The Highlander's Hope - A Contemporary Highland Romance (12 page)

S
he knew Iain was one of the most eligible bachelors in Scotland, and a confirmed player, none of his relationships lasting more than a few weeks.  Even though he said this felt different, she’d be a fool to think it would last once she was home. She could, however, make the most of their time together, and try not to give it much thought. 

She was there to the find the jewels and
that was exactly what she’d do. 

Chapter
Twelve

Iain listened to Mrs. Gordon tell her stories as they waited for the kettle to boil and the tea to steep.  He’d heard the stories before, but now he was listening to the details with renewed interest, asking questions and doing his best to remember it all so he could return to Cat with the information he’d gathered. 

Despite not knowing Cat
long, he already knew how her face would light up as he relayed the stories, knew how she’d vibrate with that contagious energy and enthusiasm.  No, he may not know all the little details of her life, but what he did know was the heart of her.

Mrs. Gordon had stopped tal
king at some point and now stood there looking at him with an all too knowing look on her face that spelled nothing but trouble for him.  “So, the rumors are true then.  I would have sworn on my life that they weren’t.  After all, ye’ve ne’er been one to fall for a lass—at least not longer than a week or two.”

“Mrs. Gordon, that’s not true.”

She made a face.  “Don’t lie to me, Iain.  I’ve ye known ye since ye were in nappies, and ye’ve had no more love or interest in those other women past dipping yer wick.”

Mortified,
Iain knew his face must be scarlet.  “So what are the rumors saying then?  Surely nothing that’s true.  Ye know better than to pay them any heed.”

“Aye, I’d normally agree with ye
.  But now that I’ve seen ye?  I’d ne’er have believed it if not for my own two eyes.  Ye’re in love, Iain MacCraigh.”  She smiled at him.  “I only wish yer Ma had gotten the chance to see it.  She always hoped ye’d find some happiness, and will rest easier now, bless her soul.”

“
I wish it were the case, since it breaks my heart to disappoint you and my dead mother, but ye’re mistaken.  I think Cat’s lovely, but I am telling ye now—I’m not in love.”

“Och, aye.  If ye say so.” 

The blank look on her face made Iain want to curse and had his back going up.  “I barely know her.”

“Do ye now?”  Her raised eyebrows and questioning glare made him feel like he was seven again after being cau
ght fibbing about stealing a cake before tea.  “Ye can try lying to me and to yerself, but I don’t need yer words to tell me the truth.”

Desperately needing to change the subject, he pulled out his wallet and grabbed his assistant’s business card.  “Ye have
n’t been away in ages.  I want ye to go pay yer sister a visit for a few weeks—on me.  Call Grant.  He’ll set ye up with a flight and spending money.”

She was already shaking her head no.  “She’s all the way in Spain.  It’s too expensive,
Iain.”

“It’s not too expensive, considering all ye do for us.  I insist.” 
The last thing he needed was for her to get stuck in the cross-fire with all that was happening, and with strangers wandering about hitting people over the head, he couldn’t take the risk.  He grabbed the tray of tea and biscuits.  “And I insist ye start yer holiday now.”

After he finally managed to
hush her protests and get her out the door, he headed to see Cat, even though his enthusiasm was now dampened, Mrs. Gordon’s words still haunting him.  It was nonsense to think he’d fallen in love with Cat. 

He’d only known the girl a week
or two, and for half that time they’d driven each other to drink.  Certainly, he liked her—a lot—but he wasn’t the sort to fall in love, even if he was enjoying himself.  His life was too complicated and busy.  He’d already put his work on hold to deal with his brother’s mess and to help Cat, but before long, he’d need to get back.  Business deals didn’t close themselves, and he had a company to run.

“H
ere ye are.  Tea with and a side of ibuprofen.”  He settled the tray on the side table and managed a smile, while attempting to push Mrs. Gordon’s words from his mind.

Yet he was fooling no one.

“What’s wrong?”  She took his hand in his, her eyes searching his face.

