Page 56 of Take Her from You

“I think his da will. Catch ye later. Stay sane.”

He rolled his eyes, and I returned to my car.

Driving back through the lanes to Castle Braithar, I mused over the cookies I’d missed out on and almost contemplated calling Mia. But she was on a fucking date, and she’d made her position clear. I’d already overstepped the mark once. It was enough that I sought her out every day, making sure she hadn’t vanished overnight or she didn’t appear upset.

Just checking on her was a friendly thing to do.

Perhaps the cookies had been exactly that. A gesture of friendship I’d missed.

At the castle, I left my car in the space I’d claimed and entered through the big front door. Castle Braithar sat on the banks of the river with a thick forest surrounding. Built of thick stone blocks, it was hundreds of years old and had the mythical feel of something out of a movie.

It had also been my home for the week.

The place was owned by Gordain and Ella, and they lived there with their daughter, Viola, and her husband, Leo, plus the two kids. The size of the sprawling building, which housed a dozen bedrooms and the recording studio, meant everyone had their own space, and because they liked having one of the bodyguard crew on site, my brother had lived here until he’d moved in with Daisy.

His rooms had been vacant until Raphael moved in. In turn, Raphael had offered his floor to me.

One thing was for certain, it was a fuckton warmer than the bunkhouse, and quieter, as Raphael usually took to the skies after work for an evening of flying.

The bunkhouse had lost its shine.

Striding through the great hall, I picked up on music and women’s laughter over the top of it. Sounded like a party. I slowed my steps, unashamedly rubbernecking to peek into the dining room.

Through the door, I caught a glimpse of several lasses, all who’d arrived in the time I’d been out with Finn. Viola, Ariel, Daisy, and others. All dressed up, most with glasses of wine in hand. Not all that long ago, Jackson and I had interrupted just such a party, and things had got raucous. These ladies knew how to throw down. A grin touched my lips.

Then another woman appeared in the gap. Mia, in a pretty dress with smoky makeup accentuating her already knockout features.

My whole body tightened, and I swallowed at the shock of seeing her. She was here, not out with some fuckhead guy pawing over her.

Her fair hair was down, spilling in golden lengths over her shoulders. She only ever wore it up in a ponytail or braid, and my brain went right to coiling those locks around my fist.

Worse, the dress clung to her tits, not cut low enough for me to have a heart attack, but still breaking my brain. I knew the weight and feel of that gorgeous pair. How Mia threw her head back and arched into my palms when I touched her.

My blood shot south.

“Val,” a voice hailed me.

I spun around, instantly guilty at my leering.

My brother approached. I shot a glance back at the door, but no one emerged.

“I wanted to talk about the rest of the renovation works,” Ben said.

“What works?”

“To the cottage adjoining Mia’s. We’ve got a week before we leave, so it’s worth getting as much done as we can.”

I forced my brain to re-engage, though half my attention was on the voices in the room, like I’d become the spy. “The windows are in and the plumbing’s done. It’s the electrics and kitchen build, like with the one next door. Is there a tenant picked out?”

He’d suggested I take it, but that never felt right. I didn’t need a whole house. I was a single guy with no responsibilities. Readying a place for Mia and Tobi made sense. For me? Not so much.

“Aye,” he replied, his scrutiny on me challenging as always.

Or maybe that was my imagination.

Then I registered his answer. Well, fuck. The second cottage had a new owner. Why the hell was I disappointed over that?

I shrugged it off. Worse things happened. Like my favourite new friend deciding she couldn’t be around me anymore.

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