“You mean you didn’t expect him to invite me?”
“I didn’t expect him to invite me, either.” She stopped her pacing and glanced at him. “The difference is, you impressed him. You’re the reason for this invitation.”
“I didn’t impress anybody.”
“What did you say to him, Jacob?”
“Nothing.”
“He didn’t see us kissing,” she mused. “That was probably a good thing.”
Jacob sighed. “Yeah, that was definitely a good thing.”
“He likes you on your merit.”
“Improbable as it is,” he muttered.
She shook her head, looking dazed. “I’ve sacrificed a lot to prove myself to him over the years. I’m just happy that things are finally starting to fall into place. Maybe I should just leave the discussion with him where it stands.”
What could Jacob say that wouldn’t rain on her parade? Be discreet—that had been his directive all along. He couldn’t even tell her who he really was. Couldn’t tell her that, in a sense, he had always been using her, even if that hadn’t been his intention.
Even if the tables had flipped on him and he now cared about her, more than he wanted to.
It was clear to Jacob what he needed to do. The person he’d always thought he was—that honest person—needed to come out again. He needed to go back to being just a silent bodyguard where Isabel was concerned. Tomorrow morning he would take her back to Manhattan and return her to her residence hall.
He wouldn’t ruin her night, however. He walked with her into the ballroom and politely endured the introductions with her mom, her brothers and her cousins. He stood with Isabel when her uncle entered the dance floor and the guests—at least on the Sage side of the family—broke into cheers.
Then they all watched her uncle dance with the bride. Along with everyone else, Jacob and Isabel lifted their glasses and toasted the happy couple.
It struck Jacob that the laptop that had allowed Rhiannon to watch the ceremony had been moved to the reception ballroom. After the toast, he saw Malcolm speaking quietly to his sister.
All three of them—he, Malcolm and Rhiannon—had been children twenty years earlier. They’d all been affected by the events of that fateful day in Edinburgh. Rhiannon was obviously damaged. Malcolm seemed to be caught balancing between his old world and his new world.
Even Isabel, on the periphery of the tragedy, seemed to be affected by her inability to compete with her uncle’s sympathy for Malcolm and Rhiannon.
But Jacob wasn’t hurt like these two. He’d never known his father, and his mother had remarried even before that day. Jacob had grown up a world away. Until now, learning what had happened hadn’t been critical to his life. Not until a psychologist at work had decided that it made a difference.
What was he going to do?
When Isabel came back from dancing one of the reels that he didn’t know the steps to, her face was glowing and her eyes were bright. She looked up at Jacob, laughing, and his heart seemed to crater.
“Are you up for a dance?” she asked. “I could teach you.” But she read his face before he could speak. “Oh. Sorry. You look like you’ve had a long day.”
“Yeah, I got a call from work.” Man, the lies were flowing easily now. “I need to go upstairs and return it. Can I walk you back to your room?”
“Not just yet, I need to stay a while longer. How about we meet for breakfast tomorrow at eight?”
“That sounds fine.”
“Jacob...thank you. I don’t often accept help from people, or even admit that I need it most times, but I’m glad I did with you. You made this weekend good for me, and I won’t forget that.”
Jacob paused. He wanted to tell her that she deserved happiness. But it was too hard for him. And he still had to drive her back to New York City tomorrow.
* * *
ISABEL’S HEART ACHED to see Jacob walk away, so handsome and strong in his kilt. He’d saved her this weekend, and she would be forever grateful to him.
She stood at the edge of the boisterous scene before her. Her family, big and loud and happy. They were all paired off now, even Malcolm. The cousins she’d once played with as children were starting families of their own.
She’d never been likely to fit into that type of family life. And now that Alex had broken up with her, she knew that more than ever. So why the ache of loneliness?
Frowning, she headed for the lobby. Her uncle was gathering to leave—she’d been keeping her eye on him, waiting for her chance.
He’d spoken in depth to Malcolm, then to Malcolm and Kristin, and finally to Rhiannon, alone before the monitor. Isabel had caught a glimpse of his face, and he’d looked sad as he’d turned away from her.
With her shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders, Isabel approached him. “Uncle, may I talk with you?”
“About business, no. That will wait until you’re home for Christmas. But walk with me to the door and tell me quickly what happened to your friend Alex.”
She sighed and walked beside him. Why not tell him? It really didn’t matter anymore. “We broke up. He didn’t like that I’ve dedicated myself to my goal of leading our company.”
Her uncle pursed his lips. “That’s unfortunate.”
“No, it’s not. I’d asked him to wait for me, but he showed me what I mean to him,” she said softly.
“Is that when Jacob asked to accompany you to the wedding?”
“No, I asked him, actually.”
“Be careful there,” her uncle warned as he stopped at the threshold.
“How do you mean?” she asked.
Murphy handed her uncle his overcoat. They all paused as her uncle buttoned himself up and wrapped a scarf around his neck. The night air had turned cold. It even smelled like winter outside.
“As with anyone,” her uncle advised, “be sure that you know him. Be smart before you expose yourself.”
