Page 14 of Shy Innocent In The Spotlight

Mack gave her a world-weary look. ‘What do you think?’

‘I don’t know your brother well enough to speculate.’ Elspeth’s cheeks grew uncomfortably warm as she thought of how Mack must view her statement given ‘she’ had supposedly had a one-night stand with him. ‘But I’m thinking Sabine’s father isn’t going to want him working for him.’

‘Got it in one.’

Elspeth could only imagine the stress Mack must have gone through over the loss of his father and then the breakdown of his mother and subsequent acting out of his younger brother. And all while he was sixteen, only two years older than his brother. ‘How did you cope with the loss of your father? I mean, it must have been so hard for you too.’

Mack’s expression became masked and she realised then how he coped—by concealing his own struggles, his own deep distress. He was resilient, self-reliant, stoic. ‘I grew up fast. I had to. There was no one else to take charge.’

‘No grandparents?’

‘My paternal grandparents died when I was four. Car crash. I can barely remember them now. Fraser can’t remember them at all.’

‘And your mother’s parents?’

‘My mother’s mother died when she was thirteen. Breast cancer, the same cancer that got her. Her father died when I was ten. I have lots of fond memories of him. He was a good man, steady and reliable.’

‘Like you.’

Mack shrugged one broad shoulder in a dismissive manner. ‘Someone has to be steady in a crisis, which brings me back to the plan.’

‘The plan?’

‘The press are going to swarm around you like hornets, so you need to go to ground. Immediately.’

Elspeth gripped the back of an oak chair to steady her suddenly trembling legs. ‘The press?’

‘The paparazzi. One whiff of this and you’ll be hounded for an exclusive tell-all interview. But I should warn you against giving one.’

Elspeth swallowed. The thought of the press hounding her, chasing her, thrusting microphones and cameras in her face terrified her. ‘I would never do that.’

One dark eyebrow winged upwards. ‘I’m afraid I can’t afford to believe you, so I will be accompanying you until this blows over.’

Elspeth gawped at him. Had she heard him correctly? ‘Accompanying me? Accompanying me where?’

‘To a secret hideaway.’

‘You’re...kidnapping me?’ Her eyes were so round they threatened to pop out of her head. Could this farce get any more ridiculous?

He gave a light laugh. ‘Ever the drama queen. No, I’m giving you a choice. You either come with me willingly or I leave you to face the destruction of your reputation and quite possibly your career.’

Elspeth’s heart skipped a beat. Two beats. And then went into a wacky rhythm as if she were suffering some sort of serious cardiac condition. ‘That sounds suspiciously like blackmail to me.’

‘Think of it as a choice.’

She put her chin up and eyeballed him. ‘Your way or the highway?’

His smile was indolent but his grey-blue gaze was steely with determination. ‘I believe it’s in your best interests to come with me.’

‘For how long?’

‘One night until the guests and the paps leave. But longer if necessary.’

‘Longer? But what about my job? I can’t just disappear without warning.’ He wasn’t to know she had already taken next week off work to have a look around Scotland to visit some of the villages her family’s ancestors came from. And as to what engagements her twin had for the next few days, well, Elspeth needed to find a private room to call Elodie to tell her what was going on. Elodie would have to go into hiding too, until this scandal blew over. If it blew over.

‘I’m sure you can take time off work but I’ll reimburse you for any lost wages.’

No way did she want to face the paparazzi.

No way did she want to face the wrath of poor heartbroken Sabine.

And no way did she want to miss out on a night in hiding with Mack. Why shouldn’t she go with him? It would be a perfect opportunity to see how the other half lived. This was her chance, maybe her only chance, to live a little dangerously. And it didn’t get more deliciously dangerous than spending time with devilishly handsome Mack MacDiarmid.

‘So now you’re bribing me?’

‘Is it working?’

Elspeth gave him the side eye. ‘A little too well.’

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