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

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The conversation lasted eighteen minutes. Gavin timed it with his watch. He'd expected his efforts to take longer. He'd also expected Lachlan to act like Rory, standoffish and kind of hostile, but instead he acted more like Aidan. Lachlan watched Gavin with a slight smile on his lips, one arm resting on the table, one foot propped up on the other knee. He sat like that for several seconds — several silent, interminable seconds — before Gavin realized he'd have to start the conversation.

Duh . He'd asked for this, which made it his responsibility to start things off.

"First off," Gavin said, "I'd like to apologize for not being real friendly. It's totally my fault I haven't gotten along better with you and Aidan and Rory. I'm sorry."

Lachlan's brows lifted. "You're claiming full responsibility?"

"I am. Yes."

"Apology not accepted."

"Wha —" Gavin glanced around like he might figure Lachlan out by studying the air molecules in the kitchen. What did he have to do to make nice with this guy? Stay calm, that's what, and let the Scot torture him for as long as it took. Gavin sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Fine, I deserve that. I'm an ass."

Lachlan chuckled. "I'm not accepting your apology because you have no need to apologize. We're all to blame here, Gavin. Aidan always liked and admired you, though I doubt he'd ever admit that to you. Rory and I, on the other hand, weren't particularly welcoming when you visited Scotland for the first time for Aidan and Calli's wedding."

Yeah, Gavin remembered the way Rory had glared at him the entire time. Lachlan had introduced himself and his wife and baby son but otherwise had ignored Gavin. Things hadn't gotten better after that. Like Emery had pointed out, Gavin hung back during family gatherings. He didn't talk to anybody except to exchange pleasantries.

"It was my responsibility," Gavin said, "to try to fit in with your family. I screwed the pooch on that one, didn't I?"

"We all bollocksed things. Our wise American wives set us straight."

"You mean Emery meddled and got Erica and Calli roped into it too."

Lachlan chuckled again. "Aye, that's the way of it."

"Iain got sucked into it too. Guess Emery's got your whole family wrapped around her little finger. That woman's got nerves of steel."

"Which is why she's the only one who could ever get through to Rory," Lachlan said. "And that is why we all adore Emery, and why we let her meddle in our lives. She's headstrong, but she has a heart of pure, twenty-four karat gold."

"So does Jamie."

"Emery and Jamie are alike in many ways." Lachlan paused, his smile flattening out. "Jamie is different in one important way. She had three overprotective brothers interfering in her life. When she was a wee bairn, she needed us to look after her. Jamie's matured into a fine woman, and we haven't been willing to accept she doesn't need us anymore. Not in the same way, at least. I think we've stifled her, but the consequences didn't reveal themselves until she met you."

Gavin had no idea what to say to that, so he kept quiet and let Lachlan go on.

"Aidan was always Jamie's best friend, her confidante," Lachlan said. "But Rory and I were the ones who took on the task of protecting her. I was fifteen when she was born. I was at university when she started school. Rory was four years behind me, and our age difference with Jamie made us view her as a bairn always, even when she'd grown up and graduated university. What started out as protectiveness turned into two overbearing brothers who couldn't accept their little sister had become a capable, intelligent woman."

"I get that. My sister is eight years younger, and I've always been protective of her. Didn't like it when she took up with Aidan."

Lachlan nodded. "But you made the effort to become friends with him. Rory and I haven't done the same with you." He shifted in his chair, clearing his throat. "I had a talk with Jamie yesterday. She told me how Trevor treated her when they were together. I had no idea the bastard had made her so unhappy, but when she told me about it, I realized Rory and I are partly to blame. We smothered her with our protection. She never needed to stand up for herself, and so she let another overbearing man trample her."

Jesus, was that what Jamie had done? Gavin hadn't thought about it in those terms. Hearing about Trevor had made him want to deck the guy repeatedly, pummel him to a bloody pulp, grind his face into the ground until he choked on dirt. But he hadn't considered the possibility Jamie had been afraid to stand up to Trevor. Gavin had always seen Jamie as a bright light, glowing from within, strong enough to stay cheerful no matter what. How could he not have seen her fears?

Oh, he should've guessed. Jamie had never complained about their intercontinental relationship, not until he'd delivered the worst prelude to a proposal in the history of the world. Only then had Jamie asserted herself and informed him she was sick and tired of their jet-lagged relationship.

Lachlan looked Gavin straight in the eye. "You accomplished what none of us ever allowed to happen. You got Jamie to stand up to Rory. When my brother gave his outrageous performance at Thanksgiving dinner, Jamie called him a bleeding bawbag and she meant it."

"She called me a bawbag too."

