Page 37 of Wild Scottish Fortune

At that, both Finlay and Graham turned, zeroing in on me, and my cheeks flushed. Finlay had changed from work, wearing dark denim trousers and a blue chambray shirt, the cuffs rolled up to reveal his strong forearms. His gold watch winked at his wrist, and his eyes were alight with curiosity and something else that I couldn’t quite put a name to.

Maybe I didn’t want to put a name to it.

“Orla, honey! Yoo-hoooo!” Miss Elva called, waving from where she sat, as if the entire pub wasn’t already watching her. The Tipsy Thistle was a hodgepodge place, as old buildings in the UK often were, with rooms added on here and there through the years. The room we were in nowhoused a large circular bar, various cozy seating nooks, and was peppered with random bits and bobs decorating the stone walls. Even so, it wasn’t large enough that Miss Elva had to shout, but I was beginning to think that was her normal speaking volume. The woman seemed to live out loud.

One of her entourage stood, a strapping lad with dark hair and lively blue eyes, and crossed the now silent pub to stand by me. I looked up, and kept looking up, until I met his eyes.

“Four more pints, please. And whatever this beautiful lass wants.” The lad grinned at me, and my insides did funny things as I remembered the lot of them with their shirts off.Not to mention the full frontal thanks to their kilts and tendency to squat.

“Um, a Coke is fine, Graham.” Best not to drink around these men before I did something silly like ask if they could bench-press my body weight.

“That’s fine, mate. I’ll bring them over,” Graham assured the man, and I bit back a grin, suspecting he wanted the beefcake to stay away from Agnes.

“Helllooooo,” Agnes said, her smile widening at the man. “Welcome to Loren Brae.”

“Thank you.” The man’s grin deepened. “We’re certainly enjoying ourselves. You’re welcome to join our table if you’d like.”

“I—”

“I’ll bring the drinks over, mate,” Graham said, louder this time, and the man nodded, returning to where Miss Elva held court.

“That wasrude,” Agnes huffed.

Ithadbeen a bit rude, and deciding to ruffle Graham’s feathers a bit, I leaned in.

“You’ll have to come join us, Agnes. Miss Elva is a treat.”

“Oh, I’d love nothing more.”

“Why did you see them naked?” Finlay asked, leaning closer, and I straightened, surprised he’d ask me that question. He was technically my boss, and who I saw naked was really none of his business.

Not that I’d mind seeinghimnaked.

As soon as the thought hit my brain, my entire body heated, and I shut that idea down quickly. No, I most certainly did not remember his strong arms wrapped around my body, lifting me easily in the air, while twirling me like I was some heroine in a romance novel. Nope, I didn’t recall every second of that moment in the slightest. Not at all.

“Are you asking that in a professional capacity then, Mr. Thompson?” I asked lightly, knowing I was baiting him.

Annoyance flashed, and Graham grumbled behind the bar. Agnes let out a soft coo of delight, clearly happy with the way things were going this evening.

“Mere curiosity, Ms. Clarke, since you announced it to the whole pub.”

“Hardly the whole pub. Just a side comment to my friend Agnes. Were you eavesdropping on a private matter then?”

“Och, it’s a private matter you had with them now?” Finlay’s face turned stormy, and I hid my amusement. I wasn’t one for games, never really knowing how to navigate flirtations, but I could see why Agnes enjoyedpoking Graham so much. Both Graham and Finlay were strong, handsome, smart men in their own right. Knowing you could affect them did feel a touch powerful, I had to admit. Not that I should even be thinking of flirtation. Finlay was a work relationship and needed to stay as such.

“Shall we take those drinks over for you, Graham?” Agnes asked sweetly and he glowered as he slapped a tray on the bar.

“I’m guessing that’s a no,” I hissed in Agnes’s ear, and she chuckled.

“Let’s go before their heads explode.”

We crossed the room to where Miss Elva sat, reveling the men with a story about a Tiki bar in the Keys, and they pulled up two more chairs for us.

“Miss Elva, this is Agnes, a friend of mine.”

“Ohh, child, aren’t you a powerful one then?” Miss Elva slapped her knee and smiled up at Agnes who tilted her head in question as she sat.

“Am I?”

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