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

Chapter Thirty-One

Jamie tried to watch television in the sitting room, but all she did was zip through the channels over and over, her mind refusing to focus on anything for more than a few seconds. What was happening upstairs? Would Rory and Gavin reach a truce? What if they didn't? She would side with Gavin, no matter what, because that's what couples did. At least, that's what her brothers and their wives did for each other. If Lachlan had disliked Emery, Rory would've told him to jump into Loch Fairbairn on a cold winter's day.

If Rory couldn't accept Gavin, Jamie would tell Rory to jump in the loch.

Maybe she'd shove him in herself.

Reading magazines hadn't distracted her either, so she finally gave up and returned to the vestibule to sit on the steps and wait.

"Have you been sitting there the whole time?"

Jamie leaped up at the sound of Gavin's voice, spinning around to see him coming down the stairs. "How did it go?"

Gavin strode down the steps at a leisurely pace, tall and strong and gorgeous. "Rory's helping me out with the visa thing."

"He is?" Jamie's heart took flight, flittering like the wings of an ethereal butterfly. Rory had offered to help Gavin. He wouldn't help someone he disliked. "That's wonderful."

"It's good news, yeah." Gavin stepped down to stand beside her on the vestibule floor. "I think I made some strides there, but Rory asked me to come back at two o'clock to take part in some kind of test."

"A test?" Jamie wrinkled her nose, not sure she liked this development. "Does Emery know about this?"

"Yep. She's all for it."

If Emery thought this "test" was a good idea, Jamie supposed it must be okay. Rory's wife would never let him do anything nasty if she had any warning, and Rory never was nasty, anyway. Except on Thanksgiving. Even then, she'd sensed he'd started a fight for a reason, not solely to be rude. Another test? For her or for Gavin? Both, maybe.

"Let me talk to Rory," she said, turning toward the stairs. "I'll find out what he's on about."

"No, Jamie." Gavin took hold of her upper arms, forcing her to face him. "I can handle this. If your brother needs to test me, I'll do it. I want to be a part of this family, which means I have to make the effort."

"Even if it's embarrassing?"

"Yes, even if."

"We have more than three hours until you meet Rory again. What should we do?"

"Got a plan for that." He whipped a keyring out of his pocket, the Jaguar logo tag dangling from it. "Rory and Emery lent us the Jag. Thought we could go Christmas shopping in the village. What do you say?"

She couldn't help it. She squealed and hopped up and down on her toes. "Yes! Yes! I need to buy presents for all my sisters — Cat and Fiona, and the American Wives Club."

"Guess I better buy something for your brothers too. In the name of sucking up."

His smirk and the sparkle in his eyes made her heart swell. The old Gavin was back, for good.

No matter what Rory did this afternoon.

Gavin hustled her out the door to where the Jag was parked in the driveway. He hooked the keyring around his finger and twirled it. "Wanna drive?"

"Me?" Jamie flung herself at him, arms around his neck, and peppered his face and mouth with a flurry of quick kisses. "Lachlan won't let me drive his Aston Martin. Now I get to drive a Jaguar? Yes, I'd love to."

She kissed him harder, her pulse quickening as their mouths opened and their tongues tangled. He hoisted her off her feet, his hands under her bottom, and deepened the kiss even more. When he set her on her feet again, she was breathless and flushed.

He pinched her bottom and handed her the car key. "It's all yours, babe."

Jamie snagged the key. Gavin swung the driver's door open to let her slide in behind the wheel. The seat felt so nice with its soft, buttery leather. Adjusted to fit Emery, the position of the seat suited Jamie perfectly too. She turned the key in the ignition and then sat there for a moment listening to the engine purr like a kitten.

Time to awaken the beast.

She shifted the Jag into gear and floored the accelerator. The engine roared, and the sports car shot through the massive gateway to rocket down the long drive through the woods.

When they bounced over a pothole, Gavin said, "Slow down, Jamie. We want to be alive when we get to Loch Fairbairn, not a couple of meat sacks plastered to the seats."

Jamie laughed, having more fun than she had in ages, but she eased up on the accelerator.

Gavin flashed her a look of affectionate exasperation. "I learned another new thing about you. Jamie MacTaggart is a speed demon."

She laughed again. "I see why Emery loves this car."

"You can let loose again when we get to that straight stretch on the road to the village." He laid a hand on her thigh. "Think I might've created a monster, though. A sweet, sexy little demon with a hunger for speed."

"That's not all I'm hungry for." She stroked the steering wheel the same way she liked to stroke every part of him. "Emery swears this car is an aphrodisiac. I think she's right."

"Mm, yeah." Gavin shifted his hand to her inner thigh. "How do you think Rory would feel about us getting it on in his wife's car?"

"He'd have a seizure. But after what he did on Thanksgiving, it would serve him right to have his car defiled."