“Just worried about ye.  How’s yer head?” 
He brushed a dark curl from her face, wanting to kiss her, but knowing he’d only second guess himself now.

“
Iain… what’s going on?”

He got up and paced, needing to burn off some energy and frustration.  “It’s nothing.  I just want to find the necklace so this can all be over with
and we can get back to our lives.  I know ye’re trying yer best to find it, but it’s gotten dangerous. And I’ve got work I need to get back to.”

“Well, I’m sorry that I’m keeping you from it.  I hadn’t realized.”
  She looked at him, confused and a bit hurt, which only made him feel worse about how he was acting. 

Though he
certainly wasn’t in love with her, it didn’t mean he had to be an arse. He sat by her side with a weary sigh, still unsure of what exactly they were doing.  “I’m the one who should be apologizing.  I’m just not good with this sort of thing, and frankly, I don’t want ye getting the wrong idea.”

“And what
idea would that be, Iain?”  Gone was the worry, now replaced by annoyance, since it was clear what he’d been referring to.  “I think you’re reading too much into what happened last night.  But if you can’t handle it, then that’s fine.  I’m more than happy to keep our relationship purely professional.”

“Ye think I
can’t handle it, aye?  And what about you?”  His temper was up, fueled by uncertainty and pride.

“What about me?  I thought we could have a bit of fun.  Isn’t that what you’re normally looking f
or with all those women you date?  My career and studies are my first priority, Iain, so don’t go thinking I need a ring and a wedding dress just ‘cause we had a quick romp.”

“I di
dn’t think it that quick.”  His lips quirked in a smile, his anger with her and their situation put on hold in the face of her dismissing him. 

“No.  I’ll give you that.  You took your time and were not only thorough, but rather accomplished.”  She bit her lip, her eyes locked on his—and then as if a switch had flipped, she dismissed him once more with a shrug.  “Pity you can’t handle it without getting all worked up over what it does or doesn’t mean.  And here I was thinking it’d be fun to have another go.”

“Ye think I
can’t handle it?”  He pulled her close, nuzzling her and nipping at her lips, needing to prove her wrong.

She put a finger on his chest and pushed him away, a smug look on her face.  “
I believe that’s exactly what I said.  Admittedly, I find it a bit odd.  If the tabloids are to be believed, you’ve never gotten even remotely attached to the women you’ve been with in the past.  Or were you not interested because they
did
want more from you?”

“So now ye think ye know me
?”  He wanted to tell her she was wrong, and yet she wasn’t far from the truth, even if she had the wrong end of the stick.  “Well, ye don’t.  I won’t deny they were looking for more from me, but if ye think those women were remotely interested in me beyond my power and wealth, then ye’re mistaken.  Think what ye will of me, Cat, because it doesn’t matter.  I just want to find the jewels so we can each be on our merry way.”

With a teasing smile s
he leaned forward and whispered in his ear.  “Are you sure that’s
all
you want?”

Her breath sent a shiver of need th
rough him, erasing his mind of any coherent thought so his primal instinct was the only thing in control.  He found himself kissing her before he could think, and it took all the strength he could muster to stop, even though he still held her close, his cheek pressed against hers.  “By the gods, woman, ye’d drive a man to drink.”

She’d yet to pull away, so w
hen she laughed, it tickled his skin.  “Would I, now?”

“Aye, ye would.”  He took a deep breath
, hoping to clear his head of her scent, a mixture that reminded him of the tropics and lazy days on a hot beach—lime and coconut, salt and sun-kissed skin.   “And have ye forgotten?  Ye’ve got a head injury.”

“I was hoping
you’d distract me from it.  Pity you’re not interested.”

He just shook his head and laughed at himself for thinking he had any control over the situation.
  Never before had he been such a fool.  The woman left him dizzy, as if she’d blindfolded him, spun him around and then sent him off staggering as he desperately tried to remain upright.

