Page 67 of Wild Scottish Beauty

“Okay, random person I just met in a grocery store. We’ll see.”

“I’m off then. Hope to hear from you soon, Willow.” With that Andrew waved and left the store without buying anything, and I squinted after him. Why did he feel so familiar to me? Shrugging, I took my items to the checkout, still eyeing the neon can suspiciously.

“Is Irn Bru any good?” I asked the cashier.

“Oh, it goes down a treat.”

Well, I guess that was that. I’d be trying something new,andI had a date. Maybe it would take my mind off my burgeoning crush on Ramsay. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that a date was exactly what I needed.

Nothing serious, of course. I didn’t actually want or need a relationship right now. But the novelty of being picked up in a grocery store was just too much for me to pass up. Plus, maybe it would provide a tiny distraction from thinking impure thoughts about my boss.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Ramsay

“Dad? Mum?” I called, pushing inside the back door of my childhood home.

I’d grown up near Loren Brae, in a comfortable two-story, three-bedroom cottage on a large plot of land that allowed plenty of space for growing boys to work off pent-up energy from long days confined at our school desks. Andrew and I used to race across the garden, clambering up any trees we could find, certain we were knights protecting our castle.

A simpler time, and one I didn’t like to think about now that Andrew had grown to be the man he was.

It had been over a week since I’d last checked in on my parents, and I wanted to update them on how things were going with Willow in the shop, as well as see if they’d heard about the cèilidh at MacAlpine Castle. When I’d foundmyself mooning around the store once Willow had collected Calvin after her trip to the shops, I realized that maybe I needed to socialize more than I had been lately. I was beginning to lean into hermit life with gusto. Prior to Loren Brae, while I hadn’t been exactly a social butterfly, there’d been a weekly dart and pool league I’d try to stop in for and, when I was in Edinburgh, I loved going to see comedy shows at Monkey Barrel Comedy Club. More or less though, it was an unattached life, with nobody to answer to and an empty flat to come home to.

Muffled voices sounded from the sunroom, and I wandered past framed photos of my childhood—me in my school uniform, the family on a day trip at Edinburgh Castle, my parents at my graduation—and followed the scent of peanut butter through the house. Mum must have baked her famous crispy peanut butter cookies.

“Ramsay!” Mum beamed at me. A woman just shy of sixty, she had a trim figure, dark hair that curled to her shoulders, and was partial to matching knit sets and colorful silk scarves. Today she wore a plum cardigan with a floral and striped knotted scarf and stood when I entered the room.

I skidded to a stop.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, my fingers curling into my palms, forming fists.

Andrew sat next to my father on the loveseat, a crossword puzzle between them.

It had been six years since I’d last seen Andrew, and he looked healthy enough, aside from a bit of weight he’d put on and the dark circles that hung under his eyes. He took after our mother’s side of the family, with lighter coloringand a shorter build. I hated that I wanted to hug him just as much as I wanted to shove a fist in his face. We’d once been close, and it was hard to see through the hurt that clouded the good memories. I didn’twantto see through the hurt. I no longer trusted Andrew, and the pain of his betrayal only served as a reminder to keep my guard up with him at all times.

“Can’t a son visit his father when he’s ailing?” Andrew held up his hands, as though he hadn’t stolen and lied to our entire family.

“He had a stroke months ago, Andrew. Which you knew about because I called you and left a message. As did Mum. You’re just showing up now?”

“Unfortunately, I was on a work trip in China. I’m just now home.”

“You were months in China? I find that hard to believe.”

“Truly, I was. Working on factory arrangements.”

“And taking jobs away from our people.”

Andrew’s lip curled, and his eyes heated.

“Boys, that’s enough. Andrew is our son, and he’s always welcome here,” Mum jumped in, trying to ease the tension that hung in the room.

“Even after he stole your money? Lied to us?”

“Bloody hell, Ramsay. You’re always blethering on about this. I’ve apologized, haven’t I then?” Andrew sighed.

“Saying sorry doesn’t mean you’ve pulled your head out of your arse. Your actions don’t show you’re sorry. You’re never around, you’ve done nothing to help, and I haven’t seen a damn pound of the money that you stole, have I?” My blood heated as I stepped closer to him, wanting himout of this house. “I’m the one who paid Mum and Dad back.”

“So? It’s not like you need the money.”

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