“I need you to cover for me with mum and dad tonight.”
“Why?” she asked, immediately suspicious.
“Nothing nefarious, little sister. Just a few of us hanging out after the party. But it’s possible I won’t be back before curfew.”
Payton narrowed her eyes. “No, Aidan. I don’t want to be roped into one of your harebrained schemes.”
He gave her a look of innocence. “I’m not roping you in. In fact, you’re not invited. I’m just asking you not to blow the whistle.”
Payton sensed a vibration of sorts and felt compelled to glance at Brodie. He appeared to be in conversation with his sister, Fiona, but Payton would have sworn he was upset about something. His body was rigid. Before she could dwell on the feeling, her soup was removed from in front of her.
The rest of dinner was an exercise in patience for Payton. Her brother spent the majority of the meal attempting to manipulate, cajole, or threaten her into her cooperating with a plan he refused to share the details of.
By the time dessert was served, Payton realized she’d managed less than one bite of food, and the thought of fruitcake on an empty stomach made her want to be sick. She sat quietly and waited for her untouched dessert to be removed.
Once the table was dismissed, she found herself hauled, albeit gently, outside by her brother. “Are you going to give me up?” he demanded.
Payton sighed, the relief of the cold air bolstering her confidence. “I don’t know, Aidan. Are you going to tell me what you’re up to?”
He crossed his arms. “It’s better that I don’t.”
“Then, no promises.”
“Damn it, Payton.”
“Is there a problem here?” a voice asked, pitched low in warning.
Payton gasped as Brodie stepped out from the shadows. She hadn’t seen or heard him approach.
Aidan immediately bowed. “No, Your Highness. My sister just needed some air.”
“I believe your father is looking for you,” Brodie said.
“We should return,” Payton said.
“He was looking for your brother, Miss McFadden.”
“Oh,” she whispered. She hadn’t been dismissed. In fact, it seemed the prince wanted her to stay where she was. She watched confusion play over Aidan’s face. For all his faults, he was still a protective brother, but he would never defy royalty.
“She will be safe in my hands, Aidan,” the prince said.
“Aye,” Aidan stuttered. “Thank you, sir.”
Aidan left and Payton took a deep breath, forcing a smile and trying to keep from looking like a lovesick teenager. Even if she was headed in that very direction.
Brodie presented her with a plate laden with bread and cheese. “I noticed you didn’t get the chance to enjoy your supper.”
He’d noticed that?
“Oh, thank you, sir.” Her stomach rumbled, and she laid her hand over it in an effort to hide the sound.
“Please, call me Brodie.” He smiled and set the plate on the ledge of the balcony.
She felt her face heat in the coolness of the night. “I don’t know if that would be appropriate.”
He leaned against the stone wall and smiled. “It’s perfectly appropriate and acceptable for you to call me by my given name. I have granted you permission to do so.”
She studied his youthful face, belying his centuries-old age. He didn’t look much older than she did, in her opinion. Or it could be that she didn’t want him to look much older.
Her stomach rumbled again, and the sight of the bread and cheese, her favorite, was enough to send her over the edge. She grabbed a piece of cheese and ate voraciously, sighing with pleasure at the taste of the Gunnachs’ world-famous gruyere.
Brodie accepted a glass of champagne from one of the king’s staff who seemed to appear out of nowhere. He handed Payton the glass and gave her empty plate to the woman, who scurried off to continue her duties. Payton eyed the drink, knowing her tolerance to alcohol wasn’t the highest.
Brodie smiled. “It’s cider, lass.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
“Are you going on the hunt tomorrow?”
Payton shook her head.
“Would you like to go?” he asked.
She shook her head again.
“Why not?”
“I don’t like horses.”
“Ah.” He smiled. “Shall I tell you a secret?”
Payton bit her lip.
“I don’t particularly like horses, either.”
She grinned. “Really? What did you do when you had no other choice?”
“I lived with it, but when the first automobile was available to purchase, I didn’t hesitate to buy one immediately.”
Payton giggled. “I bet. What did you buy?”
“An Arrol-Johnston.”
“Oh, wasn’t that the late eighteen-hundreds?”
“Aye. 1897, actually. After George Johnston was prosecuted for driving his car in St Enoch's Square in Glasgow, I took it off his hands… for much more than it was worth, to be honest.” He leaned down and whispered, “I still have it.”
“You do? Where?”
“In my garage.” He grinned. “I promise I’ll show you one day, lass.”
“Thank you.” Her heart raced at the thought of knowing him long enough for him to keep that promise. Another server arrived with a dish of ice cream. Payton’s mouth tingled at the sight. She loved ice cream.
Brodie took the silver cup and spoon and nodded to the server, dismissing him. “I thought you might like to try this.”
“That doesn’t look like fruitcake.”
He chuckled. “No. It’s my favorite flavor. Can you guess what the secret ingredient is? We ship it in from New Zealand.”
“New Zealand? Really?”
He nodded and scooped a little out, lifting it to her mouth. She wrapped her lips around the spoon and sighed in pleasure as she swallowed. “Oh, this is magnificent. I can’t place the flavor, though.”