"Jamie may have said bawbags, plural, but she was speaking to Rory exclusively. I've never heard her shout at anyone, much less express so much anger and passion." Lachlan pointed a finger at Gavin. "And she did it for you."

She had. God, watching Jamie lambaste her brother, her cheeks pink from the intensity of her emotions, the sight had taken Gavin's breath away. She was incredible, and she was his.

He rested his arms on the table and leaned in. "I'd like us to be friends. Not just for Jamie, but for Calli too. Is that possible?"

Lachlan held out a hand. "Consider it done."

Gavin shook Lachlan's hand. "Thanks, man, I appreciate that."

The Scot relaxed into his chair. "I imagine you'll be talking to Rory next."

"Eventually."

"Remember, Rory engineered that rammy on Thanksgiving. He wouldn't tell me why, though I can guess. You might want to consider the possible reasons."

"I know."

Lachlan drummed his fingers on the table, his mouth slightly puckered, studying Gavin with an analytical gaze. "May I give you a word of advice?"

"Sure, why not."

"You need to make a commitment, for Jamie's sake."

"We're engaged."

"I meant a geographic commitment." Lachlan spread his hand on the tabletop. "Either ask her to move to America with you or commit to living in Scotland permanently."

"Oh, that." Gavin sat back, hands on his thighs. "I'm staying in Scotland. Decided that the day Jamie dumped me."

"I assume you have a visa."

"Didn't need a visa to visit the UK. I need one now?"

"Yes, you'll be needing a visa if you don't want to be deported." Lachlan pointed a finger at Gavin. "Best talk to a solicitor about that."

Gavin slumped his shoulders because he knew exactly what Lachlan would say next.

"We've got one in the family, you know."

"Thanks for the solid kick in the ass," Gavin said. "Point taken. I need to talk to Rory, about a lot of things."

His need for a visa gave him an excuse to talk to Rory. He could broach the subject of Jamie and whether he and Rory could ever become friends after that. Gavin would settle for being polite acquaintances with the guy. He didn't expect Rory MacTaggart to ever become his best bud.

Gavin rose, Lachlan did too, and they shook hands to say goodbye. Calli appeared then, with Sarah on her shoulder, like she'd been listening outside the kitchen doorway. Gavin couldn't believe his little sister would do that. She'd probably stopped by to see if the men had finished their confab yet. Gavin hugged Calli again, which made her giggle nervously. Well, he couldn't blame her. In all his adult life, he'd hugged her a grand total of twice, both times today.

Right then and there, he resolved to hug his sister more often. His niece too.

He tickled Sarah's tummy and kissed the top of her head.

After leaving Calli and Aidan's house, Gavin headed back to Iain's place to prepare the big surprise he had planned for tonight. For Jamie. To make up for everything and start fresh.

To show his future wife how much she meant to him.

And tomorrow, he'd tackle Rory.

Not literally. Probably.

*****

Jamie knocked on the door of the largest room at the Loch Fairbairn Arms. When no answer came, she knocked harder, rattling the wooden door. The knob featured an old-fashioned key lock, not an electronic keycard reader. This was Loch Fairbairn, not Inverness.

The door lock disengaged with a click, and the door eased open a few inches.

One of Gavin's eyes peered at her through the gap. "You're early."

"I'm fair sick of waiting in the lobby, listening to a ninety-year-old woman blethering about her gout."

"Lucky for you, I'm ready early." He scanned her up and down. "Where's the blindfold?"

Oh . She'd forgotten that requirement for this evening. Gavin had insisted on complete secrecy about what he had planned for tonight, but he'd been explicit in his instructions that she wait in the lobby for fifteen minutes and that she wear a blindfold when she came to the room. She dug the length of silky pink fabric out of her purse, holding it up for Gavin to see.

"Put it on," he said. "Can't let you in until you do."

She draped the blindfold over her eyes and secured it in back.

He took her hands, guiding her inside the room. When they reached the bed, he helped her sit down on it.

"I've got a lot to make up for," he murmured in her ear, his voice low and deep, a sensual rumble that awakened her body. The dark, spicy scent of his cologne enveloped her. "I plan to do as much of it tonight as I possibly can."

"Can I take the blindfold off yet?"

"No." He nibbled her earlobe, flicking his tongue over it, then dragged his mouth down her throat, making her shiver with a delicious hunger. His lips quivered on the skin above her collarbone when he said, "Trust me, babe. This is all for you."

"Gavin —" Her voice abandoned her when he thrust his tongue out to forge a wet, hot trail down her chest until his head was nestled between her breasts, pushing down the neckline of her blouse.

He splayed his hands on her back, sliding them down to her bottom. "Mm, you smell so good."

"Unh." She couldn't form words, couldn't form thoughts, couldn't do a blessed thing except melt into him.

