Page 108 of Gift-Wrapped in a Kilt

A smile of pure satisfaction spread across Trevor's face.

Oh, that was not good. Not good at all.

The English Ass struggled to his feet, dusted himself off, and nodded as if he'd reached a decision. "You're right, Douglas. My task here is done."

Trevor Langley rushed through the garden gate and disappeared.

Everyone watched him go. Then, one by one, they all focused on Gavin.

He hunched his shoulders. "Don't ask me. I've got no clue what that guy was talking about."

"Forget Langley," Rory said. "We have a prize for you."

"You don't have to do that."

"It's already done." Rory nodded to Lachlan who trotted off through the garden door. While his brother disappeared inside the castle walls, Rory fixed his inscrutable gaze on Gavin. "You are an intelligent man. I'm sure you've deduced the reason behind all of this — except for our unwanted visitor's behavior, that is."

Gavin stayed silent for a moment, considering the test and Rory's actions leading up to today. "I have an idea, but I'm not positive about it."

Rory waved a hand in a go-on gesture. "Share your deduction."

"Well," Gavin said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I can't figure out why, but it seems like you've been trying to make me man up and stop acting like a dumb-ass, to get me to face up to my fears and get over them."

"Very good." Rory rested one foot atop the whisky barrel. "Anything else?"

What the hell.Gavin had no reason not to forge ahead and blurt out everything he'd figured out today. "At first, I thought it was Calli's sneaky idea to have me stay with Iain, a guy who let the love of his life get away. Then, I decided it must've been Emery. Now, I'm thinking it was your idea."

"Another wise deduction," Rory said. "Emery had wanted you to stay with Lachlan and Erica, thinking my brother might tell you how he overcame his fears. I steered my wife in the direction of Iain because I believed he had the story that would help you the most. Iain never shared the details with me, but I suspected the local gossip had it right, at least the fundamentals of it. You weren't afraid because of a bad marriage as Lachlan and I were. You had different fears that threatened to derail your relationship with Jamie. Iain seemed the perfect friend for you."

Emery hurried up beside her husband, hooking her arm under his. She spoke to Gavin. "I had no idea at first why Rory wanted you to meet Iain, but I knew he must have a good reason. When I finally wheedled it out of him, I was very impressed with my hubby's sneakiness. He's come a long way from the repressed solicitor who couldn't admit he had feelings for me. Now, Rory MacTaggart meddles right along with me."

Rory laid a hand over Emery's where it curled around his bicep. "My wife swears she never meddled until after she married me." He gave Emery a sarcastically reproving look. "I think she might have massaged the truth a bit."

His wife poked him in the side. "I never needed to meddle until I met you. If I hadn't shoved my nose into your business at every turn, we never would've stayed married."

"Yes," Rory said, gazing at his wife with an almost dreamy expression, "you always know what's best for me,mo gaoloch."

Jamie sidled up to Gavin, resting her head on his upper arm and looking at him the way her brother was looking at his wife. Gavin kissed the top of Jamie's head.

"I'm assuming," Gavin said to Rory, "the bromancing thing was all your wife."

Rory feigned a wince, his mouth twisted in mock disgust. "Only Emery would come up with an idea sure to make any man feel like a jessie."

"No one would ever mistake you for a weakling," Emery said, nudging her husband with her whole body. "My idea worked, didn't it?"

"Aye, it did." Rory bent to kiss his wife full on the mouth in a lingering lip-lock. "I will never again doubt the wisdom of my darling wife."

Lachlan jogged out of the garden doorway straight to Rory, handing him a soft-looking package wrapped in plain brown paper. "Here it is. Should we have a formal ceremony for this? Dunk his head in holy water, maybe?"

Rory sighed. "No, Lachie, it's not a baptism."

His older brother squinted at him with feigned indignation. "Maybe I should dunk your head in holy water, to exorcise the demon that makes you keep calling me Lachie when ye know I'll skelp ye for it."

"Nah, Lachie," Aidan chimed in, "you're no rabid wolf. You're a fluffy little puppy, especially when your wife smiles at you."

Emery laughed. "And Rory's a big old teddy bear. What about you, Aidan? Calli, what sort of unmanly thing is your husband when he thinks nobody's watching?"

"Donnae trick my wife," Aidan said, "into calling me anything but a randy bull."

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