the club.
What the hell?
Riley shook her head. She couldn't focus. Pain radiated across her chest.
All this way, he'd come. All this way for Marta. For Marta. The six foot tall Swede.
God. Just . . .
"Riley. Riley are you even listening to me?" Mark plopped down in one of the old wing back chairs, muttering about getting a drink.
"Are you out of your mind?" she finally found her voice, shaky albeit.
Red mottled his cheeks. "Yes. I am. I'm out of mind in love with Marta. I'd do anything for her. And there was no way we could know if you'd ever pick up the phone, if you'd respond at all. The only way to make sure you'd sign, so the papers could be filed immediately was to come here myself. So I'm here, Riley. Your assistant said you got the papers when you stopped by the office before your flight. She said you would've had to have taken them with you. Please tell me she was right."
"Yeah. She was."
"Good. If you can sign them, I'll take them back with me and record them." He glanced around the room as if seeing it for the first time. "This a hotel? Maybe I can get a room and head out first thing tomorrow."
"Are you even sorry?" she asked.
"Sorry for what?"
She practically choked on that. "Cheating on me, Mark. Breaking me. Hurting another human being."
He frowned and she wondered why she ever thought he was the one. "I can't help that I met Marta. I fell in love. What would you have me do?"
"Oh gee, I don't know, be a man about it? Talk to me first before you started up with her? And now you come all this way to throw it in my face, what you're willing to do for her?" Her voice had risen, but she didn't care. All the old hurts had come roaring back. The injustice of it stung and made her gasp for air. Tears clouded her vision. She laughed. "What was I thinking?"
The door opened behind her. Kate came in. "Everything all right?"
Devin and Jamie came in behind Kate like two bouncers waiting for the word to throw Mark out on his ass. But the last thing she wanted was an audience. She was humiliated enough already. "Everything is fine," she said between gritted teeth. "Stay here, Mark. I'll get the papers and then you can find somewhere else to stay because it won't be here."
Chapter 4
Riley hurried up the stairs to her room. Hands shaking, she flung items from her suitcase until she found the stupid papers. As she held them, the hurt became too much. She sat on the floor, the pretty chiffon skirt poofing out all around her.
"Oh, Riley," Kate's voice came as her cousin entered the room and sat down beside her. "I'm so sorry."
She held onto tightly as Kate hugged her.
"I don't even know why I'm crying," she said several minutes later, leaning away from Kate and wiping her eyes. "How could I have ever loved him? It's embarrassing."
"No it's not. You just wanted to be loved. And you tried, Ri, you really tried. He just—" Kate handed her a tissue from the bedside table.
"He just what?"
"He wasn't the one. The only person who couldn't see it was you," she said in the gentlest way possible.
"Well why the hell didn't you say something?"
"I did. We all did."
"Oh. Yeah. I suppose you did..." She just hadn't listened; hadn't wanted to. With a heavy sigh, she rested her back against the side of the bed. "Lucy was so pretty tonight wasn't she?"
Tears sprung to Kate eyes and she smiled. "And happy. The way they looked at each other…"
"Did we look like that? Mark and I?" Kate's mouth opened and closed. Riley had to laugh. "Nevermind. It was more like a mutually beneficial business relationship with status and sex thrown in." She shook her head. "I don't know what I was thinking."
The door burst open and Grammy Lin swept inside, her face lined with worry. "Oh you poor girl," she said hurrying over, gathering her long skirts and slowly sitting herself down on the floor next to Riley. "Come give your Gram a hug." She was already pulling Riley into her arms.
"It's okay. I'm fine."
"No, you're not." Gram held Riley back after a hard hug, her eyes going narrow and shrewd, her brow lifted high. "You girls were never able to bullshit your way around me."
"Unfortunately true," Kate said wryly.
"That man has some nerve." Gram huffed with indignation. "Coming here, ruining your night, our night. I just want to bury him to his neck in snow and throw haggis at him."
Riley and Kate burst out laughing. "Please, let's do that," Kate said. "Then I'd set the dogs loose on him to clean the mess up."
Love filled Riley's heart as she listened to Gram and Kate going on about torturing Mark in inventive Scottish ways. They were behind her one hundred percent. They always were. Even when she was off trying to make it as a writer, even as she fell into life with Mark and let his world of social standing change her, they'd stood by her.
"I love you guys," she said, making them both silent for a moment before they swamped her with hugs and tears and laughter.
As they changed out of their bridesmaid gowns, Gram went downstairs to give Fergus her phone number. Riley left her hair pinned up, but changed into jeans, fur-lined boots, and a soft hoodie before joining Kate by the dresser.
She signed her divorce papers, slid them into the envelope, and gave Kate a wry smile. "Let's get this over with."
Kate squeezed her shoulder. "You're the strongest person I know. One day you'll meet someone, someone with a deep sense of right and wrong, with honor and loyalty, whose word means the world to him."
Riley rolled her eyes. "I think I'm good. One marriage was enough."
"Please." Kate scoffed as they left the room. "Like you said, that wasn't a marriage. It was a mutually beneficial relationship. You're still due your one and only."
She stopped at the top of the stairs. "How did you know, Kate? With Devin I mean."
Kate paused and turned, her hand on the railing. "He stole my breath. At every turn. And it was the little things. The things he didn't realize he did that showed me what kind of man he is, that he was worth the risk."
