Page 28 of Gift-Wrapped in a Kilt

Jamie slammed the door. The bang reverberated in the vestibule.

Emery appeared in the doorway as if she'd been hanging around in the hall. "Everything okay? Mrs. D mentioned your ex was here. Then I heard the door slam."

"Trevor wants me," Jamie said. She rubbed her forehead where an ache had begun to throb. Between Trevor and Gavin, she had too much manly nonsense in her life. "I told him I don't want him, but he says he won't give up."

"Yeah, he told Rory he made a huge mistake letting you go." Emery waved for Jamie to follow her into the hallway. "Come on, we'll talk in the sitting room."

Jamie let her sister-in-law shepherd her through the dining room and down the guest-wing hallway to the sitting room. Emery sat down on the sofa, patting it in a tacit invitation. Jamie flopped onto the cushion beside her, huddled in the corner.

"Why the bloody hell did Rory invite Trevor to the party?" Jamie asked.

"Not sure. He conveniently fell asleep before you and I finished our chat, and he conveniently has a long conference call this morning." Emery propped her feet on the coffee table. "Don't worry, I'll grill him later. Rory will explain and make it right."

"Make it right? How?" Jamie snatched up a throw pillow and hugged it to her belly. "Trevor's here, and he won't go away. Short of thumping him on the head with a big rock, I don't see a way to change his mind about winning me over. I told him flat out I am not interested."

Emery made a noncommittal noise. "Men can be stubborn, especially when their masculine pride gets the better of them."

"What do I do?"

"Um…" Emery squinted her whole face as if straining her mind in search of an answer. With a brilliant smile, she said, "Well, if you decide on the rock-thumping idea, I'm sure your brothers would volunteer to drag Trevor's limp body over the border to dump him in England."

Jamie dropped her chin toward her chest, moaning piteously. "Not helping, Em."

"Sorry. I'm just not sure advising you is the best course this time."

"Are you joking?" Jamie peeked up at Emery through her lashes. "Meddling is your favorite pastime."

"No, not my number-one favorite." Emery's gaze turned dreamy, aimed at nothing in particular. "My favorite pastime is getting it on with Rory."

"Ech! Donnae talk to me about doing that with my brother."

"You do realize Erica gets it on with Lachlan all the time, and Calli and Aidan do it —"

Jamie hurled the pillow at Emery.

Emery dodged the pillow, and it bounced off the end table behind her to land on the floor. "You brought up the issue of my favorite pastime. I was being honest. Besides, Rory and I have never done it twenty feet away from a family gathering."

Jamie threw her hands up to cover her face and peeked out between her fingers. "Did you hear us?"

"No-no, nothing like that," Emery said. "I deduced the fact based on your flushed and flustered state after you and Gavin snuck off together."

A horrid thought occurred to Jamie, and she sat bolt upright. "Did Rory deduce the same fact?"

Emery waved a dismissive hand. "Oh no, he would never consider the idea. He probably thinks you're still a virgin."

"I doubt that." Jamie relaxed into the sofa. "I told Aidan I'm not a virgin when he caught me buying condoms once. If he knows, Lachlan and Rory know too."

"But they don't want to think about their baby sister having erotic adventures."

No, they wouldn't. Her brothers wanted to know about her sex life as much as she wanted to know about theirs.

Emery hopped to her feet and clapped her hands. "I have the solution."

"To what?"

"Your glut of men." Emery spread her hands. "Rory and I are going to Skye for three weeks. That gives you plenty of time to sort out your love life."

"What?" Jamie sprang to her feet. "How is that helping me? You're leaving me for three weeks."

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