Loch and Key: McLaughlins, Book 3

by Shelli Stevens

  Flowers that hadn’t been there a few minutes ago.

  Frowning, Kenzie moved to pick them up and spotted her name on the card.

  Her gaze flew to the table across the way where an older couple sat eating.

  “You didn’t happen to see who dropped this off, did you?”

  The pair shrugged.

  “I think I saw a young man come in a moment ago,” the woman replied, “but we were enjoying our fish and chips and didn’t pay much attention. But those are lovely flowers, dear.”

  Aye, they were.

  “Thank you,” Kenzie murmured absently and carried the card and flowers to the back room.

  She set them down at Aleck’s desk and admired the mix of pink daisies and red roses. Before she opened the card, she dipped her head to breathe in the lovely scent. Maybe it was a way to stall before opening the card. They had to be from Carl, who hadn’t stopped calling or leaving messages.

  In the messages he was most apologetic and embarrassed at his behavior on Friday night. She’d almost felt sorry for him, until in one of the last messages he’d asked—with a slightly whiny tone—if Brett had made a move on her.

  None of your fuckin’ business, Carl.

  Her lips twitched as she pried open the envelope and pulled out a card. Before she could read it, several pictures fell out and hit the desk. Frowning, she picked them up and noticed one seemed quite dated. There was a little boy of maybe seven and girl several years younger.

  The girl was crying over a scoop of ice cream that had fallen off her cone, and the boy was pointing and laughing.

  Interesting. Her lips quirked as she flipped to the next one. A picture of the same kids, a few years older at Disney World, riding the Dumbo ride together.

  The boy was starting to look somewhat familiar. She glanced at a couple more before arriving at the last one. She drew in a ragged breath as she starred at the grown man and woman, standing on Deception Pass Bridge, with the man’s arm around her shoulders.

  Setting the pictures down, she finally read the card that clearly wasn’t from Carl.

  The woman you saw me with at Safeway was my sister. She was out visiting from Louisiana.

  Look, I know I screwed up. I never even gave us a chance based on my asinine assumption that you were looking for something serious.

  I can’t get you out of my head, and I want you like I’ve never wanted another woman. To the point where there have been no other women.

  Please, Kenzie, give me another chance. Those two kisses were just the beginning. You know we’d be explosive.

  ~Brett

  She stared at the phone number below his name, knowing he’d left the ball in her court. Her pulse quickened and her stomach was doing little flips.

  And what did he mean by no other women? She snorted and tossed the card down on top of the pictures. Surely he didn’t expect her to believe that he hadn’t slept with anyone recently? He was a sexy man in his prime, a chief in the Navy. Women likely threw themselves at his feet.

  What kind of shite line was that?

  “Everything all right back here?”

  Seeing her brother enter the back room, Kenzie scrambled to her feet and collected the pictures and card.

  “Fine. Everything’s just fine.”

  “Good.” Aleck nodded, his expression unreadable. “Who are the flowers from?”

  “Flowers? Oh right, these flowers. They’re from Sarah. She knew I wasn’t feeling well the other day and sent them. Emily helped pick them out.” Lie. Crap but she was lying to her own brother, what was wrong with her?

  “Oh aye? That’s right decent of her.”

  His words went along with it, but she knew her brother well enough to realize he was suspicious. If it had been another situation, anyone else, she might have admitted the truth. But she saw no point in dragging Brett into her brother’s life, especially seeing as they’d gotten off to a bad start.

  Besides, even though the note and flowers were a nice gesture, it still seemed like a bad idea to try and get involved with Brett. Maybe she wasn’t looking for a ring right now, but as he’d guessed, she wasn’t exactly looking for a one-night stand either.

  “I should get back up front. Thought I’d just rest my feet for a bit.” She struggled to gather the flowers, card and pictures in her hands and scooted past him.

  Out in the pub again, she moved behind the counter to stuff the pictures and card into her purse. Only the card wasn’t in her hand.

  Shite.

  Alarmed, she spun on her heels to race back to the office and grab the card, which must’ve fallen out of her grasp.

  Aleck pushed open the door before she could get anywhere near it. He held the card up and gave her a narrowed look.

  “How about you share who this bastart is?”

  Her teeth snapped together and she seethed out a breath, before shaking her head. “You read it? You had no bloody right, Aleck. That’s my business.”

  “Where you’re concerned, it is my business. You lied to me and said this was from Sarah.”

  “So? I’m a grown woman,” she snapped, grabbing the card from him, “but even if I was fourteen, you should respect my privacy.”

  “I do it out of concern, and because I care, Kenzie.”

  “Well sometimes you care a little too much.”

  “Wait, you read her card?” Delonna came up beside them and shook her head. “Not cool.”

  “This doesn’t bloody well concern you, Delonna. Go do your fookin’ job.”

  “Jeez. Someone forgot to take their Midol.” Delonna’s words were tight and there was a hint of shock and hurt in her eyes.

  This was the first time Kenzie could remember her brother yelling at the younger woman.

  When Delonna disappeared back behind the counter, Kenzie turned to glare at her brother again.

  “Wasn’t that just lovely of you. Let’s take this outside, shall we, brother?”

