Wow.

Emotion clogged my throat.

Mac said that?

I stared unseeing at the bar, trying to wrap my head around that, until I felt Lachlan’s hand on my lower back. My gaze shot to his as his touch brought an immediate reaction. It was as if he had the key to my sexuality. I wanted to melt into him, wanted his hand to slide lower, down over my ass and under my dress.

It was ridiculous and frustrating.

Why him?

He molded his hand deeper into my spine, his fingers grazing the top of my ass as he leaned into me. “I thought ignoring you was the best way to avoid temptation.”

My lips parted in surprise. “Are you saying you can’t control yourself around me?”

The question was meant to be dry, teasing. It didn’t exactly come out like that.

And he didn’t respond to it with humor.

Instead, his hand flexed on my back before he jerked it away. Glowering, he bit out, “Apparently, I can’t.” And before I could respond to his unsettling confession, he disappeared, leaving me at the bar.

Reeling, it took all my concentration to wait at the bar, get Mac’s drink, and return it to him. Knowing he was perceptive enough to see something had rattled me, I told him I needed to use the restroom and left him with Eredine. A quick glance at the dance floor revealed Lucy and Thane slow dancing in murmured conversation. Whatever he said made Lucy laugh, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

Jesus, they looked good together.

The Adairs seemed to have a way of getting under a person’s skin, I thought somewhat morosely as I made my way through the hotel’s ground floor to the restrooms.

There was a line outside the ladies’, of course.

So much for a moment to myself.

I wasn’t waiting long when a voice said behind me, “Oh good, someone I know.”

The Glaswegian accent made me tense, but I refused to show any outward discomfort as I turned to Leighanne. “Hey. Enjoying your night?”

She slumped against the wall at her back, fanning herself. “Aye, but it’s so warm in here.”

“Yeah.”

“You?”

“Yeah. My first ceilidh.”

Her eyes widened. “What do you think?”

“It’s great fun,” I said truthfully.

She leaned into me conspiratorially. “It’s amazing how all the locals treat Lachlan and Lucy like they’re not famous.”

“It is. I know Lucy appreciates it.”

Leighanne wrinkled her nose. “Hmm, she’s hard to get a read on. I think she’s jealous of me and Lachlan.”

“Lucy’s my friend,” I warned her.

“Oh, I mean no disrespect. I like her … but I think she definitely has a thing for Lachlan.”

“No, I can assure you she doesn’t.”

Leighanne seemed to want to argue but dropped it. “Not that I have anything to worry about.”

“Because you’re just casual?”

She shrugged, a secretive, intimate smile on her face. “I think we might be more than that. I mean, it’s obvious he’s not interested in anyone else. He called me up here because he’s had a long dry spell. So even though we don’t see each other for weeks, I now know he hasn’t even thought about touching someone else. I can just … tell”—she grinned giddily—“that it’s me he wants. Not just sex.”

Oh dear God.

Guilt and concern niggled me. “Um …” I couldn’t let her go on thinking that. Lachlan would break her heart. “I … maybe you should discuss this with Lachlan. Like … right away.”

Leighanne narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“I think you might have your wires crossed.”

“What do you know?”

Why did I feel so guilty? I shrugged, apologetic. “That he and I have made out a few times, and he’s made it clear he’d like”—there was no other way but to be blunt—“to have sex … if the situation weren’t so complicated with Mac. I’m not interested,” I hurried to assure her with an outright lie, “but I thought you should know so he doesn’t hurt you. I’m sorry.”

She reared back like a wounded animal.

“I am sorry.”

Leighanne gave me a sad, bitter smile. “Better coming from you than mortifying myself in front of him.” She turned on her heel and marched away.

I closed my eyes and cursed under my breath, wondering if I’d done the right thing.

And if I’d done it for the right reasons.

21

Lachlan

Lachlan seethed.

Kelvin Sutherland, a nephew of Morag Sutherland, who lived in Tain and according to Arrochar was newly divorced, slow danced with Robyn.

His hands were too close to her arse.

Jealousy.

Lachlan couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt jealous over a woman.

Ever?

But he couldn’t deny the burn in his gut or the agitated way his fingers curled into fists as he watched Kelvin flirt outrageously with Robyn.

The woman had been driving him nuts for weeks, but coming downstairs into reception tonight dressed in that fucking dress, she’d almost unmanned him.

His eyes drifted down her perfect ass to her long, sculpted legs, and Lachlan felt the heat building in him, heat that had started to simmer at the top of the evening, now beginning to boil over. He could kill Lucy for lending that dress to Robyn. It left little to the imagination but just enough to taunt him into a fever. The neckline might have been modest in comparison to the hemline, but the material contoured her body, molding breasts that were obviously more than a handful.