"But we're doing this the right way." He pulled his head away, his hands too, and whisked the blindfold off her head. "How do you like your surprise?"

She straightened, hands on her lap, and admired the scene around her. Candles flickered on the dresser and the bedside table, casting shimmering light on the room. A wheeled cart, draped with a white tablecloth, held dishes concealed under covers and a bottle of champagne bookended by a pair of glass flutes. Gavin had stepped back several feet, granting her a full view of him. He wore a tuxedo and shiny black shoes, and he stood with his shoulders rolled back and his head held high, his face clean shaved.

"Is that the same tuxedo you wore on Halloween?" she asked.

He fingered the lapels. "It is. You seemed to like it."

"Oh, I do." Her breasts tightened the longer she looked at him, so handsome and sexy in his black suit and bow tie. "Can I tear your clothes off yet?"

Gavin laughed. "I love your enthusiasm, but I've got something else planned first."

While he headed for the food cart, she twisted around to examine the bed. The blindfold lay beside her. He'd pulled the thick quilt down to the foot of the bed where it lay neatly folded beneath her. The blanket had been tossed aside so it covered half the mattress. She ran her hand over the sheets, surprised by their silky texture. She'd never stayed at the Loch Fairbairn Arms before, and she'd had no idea how luxurious their accommodations were.

"This is a lovely room," she said, for something to say. Her skin tingled with a nervous excitement, and she'd gnarled her fingers in her skirt.

"I got the biggest room at the best hotel in Loch Fairbairn."

"This is the only hotel in the village."

He glanced over his shoulder to flash her a sly grin. "Then it would be the best one, wouldn't it?"

She craned her neck in an attempt to peek around his body. "What are you doing over there?"

"You'll see." He returned his attention to the cart. "Can I trust you to close your eyes and not peek? Or should we put the blindfold back on?"

With a sly grin of her own, she snatched up the blindfold and tied it in place.

"That's my girl."

And she was his. Completely. Willingly. Forever.

The carpeting muted the sound of his footsteps as he approached her, and the rustling of his clothing told her he'd knelt in front of her. He clasped her hands, his warm and roughened by the manual labor he'd done lately. She didn't mind at all. The thought of those rough palms on her naked skin rippled a hot shiver through her body.

He kissed her knuckles one by one, then set her right hand back on her lap, keeping her left hand in his. "I love you, Jamie. There's nobody else for me, not now, not ever."

When he tore the blindfold off, she blinked at the sudden change.

Gavin knelt on one knee, his steady gaze on her. In his right hand, he held a small, velvet-covered box with the lid flipped up to reveal a diamond ring. "Jamie MacTaggart, will you marry me?"

"You already asked me that, and I already said yes."

"While I had my dick inside you." He raised the ring to her eye level. "You deserve a genuine, romantic proposal. What do you say?"

"Yes. Again."

He plucked the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger. "Now it's official. You're stuck with me, your ball and chain till death do us part."

"I like your balls. They're mine and only mine from this day forward."

Gavin picked her up, carried her to the side of the bed, and laid her down on the soft sheets with her head on the fluffy pillow. He devoured her with his eyes, admiring her body with a heated haze in his eyes, his attention exciting her skin with every sweep of his gaze.

She started to sit up.

He sat on the bed's edge, one hand on her knee. "You've inspired me to go talk to Rory tomorrow."

"How did I do that?"

"You encouraged me to talk to Calli, which wound up with me talking to Lachlan after that." He squeezed her knee. "And Lachlan convinced me I need to talk to Rory. It was like one big circle of pestering from the MacTaggarts."

Jamie levered up into a sitting position and placed her hand over his on her knee. "We do it because we love you."

"Lachlan loves me?" Gavin made a disgusted face. "Do I have to hug him now?"

"No," she said with a half-stifled laugh. "And don't tell Lachlan I included him in the group of MacTaggarts who love you. Don't tell Aidan either, he'll tease Lachlan about it forever. Aidan still calls Rory 'sweetie-pie' because Calli mentioned that Emery mentioned Rory's a sweetie-pie."

"That's one convoluted grapevine you guys have there." He slid his hand up her thigh, carrying her hand with it. "I might need some hot sex to reinvigorate me, so I have the energy to deal with the guy who goaded me into an argument at Thanksgiving."

"He did the same to me."

"I know, and tomorrow I'll find out why." He switched his hand position, holding hers beneath it on her own thigh, and moved their hands together until his fingers and hers grazed the hairs of her mound. "Tonight, I plan on celebrating our newly reaffirmed engagement. With lots of moaning and gasping from you. For hours and hours and hours."

For the rest of the night, he proved he hadn't been exaggerating. They made full use of the spacious suite at the Loch Fairbairn Inn — hour after hour.