Page 32 of Gift-Wrapped in a Kilt

Bod an Donais.

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Gavin was still standing there like a mannequin in a museum when Emery waltzed into the kitchen. She had that knowing look on her face, the one that usually preceded a round of meddling.

He parked his butt on the stool Jamie had vacated. "She told you, didn't she?"

"That you blamed everything on her brothers? Yes." Emery braced a hip against the island a few feet from him. "You poor, deluded man. That's not the way to win Jamie back."

"I can't get her back. Jamie won't talk to me anymore after this. All she wants is a sex slave."

Not that he minded being enslaved to her passion. But still —

"Sex slave?" Emery said, and laughed softly.

He froze, the awareness of what he'd confessed to Emery hitting him like a snowball to the face. Fidgeting, avoiding her steady gaze, he mumbled, "Why did I say that?"

She laughed again, but as always, her amusement never seemed like scorn. Everybody talked to Emery, not solely because she liked to intervene in their lives. She was easy to talk to. Hell, any woman who could get under Rory MacTaggart's skin must have voodoo-level skills.

"Relax, Gavin." She nudged his foot with hers. "Jamie already told me about her offer. I know what she thinks. Now, I want to hear what you think, what you want."

"I want Jamie." He propped an elbow on the island and dropped his forehead into his raised palm. "That's never gonna happen now. She thinks I'm an asshole, and she's not wrong."

"You told her the problem is her brothers." Emery crossed her arms over her chest, giving him ayou're a damn idiotlook. "How did you think that would go over?"

Gavin slouched down, wishing he could disappear into the granite countertop. "I was mad. I heard she'd been talking to her ex, that suave English douchebag Rory invited to the Halloween party. Rory probably thinks Trevor is the perfect guy for Jamie, way better than me. And the English Ass begged Jamie to take him back. Since she doesn't want me, not the right way, she must want him."

Emery half stifled a laugh. "I think you're interpreting the gossip through the lens of your own insecurities."

Damn, she was right. So damn right it pissed him off. He wasn't angry with Emery, though. He hated himself for having these insecurities and feeling like a loser because he didn't have what the English Ass offered Jamie — financial security, emotional stability, and no baggage.

Trevor Langley was perfect. How could Gavin blame Jamie for preferring him?

Emery sighed. "Acting like a big old asshat won't help you win Jamie back. She doesn't want Trevor, but if you keep pushing her away, she might change her mind. Is that what you want?"

"No." Gavin kicked the wooden side of the island with the toe of one shoe. "I know it's not really her brothers' fault we're having problems, but they don't like me. Jamie needs her brothers to approve of me. I don't understand it. Why do we need their okay?"

"Yes, it's a mystery." Emery's lips kinked into a sly smile. "You don't care at all what your sister thinks of your life choices, do you?"

Gavin wriggled on the stool, lifting his head out of his palm. "You're really annoying, you know that?"

"Why? Because you know I'm right?" She rested a hand on the island, leaning into it. "I'm not emotionally invested in this thing. That's why I can see things you won't let yourself admit to."

"I care what Calli thinks. What's that got to do with the MacTaggarts?"

Emery studied him for a moment, as inscrutable as the Buddha. "Remember how you felt when you showed up at Calli's house to find Aidan living there?"

Oh yeah, Gavin remembered that. His sweet, innocent sister shacked up with a man she'd known for a week. A Scottish man. A guy who walked around half naked like he was the god of sex.

The man who'd seduced his baby sister.

Calli and Aidan were married now. He didn't hold a grudge against Aidan these days, not since he'd realized how much the guy loved Calli and that he'd do anything to keep her safe and happy. Still, he wasn't exactly friends with his brother-in-law.

"I didn't like him at first," Gavin admitted, "but I've gotten used to Aidan. I get why he and his brothers don't like me. Jamie's their baby sister. But I got over Aidan screwing my little sister, so why can't they get over me and Jamie being together?"

"Have you given them a reason to?" Emery tapped a fingernail on the island. "I met you when Rory and I came home, freshly married, and the whole family gathered in the garden to welcome us. You were there, but you hung back. Didn't talk to anybody except Jamie, Calli, and me. It's the same at every MacTaggart family get-together. You hang back and only talk to Jamie, Calli, or me."

"Yeah, okay, that might be true." It was absolutely true, but he couldn't bring himself to say so out loud. "The Three Macs don't exactly go out of their way to make me feel welcome."

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