  Without waiting for him to finish, she turned and marched out of the pub to the nearly empty parking lot.

  Aleck followed her, as she knew he would.

  “Are you serious about him?”

  She knew from the tension in his voice he was trying to sound calm.

  Appreciating the effort, she grimaced. “There’s nothing to be serious over. We had one date.”

  “Clearly he’s hoping for—”

  “Aye, I know what he’s hoping for.”

  Aleck’s gaze darkened. “Who is he?”

  She would not admit he was the guy from the bar who Aleck had confronted all those months ago.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said softly. “Aleck, you need to let me live my life.”

  “Have I not done that? You’ve moved out on your own.”

  “That’s a big step, aye, but it’s more than that. You need to trust that I can make big girl decisions regarding the men in my life, and as much as it may bug the lot of you, some day there will be a man who’s just as important to me as the McLaughlin brothers.”

  Aleck’s scowl deepened. “That may be so, but I don’t much care for this wanker.”

  “You don’t know him.”

  “Are you serious about him?”

  “You already asked me that.” She sighed. “I’ll not be seeing him anymore. It didn’t work between us.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  Yes, but she’d never admit that. “It simply didn’t work, Aleck. Please. I’ll not ask again. Let me handle my love life without interference from my big brother.”

  Aleck stared at her, his gaze searching hers. Finally he nodded, thrusting a hand through his hair.

  “I know you’re right. It’s just hard not to be protective of my little sister. Especially after Charles, who we all thought was a nice guy.” He gave a cold laugh. “I want to vet every man that comes into your life, and I’m not alone. Ian and Colin feel the same.”

  “I know you all do, and if it wasn’t so maddening, it’d be sweet.”

  �
�I’m sorry, Kenzie. I’ll let you be.” Aleck pulled her into a hug. “But if he hurts you, I’ll bloody well hurt him.”

  In his arms she frowned. “I just told you I have no intention—”

  “Your eyes tell me something else. You’re interested in him, whether you realize it or not.”

  Well if that wasn’t complete shite.

  She walked back into the pub a few minutes later, her mood heavier and her irritation at an elevated level.

  “What should we do with these flowers?” Delonna asked, lifting the bouquet from the counter.

  It was on the tip of Kenzie’s tongue to tell her to toss them. But they were beautiful, and he’d likely spent too much money on them.

  “Here, I’ll take them.” She took the flowers from Delonna and went to give them to the elderly couple in the restaurant.

  Nothing. That was the response he’d gotten from Kenzie after he’d sent flowers and a carefully planned out card filled with old pictures.

  Sitting in his recliner after a tiring day at work, Brett sighed and flipped the channel from the baseball game to the news.

  One week and there’d been nothing but silence. Which was pretty much exactly what he’d done to her after their first and only date. Except instead of a week, it had been over seven months. And there really was no way to get back onto someone’s radar with a fuckup that massive.

  He should just give up on the idea of her now. There were plenty of women out there who’d made their interest in him known, but, hell, they may as well have been cardboard cutouts. There was no attraction. No chemistry. It had become a major problem. No woman had stimulated him on a mental and physical level the way Kenzie had.

  Maybe if they hadn’t had that second kiss, that hot as hell second kiss on her doorstep, she might’ve been able to convince him she wasn’t interested.

  But the way she kissed him back said otherwise. She didn’t want serious, but she didn’t want a one-night stand. Since his last girlfriend, he didn’t stick around with a woman for more than a month. It was a self-imposed rule he adhered pretty rigidly to. Self-preservation and all.

  The news went to commercial and he scrubbed a hand down his jaw, sighing with frustration. No woman should take up this much of his thoughts. She’d successfully occupied his mind for over a year now. That was insane for a woman he wasn’t even sleeping with.

  The words of the commercial registered and he turned his focus to the screen. Frowning, he watched the images flash across the screen. Bagpipes, women and children dancing, some kind of games involving a long pole, and then lots of men in kilts. The Highland Games. This was a local commercial for the upcoming Highland Games.

  He sat up straighter. Kenzie was Scottish. Her family ran a Scottish pub. It was a long shot, but maybe there was a chance she went to these sorts of things.

  It was this weekend. Two days from now. Chances were there was a group of sailors who’d be heading over there. Maybe he could tag along on the guise of needing to get some culture. Or some kind of bullshit.

  Right now, he just wanted another chance to see her. If it meant showing up at some testosterone-laden event, then he’d damn well do it.

  Yeah, tomorrow morning, he’d ask around the base and see who was up for it.

  Chapter Seven

  This was absolutely nothing like what he’d expected.

  Brett glanced around the Highland Games and frowned slightly. It had almost a street fair atmosphere. Food booths, shopping booths, informational booths and various stages and areas where events were happening.

  “They have a whisky tasting thing, Chief, and I think we should hit that up.”

  Brett glanced over at Simmons. “It’s barely past noon.”

  The sailor grinned. “Exactly. I already had my coffee. You coming?”

  “Later. I’m going to wander for a bit. I’ll meet you guys over there.”

  “All right. Later, Chief.” Simmons took off with a group of about five other sailors who were also under Brett’s command.

