The Highlander's Hope(17)

The man walked in, and immediately flinched at the gun pointed at his head. “Bloody hell, Iain. What the hell are ye trying to do to me? I just about had a coronary.”

Iain lowered the shotgun, looking relieved. “Angus. I hadn’t been expecting ye. Sorry.”

Angus still looked at Iain with confusion, but any conversation was interrupted by Duncan launching himself at Angus with a full body wiggle. The dog got a good scratch but it was short lived given the shotgun and confusion.

“Angus, this is Cat; Cat, this is my dearest friend and cousin, Angus—and no, he’s not a MacCraigh, in case you were wondering.” As if he’d let her ditch him to go find the jewels with a different clan member.

“It’s a pleasure.” Angus shook her hand, but then turned to Iain, his eyes narrowed and his head cocked to the side as if scrutinizing his friend’s every move. “You’ve yet to explain why ye’re toting a gun, and ne’er mind the rumors going about town.”

“The rumors?” When Angus glanced in Cat’s direction with those bright blue eyes of his, Iain gave her a sweet smile, and linked his hand with hers, bringing it to his lips. “I’ve no reason to deny them.”

“They’re true?” Angus turned a scrutinizing gaze on the couple before him, a single eyebrow perked and his eyes wide, disbelief in the tone of his voice.

“Bloody hell, man. Don’t go looking at us like that. We met when I was away on business. I didn’t say anything because it’s been a bit of a long distance thing, and I wasn’t sure how we’d manage it. But I’m happy to say, we’ve found a way to make it work.” Iain’s loving eyes took her in, and damn if he wasn’t a good liar. Whether or not they’d fool Angus, however, was another question—especially if she was involved. Lying was not one of her strong suits, and the way Iain was looking at her had her pulse racing and her cheeks flaming hot.

“Well then, it’s an absolute pleasure to meet you. I didn’t think Iain would ever bring anyone home. He must be… smitten.” Nope. Angus still didn’t look like he believed them, but he was a good enough sport to not question them openly.

“Did you come by for anything in particular? I hadn’t been expecting you.” Iain set the safety and put the shotgun down on a nearby table.

“Hadn’t heard from you, and figured I’d stop by, especially given the talk around town. Didn’t realize you had company. My apologies for interrupting.”

Iain waved away his concerns. “You know you’re always welcome here, and there’s nothing to interrupt. Join us for a whisky?”

“I could do with a drop.” Angus was still watching their every move, making Cat feel as if every breath, every beat of their heart was under scrutiny.

They wandered into the sitting room and Iain went to get them a whisky, while she and Angus grabbed a seat. He was tall—really tall—and definitely a looker, with black unruly locks and piercing blue eyes. Add to that the scruffy casual look, and she was sure he had every woman within a twenty-mile radius swooning.

Too bad he was making her panic.

Trying to distract Angus from his suspicions, and to keep herself from bolting, Cat tried a bit of small talk. “So, did you guys go to school together?”

“Aye, we did. Grew up together, given that our mothers were sisters. And what about the two of you? Tell me about this whirlwind romance.” The shit eating grin on his face was just more confirmation that he didn’t believe a word they’d said.

“We met after he nearly ran me over while I attempted to fix my flat tire.” Was her voice sounding high? Or was she only sounding panicked in her own head? At least she’d stuck to the truth—for now.

Angus burst out laughing, easing the tension knotting her muscles. “Now that I can believe. He drives like the hounds of hell are chasing him.”

“Hey! I’m right here.” They ignored Iain’s protests.

Feeling a bit more at ease, Cat launched into her story, making up the rest of it as she went along. “At least he was nice enough to drive me home, since the walk to Cambridge would’ve taken me half the day. To repay him for his kindness, I bought him dinner.”

Iain handed them each a drink, and then sat by her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder with a smile. “And then I bought us drinks, hoping I’d have enough time to convince her to see me again.”

“Well, I’m happy to hear it then.” Angus tilted his head in Cat’s direction. “I’ll have you know, he’s not brought anyone home since secondary school. It’ll be good for him to get away from his work and actually enjoy himself a bit.”