“It’s called Hokey Pokey. Niall MacMillian discovered it on their winter tour.”
“The drummer from Fallen Crown?”
He fed her another bite. “Aye. You know their music?”
“Aye.” She licked her lips, tasting the small drip left from the spoon. “I love their music.”
Brodie nodded. “Most people do.”
“You don’t?”
He smiled. “I do, but don’t tell Niall. He’d never let me hear the end of it.”
Payton giggled. “I doubt I’ll ever have the chance to meet him, so your secret’s safe with me.”
Brodie checked his watch. “I should return you to your father. It’s almost midnight.”
“Is it that late?” Payton’s heart dropped. She didn’t want their time together to end.
“Aye, lass. One more bite?”
She nodded. “Oh yes, please.”
Once she’d wiped her mouth daintily with a serviette, Brodie set the dish down and presented his arm. “Shall we?”
She slid her hand into the crook of his arm and was instantly assailed with a vision. Brodie and Connall were speaking, and Brodie said he’d met his mate. Payton gasped and yanked her hand away. She didn’t want to know anything further. Her gift of psychometry was often confusing and rarely gave her the whole picture.
“Are you all right?” Brodie asked, his face showing concern.
“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. I thought I’d stepped on my hem,” she improvised. She gathered her skirt and lifted it from the ground.
Brodie stepped back and let her precede him through the doors, his hand pressing against her lower back, the universal Cauld Ane action toward his mate.
Payton’s heart raced. It couldn’t really be… could it?
Brodie delivered her to her parents, bowed over her hand, and then was gone almost as quickly as he’d appeared.
The next day she questioned her vision again, particularly when she found out that he’d threatened Aidan and told him
he was leaving. The question turned into a certainty when, within the week, Brodie was gone for good.
Payton decided then and there that little girl dreams were not for her. She’d forget about Brodie Gunnach and focus on things within her grasp.
Seven Years Ago
PAYTON GATHERED HER books and threw them in her bag just as the bell rang. Her driver would be waiting out at the front of the high school to take her home, but if she had her choice, she wouldn’t go home. She’d disappear altogether.
Her sister, Annis, had met her mate and would be bound in just over a month. Then she’d be off to her new life in Iceland with Baldvin Daðason, who was the youngest son of one of the oldest and most prominent clans in Iceland. His father had connections with another family that was close to the king, which excited her mother more than the fact that her daughter had found her mate. Now Payton’s mother had a way to get close to the royal family on a personal level, not just through her husband’s work.
The house was in an uproar of excitement, what with the family’s anticipated status with the royals, and Payton either found herself in the way or at the end of her mother’s disappointment for not being at Annis’s beck and call.
Payton swung her bag over her shoulder and followed her classmates outside. She wore a jacket over her uniform even though she wasn’t cold. It was for appearances, because instead of a private Cauld Ane school, Payton went to a human high school—granted it was one of the oldest in the country, but still, it was public.
“What’s going on?” she asked the girl next to her.
Molly Adams was a pretty blonde, petite, with a curvaceous figure and outgoing personality. She was checking her phone. “Mass text,” she said, distracted.
Payton rolled her eyes. Mass texts with varying information often went out to several of the “in” crowd, which, of course, Payton was not part of.
“Fallen Crown,” Molly squealed.
“What about them?” Payton asked as she zipped up her jacket.
“The drummer’s here!”
“What? He can’t be,” she muttered.
“Well he is.”
“Niall MacMillan’s really here?” Payton asked.
“Aye,” Molly said. “I’ll see you later.”
Molly took off toward the mob and Payton couldn’t keep from grinning. If any of them knew that Niall was a friend of hers, they’d probably wet themselves, which is why she was pretty sure the information was incorrect. If Nye was going to be at her school, he would have told her. She checked her phone and didn’t see a text from him. Tenting her hand over her eyes to avoid the sun, she looked around for her family’s car but couldn’t see it. Her driver was never late, and she did mean never. Her father wouldn’t stand for it.
“Payton McFadden!” The familiar voice of Niall MacMillan sounded over the crowd.
He really was here.
“Pay! Over here!” he called again.
She turned to find Niall jogging toward her, the collective gasps and dropped jaws of students caught in his wake.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought someone had started a rumor about you hanging around the high school.”
“Nah, it’s true,” he said as he closed the distance between them.
Niall MacMillan was one-fourth of the biggest band in Scotland and a close, personal friend of Paul Hewson, lead singer of the biggest band in Ireland. Niall and his brother, Max, were both tall with dark hair and blue eyes. They’d formed their band, Fallen Crown, in the late eighties, and had quickly become world-famous, especially in the last ten years. Women swooned everywhere they went, which was why Niall generally avoided situations like a high school full of rabid fans.
“Hey, you,” he said, wrapping his arms around Payton and lifting her off her feet in a bear hug. “This’ll give your idiot schoolmates something to talk about.”
Niall knew of her struggles with fitting in at school, and not just because she was Cauld Ane and the rest were human. She wasn’t big on drama, which meant close relationships with girls who lived for theatrics just didn’t work for her.
Payton giggled. “What are you doing here?”