"Emery wouldn't care."

"No, she wouldn't. And this is her car, even if Rory did pay for it."

Gavin skated his hand higher up her inner thigh. "Find a secluded spot to pull over, then you can take a different kind of ride."

"I do love the feel of a powerful machine at my command."

She stopped the car in the middle of the driveway. The trees and distance from the house ensured no one would see or hear them unless Rory or Emery decided to take the Mercedes for a drive. Maybe Jamie should've worried about that, about being discovered in the midst of riding her favorite machine, but she didn't give a damn.

Gavin groaned when she shimmied out of her panties while still in her seat. When she got to her knees and swung over to straddle him in the passenger seat, his breathing grew labored and his erection blossomed.

He unzipped his pants and freed his shaft.

She lowered her body onto his length, slowly, deliberately, loving the sensation of his hardness penetrating her.

"Jamie," he groaned. "Let's defile this car good."

And then they did. Three times.

Miraculously, afterward they still had time left for Christmas shopping.

*****

After two hours of shopping with Jamie, Gavin understood why Rory liked letting his wife burn through his wallet. Watching Jamie pick out presents for the MacTaggart women made Gavin happier than he'd imagined it could. She got so excited every time she found the ideal gift for one of the ladies, and she literally jumped for joy when she discovered the "absolutely dead perfect" gifts for her brothers. Gavin picked out presents for the guys too, even for Iain, though he had no idea if they'd like the gifts. He didn't know them very well. Though he'd vowed to remedy that situation, he doubted it would happen before Christmas.

He took the chance they'd hate what he gave them. That was a holiday tradition too, right? Getting things you didn't want from well-meaning friends and loved ones.

At one point, Jamie had held up a bright-green shirt with a picture of Santa Claus on it and said, with a mischievous little smile, "Why don't you wear this to meet Rory this afternoon?"

Gavin grabbed the shirt, holding it up to his chest to show her how it looked. "It's my color, right?"

"Oh aye, green goes with your eyes."

"They're brown."

She patted his chest, her hand smack on Santa's face. "And green complements the brown."

"If you say so." He slung the shirt over his arm. "I'll take it."

Her eyes widened, the green flecks in her hazel irises shimmering in the sunshine streaming through the shop windows. "You will?"

"Yep." He flipped through the rack of Santa shirts until he found the right size, then held it up to Jamie's chest. "You need one too."

Delight lit up her face, and his chest swelled and warmed from the inside.

He pecked a kiss on her lips. "The Santa shirts are my treat. What else can I splurge on to make my fiancée keep smiling?"

"Lunch." She glanced at the clock on the wall above the sales counter. "We've got time to have a piece at the cafe."

The word cafe made his mouth go dry. "You mean, uh, the place where I — where we —"

"Aye," she said with a bright smile. "The cafe where you shattered my heart into tiny little shards and blew them away with the wind."

He sighed and shook his head. "Okay, I deserve to get razzed about that. But are you sure you want to return to the scene of the crime?"

"Yes. We need to exorcise that curse once and for all."

Turned out by "exorcise" she meant they'd make out and feed each other like one of those sickeningly lovey-dovey couples he'd always hated. Today, he didn't care if every couple in the cafe started cooing and spooning pudding into each other's mouths. He didn't care who might see him doing those kinds of goofy things with Jamie.

She introduced him to Scottish craft beer, which turned out to be pretty darn good. After enjoying fish and chips — not the most romantic food, but very satisfying — they finished off their meal with crème br?lée made with Highland cream liqueur. The luscious dessert got Jamie in a luscious mood, and he loved her that way.

They made out while waiting for their drinks. They made out while waiting for their meal. They made out before and after dessert. Hell, they made out during dessert too. The Cafe of Doom had been rechristened the Cafe of Love.

Jamie had changed into her Santa shirt in the car right after they'd left the shop where they bought the shirts. She shrieked and giggled when he whipped off his shirt and replaced it with the Santa Claus one. Nope, she hadn't seen that coming.

She let him drive the Jag home.

As they got nearer and nearer to Rory's castle, Jamie kept eying Gavin's shirt while chewing on her lip.

Finally, he asked, "What's the matter?"

"Don't you want to change your shirt?"

"Nope. I'm good."

Her delicate brows rose, and she stopped blinking. "You are going to wear a Christmas shirt when you meet Rory for the big test?"

"Yes I am."

The surprise on her face — shock, actually — teased a laugh out of him. "I'm way past caring what your brothers think of me. I want to be friends with them, but they'll have to accept me as I am, Santa shirt and all."

Jamie leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I adore you, Gavin Douglas."

"I've got a thing for you too, in case you hadn't noticed."

Her sweet laughter tickled his senses and his heart.

Whatever might go down this afternoon, he had no more worries about losing Jamie. Nothing, not even her stern older brother, could take him away from her ever again.