Page 59 of Gift-Wrapped in a Kilt

"Can't deny you anything when you're on top of me."

She pushed up so she sat astride him, hands on his chest. "Ahm needing to have mah way with ye."

"I did say we'd do anything you want today."

And they did — starting in bed.

Chapter Twenty-One

They drove into Loch Fairbairn in Rory's Mercedes and rented two bicycles at a shop in town. Gavin liked the quaint village in spite of knowing everyone here treated Rory like a superhero, the solicitor who saved them from legal disasters, often without charging a cent. Or a shilling. Or whatever they called it here in Scotland. As part of his plan to get in good with the Three Macs, Gavin kept reminding himself not to grimace every time a village resident waxed poetic about the awesome, amazing, godlike Rory MacTaggart.

Okay, Gavin could admit he still had a problem with Rory. Couldn't explain what it was yet, not completely, but he'd come to the conclusion it wasn't jealousy. He didn't want Rory's life. But sometimes — yeah, fine, often — he felt a weird kind of inferiority complex about Jamie's brother. It didn't help that she worshiped Rory.

Despite his initial skepticism about a bike ride, he found himself relaxing and enjoying it as he and Jamie pedaled their way around the village and then out along a bike trail that skirted the perimeter of the loch that had given the town its name.

"What does the name mean?" Gavin asked while they coasted along a straight stretch, the glassy loch on the right, and on their left, the hulking shape of the mountain that backed Rory's property.

"The name of the loch or the mountain?"

"I meant the loch, but yeah, the mountain too."

Jamie flashed him a smile so sweet it made his heart clench. "Fairbairn means beautiful child."

"And the mountain's name?"

"Beann Dealgach? I think it means mountain of the thorny place."

Gavin tried but failed to stifle a snorting laugh. "Figures Rory would live at the bottom of a mountain called the thorny place."

Jamie frowned, though for only half a second.

"Sorry," Gavin said. "Old habits are hard to bump off, even with a howitzer."

They continued in silence, admiring the scenery, savoring this time in each other's company without anyone else around. When a cute little bird flew by near Jamie's shoulder, she grinned and laughed in a tinkly way that made Gavin's belly do dumb things. He wanted to kiss her but couldn't do it while they were careening down a gently sloping hill.

"Could we stop for a while?" Gavin asked. He nodded toward the soft-sided cooler strapped to her bike. "My stomach's growling for that lunch you packed us."

"Sure," she said with another smile, this one softer and twinkling in her eyes.

They veered off the path onto a grassy area under a stand of trees and propped their bikes against the largest of the elms. In the shade of the tree, Gavin spread out the fleece blanket they'd brought. He lowered his body onto the blanket, legs outstretched, and patted the fleece in invitation.

Jamie sat cross-legged beside him. Her jeans hugged her curvy figure, and the bright-yellow top she wore clung to her breasts without being too tight. He loved knowing how those breasts fit nicely in his hands, not too big and not too small. Her hair spilled over her shoulders, and he longed to slide his fingers into the silky waves.

While she brought out the food items in the cooler, Jamie asked, "Do you have PTSD?"

"Jeez, you could beat around that bush a little bit first."

"It's time for honesty, Gavin." She handed him a sandwich inside a plastic bag, gazing steadily into his eyes. "That means being direct. Do you have PTSD?"

"No. I was screened for it when I came home from Afghanistan, but I'm okay." He unzipped the plastic bag and extricated the sandwich from it, eying the food with less interest than a moment ago. The time had come to share uncomfortable stuff with Jamie. His stomach went sour, so he set the sandwich on his thigh. "I saw stuff over there, watched my friends get blown up, but I dealt with it. Helped I had an awesome family at home to keep me grounded."

"Your parents were still alive then?" Her tone remained mild, her expression too. She plucked up a plastic bag and brought out a sandwich.

"My parents died after I came home." He picked at the crust of his sandwich. "When I was overseas, I Skyped with Calli and my parents almost every day. They'd send me care packages too. Calli was in college then, but she always made time to chat or text or email. She even wrote me actual letters, it was so sweet."

"Your sister loves you very much." Jamie gave him a kind smile. "You really are her hero."

He considered his sandwich, squirming because he suddenly couldn't get comfortable. "I don't deserve to be her hero. I let Calli down so badly. If I'd sucked it up and kept it together, she would never have married that creep Rade."

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