Trying to regain some ground
and get his bearings, he decided to change the subject to more neutral territory.  “So are ye going to continue being a pain in my arse or do ye want to know what Mrs. Gordon had to say about the local lore?”

She gave him a quick peck on his cheek and then sat back. 
“Though I’m tempted to keep harassing you, I’m more interested in what you found out.”

“Hmph.  I thought ye might be.”  He picked up her legs and sat back on the sofa, letting them drape across his lap.  “There are rumors of more tunnels.  Better yet, they were supposedly used during Culloden, but were sealed off not long after.  No one’s really bothered to go looking for them, since there’d be no real reason to.”

“But we know of a reason.”
  Her eyes were alight, and her body thrummed with an excitement he wanted to make good use of.  “I don’t suppose she knew the location of the tunnels.”

“Well, she’d heard stories about
this home being used to hide and move weapons and men during the uprising or just after.”  He couldn’t help but smile.

“
You mean to tell me the tunnels could be hidden right underneath this home?”  She leaned forward and grabbed his arm.

“
Could be—or close enough near the house.”  He sighed, knowing what he had to say next would do absolutely nothing to deter her.  “It might also be in a part of the home that’s no longer safe.”

The damned girl was all but vibrating in
anticipation.  “Did she have any other information?  Though that’s a damned good start.” 

“Cat, ye
do realize ye’ve been accident-prone since ye got here.  The last thing I need is for ye to be traipsing through a part of the home that’s ready to collapse.  With yer luck, it’d land right on that thick skull of yers.”

“You know it’d likely bounce right off.”  She laughed but he didn’t find it amusing.  “
Iain… you do realize you give off mixed signals.”

“
I
give off mixed signals?”  His temper sparked.  “Just ‘cause I don’t want to fall in love with ye, doesn’t mean I want to see ye get yer head bashed in—
again!
”

“So is that the problem, then?  You don’t want to fall in love with me?”  Her mood had gone from lively to sober, all in the span of a heartbeat. 

He dropped his head in his hands, frustrated and struggling to find the right words.  “I barely know ye.  The last thing I should be doing is falling in love with anyone.  And that doesn’t mean ye’re not a lovely, intelligent, and utterly annoying woman.  I’m just not looking for that sort of thing.”

“And you think
I’m
looking for something serious?  Just because I agreed to date you in earnest rather than pretend, doesn’t mean I’m looking for a wedding ring.”  Her laugh made him want to silence her with a hard kiss.  “Listen to me, Iain.  I like you.  And last night?  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  But don’t get yourself in a tizzy thinking I want anything more than a bit of fun.  I’ve tried doing the whole serious relationship thing, and it’s not something I’m interested in—at least not when I have so much else going on in my life.”

He shook his head as the pieces fell into place and he started to make sense of
it all.  “Cat… I’m nothing like James.”

She let out a weary sigh.  “No.  You’re not.  But it doesn’t matter,
Iain.  You’ve made it clear you’re not interested, and neither am I.  So what exactly are we arguing about?”

“I wish I knew, love.”

***

Iain
called his assistant and had Grant find a security company that could handle putting in a system for a place as big and difficult to secure as his family home.  Luckily, he was also able to get in touch with his father, and though his father was fine, his brother had yet to make it back to Edinburgh—which only made him worry further.

That was his next call, though it w
ent straight to Malcolm’s voice-mail.  Iain cursed, unsure about what to do.  If James and Malcolm were now working together—and knew about the Hope—then things were even more dire.  And who were the men that had attacked Cat?  Had James and Malcolm opened their mouths while at the pub and been overheard? 

H
ow the bloody hell had they even figured out that he and Cat were looking for the Hope?  He supposed it made sense if familiar enough with the local history, and it’s not like he himself had a hard time figuring it out.

Iain
debated calling the police to tell them about the attack, but knew there was little to go on, and didn’t want to draw even more attention to what they were doing. If the tabloids started sniffing around, there’d be no chance of keeping it a secret—and tabloids always kept track of police reports.  They would just have to be more careful.