He lowered her to the ground and took her bag from her. “I come on behalf of a certain princess we both know.”
“What? Why?”
“Come on. I’m your driver today.” He grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd, walking in front of her so he could shield her from the hands shoving pens and pads at him. “I’m here to pick up my favorite person in the world, everyone. How about I send some signed pics with her to school tomorrow? I’m sure some of her friends will be willing to wait until then, eh?”
Payton nearly laughed out loud when the group moaned in disappointment. Then Molly pushed her way to the front, drawing Payton in for an awkward hug. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she said.
“You just saw me a minute ago,” Payton pointed out, shaking her head at Molly’s obvious attempt to act like besties.
“I know.” Molly flicked her hair back and fluttered her eyes toward Niall. “I thought you were right behind me.”
Payton rolled her eyes. She had to give the girl props. Molly was a master at keeping all of her options open. She certainly couldn’t be considered a close friend, but she had always been nice to Payton… well, civil, anyway.
Molly offered Niall her million-dollar smile and then focused back on Payton. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Niall,” Payton said, “the drummer of Fallen Crown. You know, the guy you just told me about?”
Molly shot Payton a quick scowl, obviously not enjoying being called out on her lie.
“And we’re in a hurry. Excuse us,” Niall said as he pushed Payton gently forward. He pulled the car door open and she slid inside.
“But”—Molly raised her hand—“I had hoped we could chat.”
“No time. Sorry, lass.” Niall threw Payton’s bag in the back and jumped into the driver’s seat. “Don’t trust that girl, Pay. She’s not right.”
“Well, duh, Nye.” Payton secured her seatbelt. “I don’t trust her. Never have.”
“Seventeen, right?”
“What?”
“You.” Niall started the car and took off. “I forget you’re smarter than your age.”
“If the music thing doesn’t work out, you really should try comedy.”
Niall laughed.
Payton shifted in the seat to see him better. “So, why are you here? Oh, and how did you get my father to agree to let you pick me up?”
“Fiona finagled it, actually. She thought you might want to go shopping with her, so she told your father she’d make arrangements to have you picked up.”
“Sneaky.” Payton grinned. “I like it.”
“Not really. You are going shopping with Fi.”
“What? Seriously? Why would the princess want to go shopping with me? She’s hundreds of years older than me and we don’t know each other very well.”
“Maybe she just wants to get to know you.”
Payton groaned. “Does this have something to do with Annis?”
“Why would it have anything to do with Annis?”
“Because mum is pushing this whole ‘Annis is the chosen one’ thing, and now I’m expected to be friends with all these people I don’t particularly like, for the sake of appearances.”
“You don’t like Fiona?”
“No.” Payton sighed. “I mean, yes, I do like her. It’s the people who hang onto her for dear life I have an issue with.”
Niall chuckled. “Who could you possibly not like?”
“That Shannon Fraser for one,” Payton admitted.
“Right.” Niall nodded. “I don’t particularly like her either.”
“She’s a snake.”
“Aye, she is,” Niall said with a grimace.
“What?” she asked. She didn’t like his tone.
“Shannon’s going shopping as well. As is your sister.”<
br />
“What?” Payton squeaked. “You can’t be serious! Ooh, I can see my mother’s hand all over this. Will Angus be there?”
“And spend time with both your sister and your mother?” He snorted. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, right.” Payton sighed. Angus had never been a great fan of her mother, and even less of her sister. “I guess it’s too much to ask for you to just keep driving. Maybe to Africa or something?”
“Can you drive to Africa?” he joked.
“You take the Moroccan Highway,” she retorted.
Niall laughed again.
Payton squeezed her eyes shut. “I can’t believe I have to go shopping with royalty in my school uniform. I can’t stand my family sometimes. Honestly.”
Niall laughed. “What’s the big deal? You don’t typically care what other people think of you. Why the meltdown now?”
Payton shrugged and stared at her hands.
“Pay? What’s up? You can tell me.”
She sighed. “It’s just that it’s Fiona Gunnach.”
“And?”
“And, she’s Brodie’s sister.” Payton bit her lip. “I guess I just don’t want her to hate me.”
“That would be impossible,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re easy to like, buddy. I promise.”
Payton groaned. “Don’t make me go, Nye. Please? Just say you couldn’t find me at school or something.”
He smiled gently. “I have a better idea.”
“Oh, please share, Nye. Because so far, your lack of input leaves much to be desired.”
He rolled the car to a stop at a red light. “Shall we make a pitstop and you can change?”
“Into what, exactly?”
“Oh, I don’t know, perhaps we can find something at Jenners’.” Niall turned right when the light turned green and headed toward Payton’s favorite store.
Payton felt the stress dissipating. “Ooh, yes. I need new jeans, anyway. I don’t have much cash, but I can pay you back later in the week.”
Niall rolled his eyes. “My shout. Consider it an early birthday present.”
“Nye, you don’t have to do that. Really. It’s almost a month before my birthday, and you’ve been paying for a lot of things using that excuse.”
“So? Means I get bonus points for remembering.” He smiled. “I have something that might make today better.”
Bound by Secrets (Cauld Ane Series Book 3) Page 2