“I’m not exposing myself,” she said.
“In a sense, you already have. You’ve brought him here.”
He spread his arm toward the reception at the end of the hall, the music fainter but still audible. “You’ve exposed your cousins to him, as well.”
“Then why did you invite him and me to Christmas dinner?”
He smiled slightly at her. “You’ve asked for the highest position of responsibility in our company, have you not? I’d like to get to know the candidate I’m considering. And her friend.” He stared at her. “I want you to be happy and safe, Isabel. I’ll send the company plane for you both next month. We’ll talk more then.”
She watched him leave, stunned by his words.
Upstairs, she noticed right away that Jacob had left his door open a crack. Listening until she came up, probably.
She stared at his partially open door. Should she knock?
But in the end, she didn’t. Her uncle’s words still echoed in her head.
In the final analysis, she was a Sage. She needed to tread carefully.
* * *
AT BREAKFAST, JACOB had circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept. Isabel had spent the night tossing and turning, too, thinking about her uncle’s comments. She still wasn’t sure what she was going to do about Jacob and Christmas dinner.
Jacob, however, had seemed to figure out everything on his own. As the SUV rolled down the highway toward Manhattan, he made his big declaration. “I shouldn’t have kissed you, Isabel.”
He must have seen her face fall, but he kept going anyway. “We have a connection that draws us together—I won’t deny that. But it’s dumb for us to continue. We don’t have lives that will ever mesh in the future.”
“I know that,” she said, feeling testy. “You don’t have to worry about me, because that’s not wh
at I want from you.”
His jaw moved. “Please don’t want anything from me. Because I can’t give it to you.”
“You had feelings for me when you kissed me,” she said. “I felt it, too.”
“It’s a mistake to even go there,” he insisted.
Maybe, but it hurt to hear him say so aloud. She needed to understand clearly. “Are you saying you want to give up on it entirely? For us to walk away and drop everything?”
There was a long silence. “That’s the way I’m leaning, yes,” he said.
Leaning. That meant he wasn’t entirely convinced. She was glad, because she’d be crushed if she believed he really wanted to cut her off now.
The problem was, she had enjoyed his company as much as she knew he’d enjoyed hers.
“Well, consider my input, for what it’s worth,” she said. “My proposal is that I would like to see you for the next few weeks, while I’m still in New York. Then, if we both decide, why not take my uncle up on his offer? You could visit Scotland for once. See the land of your ancestors.”
Jacob just looked at her, desolate. “You’ve got this all figured out, don’t you?”
Actually, she had just decided—influenced, no doubt, by being in his SUV with him on the long trip home. “I think it’s a livable plan.”
He glanced at her, not saying a word.
“If we still decide at the end of the month that it’s a good idea,” she said, “then my uncle said he’ll send his private jet for us.
“So, yes, I would very much like to see you in Edinburgh for Christmas dinner, Jacob. That is my invitation. Think about it, and we’ll be in touch.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
BACK IN THE CITY, Isabel bided her time. That first week, she had an economics project to present, a paper on social responsibility in investing due and two case studies for her business law elective to read. All this work just made her that much more motivated to buckle down and concentrate on achieving her goals for the future.
The Christmas meeting at her uncle’s house was key to her plans, no question, and she would never have a better opportunity to make it happen. To do so, she needed Jacob’s cooperation.
Of course, she knew that too much prevented them from ever being together as a long-term couple, and she accepted that.
Ironically, though, she also needed to heed her uncle’s advice. She needed to investigate Jacob. Was he, in fact, trustworthy enough to bring into her uncle’s home?
Yes, the invitation was for the two of them, but if she found reason not to trust Jacob and presented those facts to her uncle, her uncle would think more highly of her than if she brought him to Christmas dinner without thought.
She was sure she would find no reason not to trust Jacob. He was a Secret Service agent, wasn’t he?
She waited until her school coursework was successfully completed before she initiated her first “tail Jacob Ross” assignment—scope out where he lived.
The driver’s license he’d shown her had included his address. So, four days after they’d returned from Vermont, and without hearing a single word from him, she set out on a rainy Thursday under her brolly—umbrella here, she reminded herself—to his apartment twenty blocks away.
She enjoyed the walk in the light breeze. Being Scottish, she was used to the drizzly weather. Fallen leaves from the trees lining the avenue skittered past her feet. She’d chosen early morning, just before the commuter rush. She still had an hour before her first class of the day, and the walk was also serving to clear her head.
She’d been having trouble sleeping of late. She’d been waking up after dreaming of Jacob. It was just a fantasy that made no sense. A stage for her to pass over quickly.
She fell into the rhythm of the walk. Each short block took about a minute to hike, so that meant twenty minutes total until she reached Jacob’s building. She passed over a subway grate, the warm air from the trains a welcome blast on this cool day. She tightened the belt on her short raincoat. Pulled the hood over her hair, which was held back in a ponytail. In her coat pocket were just the keys to her room and her ID. She wore flats and jeans so she could run if she needed to.
