Page 70 of Scotch & Shortbread

Alex looked at her from under a raised brow. “Really?”

“Yeah, it was nice. We had such a good chat. He seems like such a genuine guy.”

“He’s great, but he’s married. And I’ll kill him if he so much as looked at ye wrong,” Alex blurted.

Quinn threw back her head and laughed. She kinda liked possessive, jealous Alex even if it was at his brother’s peril.

“Dinnae think I joke, little lass.”

Quinn settled in a smile, knowing full well, that Alex would never do anything to harm Lachlan, but loving all the same that he was protective over her.

“I’m well aware he’s a married man, to Violet. The blond-haired woman from the photo in your sporran.” Quinn regarded him, silently daring him to deny it.

“Ah, shite. Right, the picture.” He winced as he leaned back in his seat.

“Yes. The picture,” she chirped her eyes boring into him.

He looked incredibly uncomfortable, and Quinn felt vindicated.Good, let him wallow in guilt. He’d intentionally let her believe that it was him in that picture, and she waited to hear how he would explain himself.

“Ach, lass, when ye assumed the photo was of me and my family, my wife, and babies or whatever ye thought—” Alex stopped mid-sentence looking contrite. With a heavy sigh, he dared to look into Quinn’s expectant eyes. “I’m sorry, lass. It feels so daft now that I wasn’t just straight with ye. I should huv been honest.”

“Yes, you should have,” she said emphatically, but then she almost laughed seeing big strong sexy Alex looking like a guilty puppy. She bit her lip as she observed him and realized she didn’t enjoy watching his guilt. “I understand why you didn’t tell me the truth.”

“Ye do?” he arched a disbelieving brow.

“I think you knew I wouldn’t get involved with a married man. I practically handed you a brick to build your wall. An easy way to keep me out.” She eyed him to see if she was on the right track.

“Aye, I suppose. It did feel like a little extra fortification, but it was silly really as I’d already said I wasnae married,” Alex countered.

“True,” she agreed. “But you still left me feeling apprehensive. It’s the only picture I’d seen in your cabin, and it was hidden away. A mystery. And my God, from what I could see, it was you with your loving wife and children. I believed you when you told me you weren’t married, but then I assumed you had to be divorced. I couldn’t understand how you could have just abandoned your children.”

“I’d never ever do that,” Alex interjected.

“I know,” Quinn said. “I was baffled, and you were so tight-lipped about it. I wondered if they’d all died!” she blurted.

“Christ!” Alex’s lips tugged like he was about to laugh, and Quinn saw the mirth in his eyes.

“Don’t you dare laugh.” She shot him a glare.

“I’m sorry, lass.”

She could see the great effort it took him not to laugh, and she couldn’t help but find him all the more appealing. Curse him.

“Ach, Quinn, I confess, I suppose I knew ye were thinking that it was me in the photo with Violet and the boys, but I didnae consider that you’d try to rationalize their whereabouts. I didnae think much about it at all except that suppose I thought it would be easier if you assumed I had too many skeletons in my closet.” He looked repentant.

“I knew there were skeletons, but I have skeletons in my closet too. Everyone does.”

Alex nodded resting his good hand over the steering wheel.

“When you opened up about Kate, I would have thought you’d come clean about the picture too.”

“Aye, I suppose it would have made sense. That night I told you about Kate, it changed things for me. I hadn’t ever spoken about everything that had happened to anyone. People knew, of course, but I never talked about it.”

Quinn’s heart squeezed. How had he carried that all these years without talking about it? “I’m glad you were able to talk about it with me,” she said, gently putting her hand on his arm.

He looked down at her hand stroking his arm and then his eyes drew back up to hers with that stormy blue that seemed to set her soul on fire.

“I never want to keep anything from ye, lass. Talking to ye freed me somehow. I’m sorry fer the picture and fer being such a coward. Truly I am. Can we start over? No more walls. No more secrets or half-truths.”

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