Gift-Wrapped in a Kilt (Hot Scots #4)

Chapter Six

Emery

That's how it all started. Today, the day after Gavin the deluded man-child threw over his sweet and lovable girlfriend, I lounged in the claw-foot tub in the ground-floor bathroom cuddled up against Rory, his big body framing mine from behind. The recently shaken water lapped against our naked bodies while we enjoyed the languorous bliss of post-coital afterglow. Rory held me with one arm strapped around my waist, his knees bent by necessity. The tub was not designed for a strapping man like my hubby. I leaned my head back against his shoulder and traced circles on his thigh with one finger. The scent of roses tickled my senses, thanks to the bath oil I'd created from the last blossoms of the vine roses in the garden.

Rory wiggled his fingers on my belly. "Your meddling has given us a houseguest."

"Temporarily. Jamie needs a place to chill out and realize she wants Gavin back."

"Have you considered she and Gavin might not be right for each other?"

"I considered it." Twisting my head around, I aimed my sweetest smile at my husband. "But I ruled it out."

"Naturally." He shook his head, smiling at me with affectionate exasperation. "You and Jamie have a secret plan, don't you?"

I hadn't told him about Jamie's sex-only idea because I'd promised her total secrecy and because her brother didn't need to hear about such things. My husband, however, knew me too well to not realize I was keeping a secret. "I won't break my promise to her solely to satisfy your curiosity. Can you live with that?"

"Yes, I suppose I can."

Since he sounded less than certain, and I knew he would worry about his sister, I took pity on my husband. "Jamie got a silly idea in her head, but I'm sure she'll give it up soon enough. In the meantime, I'll look out for her."

"Who will look out for Gavin?"

The question startled me, and I swung my head around to regard him again. A realization rippled through me. "You like Gavin, don't you?"

Rory made a face I'd witnessed many times before — embarrassment disguised as disgust.

I reached behind me to cup his face in one hand. "That's so sweet, honey. You care what happens to Gavin. Don't worry, I'm looking out for him too."

Rory grunted. "Donnae give a hoot about Gavin Douglas."

"Hoot?" A laugh burst out of me. "That's a me word. You're starting to talk like me."

"Please don't tell Aidan I said that word. And stop looking at me like I've gone soft." He adopted a totally fake frown until I faced forward again, then he relaxed and stroked my belly with his long fingers. "What's the next stage in your nefarious plot?"

I gave his thigh a playful slap. "It's not nefarious. And stage two is a Halloween party."

Rory groaned and clapped a hand over his eyes. "A party, Em? Halloween is a ridiculous holiday."

"You said you liked the decorations, and I'd know if you were fibbing." I peeled his hand away from his face. "You were not lying."

He wriggled beneath me and tried to slump down but couldn't with me on top of him.

"Admit it," I said. "You've caught the holiday spirit."

"Maybe I have, but I am not wearing a silly outfit."

"No, of course not." I kissed his palm. "The costume I have in mind is masculine and totally hot."

"Costume? Emery, I said no silly —"

"Don't be a grump. And it's not silly." I slithered around to straddle him, my hands on his wet, brawny chest. "I'll make it worth your while to comply."

He ran his palms up and down my back, molding his big hands to my bottom. "Make it very worth my while and I'll consider it."

I shimmied on his lap until he hissed in a breath and then I made him very, very happy — and very, very amenable to my plan. My husband the steely solicitor had one fatal weakness. Me.

Following our sensual interlude in the tub, we walked back to his office hand in hand. At the door, I laid a hand on his arm to stop him. Rory raised one brow.

"When do you think we should tell everyone we're having a baby?" I asked.

"Once we've had sufficient time to enjoy the idea on our own." He kissed my forehead. "We've only known for a week. Patience, mo gaoloch ."

I loved when he called me his dear in Gaelic.

After he retreated into his office for a call with a client, I wandered down to the great hall to gaze out the large windows at the lawn. After a few minutes, I dialed up Calli to check in with her about the Gavin-Jamie situation.

"I talked to him earlier," Calli said. "For my big brother to come to me for advice, it must be a sign of the apocalypse."

"You're his family, of course he'd come to you. I had a talk with Jamie too." I swirled a fingertip on the windowpane. "I know these two belong together. Do you have any idea what Gavin's problem is?"

"He thinks he's over his divorce," Calli said, "but it's obvious he's not. He wouldn't have acted like such a moron with Jamie if he had gotten over it. The idea of getting married again terrifies him."

"You didn't tell him that, did you?"

Silence, then she coughed. "Kind of."

"Oh, Calli. Why would you do that?" I bumped my forehead into the wall. "Men don't like being told what they're feeling. It's a macho-pride thing."

"Aidan doesn't mind if I explain his feelings to him."

"Uh-huh. And are these sexy feelings you explain for your husband?"

Another silence followed by another cough. "Yeah."

I made a frustrated noise, bumping my forehead into the wall again. "Honestly, Calli, how can a woman married to a naughty man like Aidan be such an innocent?"

"I'm not innocent. But I'm twenty-six, and Aidan's the only man I've ever slept with or even really dated." Rustling suggested Calli was squirming. "Besides, I've never tried to give my brother advice before. I figured if Aidan's okay with it, Gavin should be too."

"Aidan's an unusual man. He has macho pride, but it's less pronounced than in men like Lachlan and Rory — and Gavin."

"I'm sorry, Emery. How bad did I screw this up?"

"Don't worry, it's fixable." I set a hand on the windowsill and leaned into it. "And I've got a plan. Want to help?"

"Absolutely. I'm in."

"It starts with Halloween…"