All this time she’d been living in New York, she’d been mostly confined to her campus area. This was new, this walk. Different. Even a bit exciting. She hummed to herself.
Jacob’s neighborhood wasn’t what she expected. Down a shaded street, he lived in a small brick walk-up with ivy winding around it. Rather like the pretty Georgian home where she owned her flat back in Edinburgh, which was currently undecorated and rented out to a marketing contractor in their cosmetics division.
She tapped her umbrella on the pavement. As she was deciding what to do, Jacob came striding out of his building, still putting on his suit jacket as he trotted down the steps. He bounded over to lean into the driver’s-side window of a black SUV—a familiar-looking black SUV—idling, double-parked at the curb.
There appeared to be a man inside, to whom Jacob was talking. Curious, she crossed the street and edged closer. Jacob straightened, then headed into a nearby coffee shop.
Pulling open the shop’s heavy glass door, she went inside, too. In the foyer, she closed her umbrella, shaking off the raindrops. Inhaling the enticing scent of freshly brewed coffee, she took off her hood.
“Isabel!” She should have known Jacob would spot her before she spotted him.
She turned. The shock in his eyes was almost palpable as he bounded out of the queue at the register and marched over to her. “You followed me here, didn’t you?”
She sighed. Should she play coy or just banter with him to throw him off?
“I did,” she finally said, deciding to take the direct route. It suited her best, anyway. She smiled at him. “Did you miss me?”
His gaze flitted up and down her body. She felt her nipples tighten as his attention brushed over her. After everything they’d been through, this man just...did something to her.
She felt a hunger, a physical attraction for him that floored her.
He touched her arm, gently guiding her behind a section of wire racks holding mugs and other merchandise—a more private alcove for them to talk. Her toes curled inside her flats.
He put his hands on his hips and opened his mouth but then said nothing. He shook his head as if he didn’t know what to say. She’d shocked him that much.
“Jake, what are you doing? I’ve been waiting for you outside and—” The man who’d been sitting in the SUV stopped when he saw her. “Whoa.”
“Hello,” she said, smiling. “I’m Isabel Sage.”
The man nodded, wiping his hand on his trousers. He was shorter than Jacob, with black hair and deep brown eyes, warm like chocolate. “You’re the woman from the Vermont weekend,” he said.
“Jacob talked about me?”
A broad grin answered her. “As much as Jake ever talks about anything.”
“Jake?” She turned to Jacob, pulled a face and then turned back to his friend.
“Damn, I love your English accent,” Jacob’s friend said.
In situations like this, before she’d met Jacob, she always would have let the mistake go, in favor of remaining low-key. It was a relief to be honest. “It’s Scottish,” she said.
“Right.” He nodded.
“Did Jake tell you he wore a kilt last weekend?” she asked.
A laugh split his face. “Seriously? I wish I’d seen that.”
“And he danced at a wedding, too.”
“Enough,” Jacob said, growling.
“We’re friends and we work together, even though sometimes you might not know it,” the man said to Isabel. He stuck out his hand. “Hi. I’m Eddie Walsh.”
“Pleased to meet you, Eddie.” She shook his hand. His other hand had a wedding ring on it, she
noticed.
“You know,” Eddie said, “a bunch of us are going out tomorrow night.”
“No,” Jacob said automatically. He motioned Isabel to the coffee aisle, away from Eddie. Isabel thought for a moment, and then followed Jacob behind a row of racks.
“What are you doing?” Jacob asked her when they were out of earshot from Eddie.
“Nothing, Jacob,” she said in all innocence.
“This isn’t your neighborhood.”
“I know. But it occurred to me that you were right—I’m leaving New York in a few weeks, and I really haven’t stepped out of my comfort zone. So, I decided to see what I’m missing.” She picked up a bag of coffee beans from the shelf and sniffed them.
“I really wish you hadn’t come here,” Jacob said, groaning as Eddie came wandering toward them.
Eddie held out a business card to her. “This is for you, Isabel. Anytime you want to go out with us, give me a call.”
She accepted Eddie’s card. Jacob knocked his forehead against the metal rack, a purposeful reaction to show his displeasure. “Thank you, I just might do that,” she said to Eddie.
Eddie grinned. “That’s it—it’s a definite. Call me tonight. I’ll work on him.” He shot a glance at Jacob.
“No,” Jacob said flatly.
“Intensity,” Eddie murmured to him. Jacob glowered.
That word was obviously a code between them, which showed Isabel that she wasn’t the only recipient of Jacob’s sometimes-bad attitude. She didn’t see what the fuss was about, but it was making her more determined not to give up, especially now that Eddie was on her side.
Why shouldn’t they all be friendly? It was only for another five weeks until she left New York. She obviously wasn’t looking for a relationship.
Many people felt romantic feelings during a wedding ceremony. She and Jacob had been no different. But the weekend was over.
“Goodbye, Jacob,” she said cheerfully. “I have to be getting back. Nice to meet you, Eddie. I’ll talk with you later.”
“You can’t leave now,” Jacob said to her. “Come over and get in the SUV. We’ll give you a ride home.”
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