  He bit back a sigh. Those guys drank a little too much maybe, but then, it was somewhat their age and lifestyle too. A lot of these young, unmarried sailors simply wanted to drink and get laid when they weren’t working. Lather, rinse, repeat.

  Hell, he’d gone through a similar phase, but he was done with that shit now. Everything in moderation. Especially the drinking, and he rarely did that around his men anyway.

  Brett stood where he was, glancing around the grounds and debating where to go first. The sound of bagpipes resonated in the warm afternoon. He could follow them. Maybe there was some kind of parade or something. He scanned the schedule he’d picked up.

  The games portion of the event seemed to involve mostly men. Maybe he should check out the Highland dancing stage. There were various activities going on all day there.

  He wandered over to the area, his gaze roaming the crowd for any sight of her. Finally he arrived at the stage where some of the dancing seemed to be taking place. Disappointment sank in as he watched the group of children performing onstage.

  Children. Not the beautiful, grown Scottish woman he was hoping for. Still, he was so impressed by the little kids and their athletic dance to the bagpipes that he sat in one of the chairs to watch. Not to mention he was beginning to realize finding Kenzie here was a long shot.

  The dance wrapped up and the children rushed offstage. His gaze naturally followed them, his lips twisting in amusement at their level of excitement.

  There she was. His breath caught as he spotted her. Kenzie stood off to the side of the stage, embracing one of the little girls and clearly offering up praise.

  He realized immediately why he hadn’t recognized her right away. Her most recognizable feature, her hair, was twisted in a bun on top of her head. Her makeup was dark, and she wore some kind of traditional Scottish dance outfit that was a long tartan skirt, and white blouse with a black vest over it, and some weird high-rise socks.

  The outfit was about as non-sexy as you could get, and yet the only thought in his mind was how damn beautiful she was.

  He watched from his seat near the back as the children transitioned offstage and a smaller adult group of female dancers replaced them. Just like the rest of the women, Kenzie was all smiles as the performance began.

  She exchanged a glance with another dancer and threw back her head and laughed in delight. Clearly she loved this and dancing was her element. She was damn good at it.

  Her gaze turned to the crowd, her smile wide. It faltered the moment she spotted him. So did her steps, but she quickly recovered. Her gaze swept away from him and her smile—more strained now—widened.

  Brett stayed and watched the rest of the show, and it wasn’t one hundred percent because of Kenzie.

  He watched in surprise and growing fascination at how athletic the dance was. Much kicking and jumping, and pretty much staying on their toes. Clearly this was at least part of how she kept in such good shape.

  When the dance came to an end, the dancers exited the stage and clustered around chatting. Not Kenzie, though. She made a beeline for him.

  “I don’t suppose your being here is a coincidence?” She propped a hand on her hip and gave him a pointed look.

  “I’ve got a thing for Scottish chicks?”

  Her gaze narrowed, but he swore he saw her mouth twitch.

  “One in particular,” he added quietly. “That was some pretty impressive dancing there.”

  “Thank you.”

  Was the flush in her cheeks from his compliment, or from the dancing? Either way, he hadn’t noticed it a moment ago.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t receive my flowers.”

  “I did.” She must’ve realized her mistake in the admission a moment too late. Guilt flashed briefly in her eyes. “They were lovely. Thank you.”

  “Sure they didn’t end up in the garbage?”

  “Of course not. I gave them to a cute older couple having supper in the pub.”

  At
least that wasn’t quite as bad as the garbage. Though the garbage had probably been the final resting place for his pictures and the card.

  “Why are you trying so hard, Brett?”

  “Because I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  She stared at him a moment before doing an aggravating eye roll.

  “And how many women have you used that on? Because it sounds like one of the most cliché lines in the book.”

  “Maybe I have used it before,” he admitted. “But I’m pretty sure you’re the only one I’ve actually meant it about.”

  “I’m not quite sure if that’s endearing or insulting. It does, however, sound like another line.” Her mouth curved into a half smile, before she glanced behind her at someone. The child she’d been embracing earlier.

  “Who’s she?”

  “My niece.” Her tone warmed. “She’s only taken up the dancing for less than a year now.”

  He remembered the girl from the stage. She was a cute little thing.

  “She did great.”

  “Aye, she did.” Pride clearly resonated in Kenzie’s tone. Finally she turned to face him. “What will it take you to leave me be?”

  “Do you really want me to?”

  She opened her mouth, but then closed it again. Then she drew her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled. God, but he wanted to be the one nibbling on the pink flesh.

  “I didn’t call you,” she muttered, almost churlishly.

  “Maybe you lost the card with my number on it.”

  She arched a brow. “Maybe I threw it away on purpose.”

  Actually, that was probably exactly what she’d done.

  “Have a drink with me,” he commanded softly. “Or is there somewhere else you need to be? Do you have to watch your niece?”

  “No. She’s going to watch her dad compete in several events in the games. Her mother’s taking her.”

  He glanced beyond her to see the girl walking beside someone who must’ve been the mother. Both shared olive coloring and a somewhat exotic look about them.

  “I have nowhere else to be, but give me a moment.” She disappeared briefly to talk to the woman.