Page 4 of Shy Innocent In The Spotlight

Fraser gave her a smile that wasn’t really a smile. ‘I know what you’re up to, you know.’ His voice was still pitched low, as if he didn’t want others to overhear.

Elspeth straightened her shoulders and willed her knees not to tremble. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ At least that wasn’t a lie.

His smile became vicious, like a stray dog baring its teeth. A don’t-mess-with-me-I’m-dangerous-if-provoked warning. He leaned a little closer, his beer-scented breath wafting over her face. ‘You think you’re so clever wangling an invitation to my wedding just to watch me squirm.’

Why would he feel the need to squirm? What exactly had gone on between Fraser MacDiarmid and her twin? A fling? An affair? Elodie hadn’t mentioned anything about a fling with the groom. She had casually dated on and off in the seven years since jilting her fiancé, Lincoln Lancaster, but never for longer than a week or two. She claimed she didn’t want to be tied down. She insisted she wasn’t looking for Mr Right and the white picket fence and a pram parked in the hallway. But something clearly had gone on between Fraser and Elodie. But what?

‘I was flattered to be invited to be one of Sabine’s bridesmaids,’ Elspeth said, desperately trying to stay as cool and collected as her twin would have done.

‘I bet you were.’ Fraser raked her with his gaze. ‘But if you so much as whisper one word of what happened between us that night in London, I’ll deny everything and make you look like the troublemaking fool you are.’

Her heart banged against her ribcage and a cold shiver scuttled down her back. What had happened between them? As much as it shocked her to be threatened by a man who was clearly a bit of a bully, Elspeth stayed in her twin’s character with renewed vigour, even with a little more confidence. After all, Fraser MacDiarmid clearly didn’t suspect she was a stand-in—he was treating her as if she were indeed her twin. Someone with whom he had had some sort of encounter that he was now desperate to keep secret on the eve of his wedding.

Elspeth inched up her chin, her gaze pointed. ‘But will your fiancée believe you?’ She was proud of how sassy and defiant she sounded. So like Elodie it was kind of spooky. Not that she could ever be as confident and in charge as her twin, more was the pity. But it sure was rather thrilling to pretend.

But then she noticed Mack coming back with her glass of champagne, his intelligent gaze taking in the tense little tableau between her and his brother.

‘Ooh, lovely,’ Elspeth said, taking the glass off Mack with a smile bright enough to outshine the crystal chandeliers above. ‘My favourite. Cheers.’ She took a generous sip of the champagne and was pleasantly surprised to find she liked the taste. But maybe that was because it was the best champagne money could buy. No doubt Mack MacDiarmid would not serve cheap imported sparkling wine from the local off-licence at his brother’s wedding. Or maybe it was because, right then, she needed all the help she could get to get through this ridiculous charade.

But was it so ridiculous?

The realisation drifted into her mind that, right now, a part of her was actually enjoying herself. She was a little out of her comfort zone, sure, but no one so far had guessed she wasn’t Elodie, even Fraser, who apparently had had some sort of illicit tryst with her twin. Go me, she thought. Who knew she could act so convincingly? But—even more exciting—she was getting a buzz from being in the company of Mack MacDiarmid. Every time he came within a metre of her, every cell in her body tingled with awareness.

‘Excuse me, I have to mingle with the other guests,’ Fraser said, and strode away with a deep frown carved between his eyes.

Mack looked down at her with an unreadable expression on his face. ‘Everything all right?’

Elspeth blinked up at him guilelessly. ‘Sure. I’m having a marvellous time. Just super. Everything is just wonderful.’

His gaze drifted to her mouth, lingered there for a pulse-racing moment. ‘Liar.’ His voice was deep and rumbly and it did strange things to the base of her spine, making it all tingly and loose.

Elspeth had to remind herself she was pretending to be her twin. Elodie would not stand there with her heart pounding and her senses on high alert. She would not be intimidated by the most handsome man she had ever met. She would stand her ground and give as good as she got. ‘You don’t look like you’re having a wonderful time either.’

‘What makes you say that?’

She gave her version of one of her twin’s classic insouciant one-shoulder shrugs. ‘All these people you don’t know or even particularly like traipsing all over your home all weekend, getting drunk and up to who knows what else.’

One side of his mouth tipped up in a cynical half-smile. ‘Is that your plan? To get drunk and get up to who knows what else?’

Elspeth took another sip of her champagne, deciding it was as addictive as verbal sparring with the Laird of Crannochbrae. His eyes continued to hold hers in a challenging lock, his mouth still tilted in an enigmatic smile. ‘I don’t have a plan. I like to live moment to moment. It’s way more fun.’ She beamed another smile at him. ‘You should try it some time, Mr Control Freak.’ She drained her glass and set it down on a nearby table. Mr Control Freak? Eek. What had made her call him that? It sounded as though she was actually flirting with him. She had never flirted with anyone. She had missed out on the flirting gene...or so she’d thought.

His eyes went back to her mouth and she had to fight the impulse to lick her lips. What was it about this man that made her feel so reckless and excited? Was it the champagne going to her head? Or was it Mack MacDiarmid’s disturbingly attractive presence?

A flinty light came into his eyes. ‘I would advise you, Miss Campbell, against doing anything that would jeopardise my brother’s wedding this weekend. Do I make myself one hundred per cent crystal clear?’ His tone was commanding, so commanding and dictatorial it made her bristle on her twin’s behalf. What the hell did he think Elodie would do? Her twin might be a little wild at times but she would not wilfully sabotage someone’s wedding day. She had sabotaged her own, sure, but that was another story. One Elodie had not yet told anyone the full details of, not even her. Elodie refused to talk about why she jilted her fiancé and Elspeth knew better than to keep pressing her to do so. Elodie could pout and stonewall for weeks on end if pushed too hard. She was so stubborn she could have made a career out of conducting training workshops for mules.

Elspeth moved a step closer to Mack, close enough to smell the citrus and woodsy notes of his aftershave. She had to fully extend her neck to maintain eye contact. Had to resist the sudden urge to stroke her hand down the peppery stubble on his lantern jaw to see if it felt as sexy as it looked. Had to stop herself from staring at his sensually contoured mouth and wondering what it would feel like against her own. ‘You’re not the boss of me but I bet you’d like to be.’

Oh. My. God. Listen to me. I am so nailing impersonating Elodie right now.

A line of tension rippled across his jaw and his gaze hardened another notch. ‘You’re way out of your league playing with me.’

Elspeth suspected even her outgoing don’t-mess-with-me twin would be way out of her league playing with Mack, let alone her quiet and shy and socially inexperienced self. She lowered her gaze to the firm line of his mouth, her stomach bottoming out. ‘What makes you think I want to play with you?’

He held her gaze for a long throbbing moment. ‘I know your type.’

‘And what type is that, pray tell?’

‘The type of woman who likes to be the centre of attention.’

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