Skies Over Caledonia: A Small Town Marriage of Convenience Romance (The Highlands Series Book 4)

Chapter 31

“Whoa, Aunt Ally, you look hot!”

Jared chuckled at my side, his palm pressing deeper into my lower back as we entered Sloane and Walker’s living room.

Callie, who had been sitting on Lewis Adair’s knee, sprung off him to bounce across the room toward me. Her pretty face was lit with excitement. “You all look like you’re going to the Oscars.” She glanced back at Lewis who stood up to greet us. “Don’t they?”

Lewis, at sixteen, was already taller than his dad, Thane Adair. When relaying every detail about her boyfriend that she could, Callie had told me Lewis was six two and on his way to being his Uncle Lachlan’s height of six four. He was also broad of shoulder and had completely skipped that gangly stage most teens went through. With his messy “I’m in a band” chin-length dark hair and piercing blue eyes, Lewis Adair was exactly the kind of boy that teen me would have crushed on.

As he wrapped a casual arm around Callie, pulling her into his side to press a tender kiss to her temple, I swooned for her.

Callie didn’t stand a chance.

“What?” Callie cocked her head at me.

I realized I was staring. “Nothing.”

She narrowed her eyes but when they dropped to my feet, she gaped. “Are those Muaddis?”

“You know your designers.” I was impressed. I was, in fact, wearing a pair of Amina Muaddi sandals. They were adorable rose-pink metallic mule heels with an open toe, a funky pedestal heel, and a little embellished bow accent on top. I’d thought them perfect for Ardnoch Estate’s end-of-summer party. The DG black-and-white polka-dot dress I’d paired them with made the shoes pop. It also made me look curvier than I was, designed to accentuate the hips and bust. Jared had almost ripped me out of the dress when he saw me descend the staircase earlier.

“God help us all,” Walker muttered in response to the designer shoe conversation as he wandered into the room. He looked almost as delicious as my husband did in his tux.

Speaking of wanting to rip someone’s clothes off … I’d seen Jared in a kilt at Sarah and Theo’s wedding. It was a wondrous sight to behold. But for the summer party, both he and Walker had opted for tuxedos.

Jared McCulloch might have been born to wear a kilt … but in a tux, my husband was freaking hot. Like James Bond hot. But the Daniel Craig rough around the edges kind of hot, not the smooth, clean-cut hot of all the James Bonds who came before him.

“You look good,” I told Walker.

He gave me a brief nod of thanks before his gaze zeroed in on Lewis.

Lewis straightened but didn’t remove his hand from Callie’s waist. “Sir.”

“I’ll be calling your father to check that you and Callie are at your house, and in separate rooms, by nine o’clock.”

“Of course. We’ll be there.”

Callie grinned. “Aye, that gives us a whole hour to get me pregnant.”

While I let my laughter rip, Jared did Walker the courtesy of trying to smother his. Lewis let out a nervous chuckle that quickly disintegrated into panic at the murderous expression on Walker’s face. “She’s kidding.” He nudged Callie. “Tell the ex-Royal Marine that you’re kidding, Callie.”

“You’re a black belt in tae kwon do. You can take ’im.” She nudged her boyfriend back.

Lewis stared at her in horror.

Laughing, Callie turned to her stepdad, completely unrepentant. “Don’t worry, Dad. Lewis is a perfect gentleman.”

Walker did not look like he believed her one bit.

Lewis shot us a panicked look. “Tell my parents that I love them and I’m sorry it ended this way.”

Jared and I snort-laughed as Sloane strolled into the room, her dress fluttering around her ankles. “Stop torturing Lewis and your dad, Callie.”

Callie shot me a wicked smirk.

That girl.

God, I loved her.

“Mum, you look gorgeous.” Callie leaned over to press a kiss to her mom’s cheek.

“You do,” I agreed. Sloane wore a maxi dress that was high at the neck but backless. The light and airy fabric was a mix of teals and greens with hints of yellow. Perfect for a summer party.

Sloane smiled at me. “As do you. We all scrub up pretty well, huh?”

“Aye, aye, we all look gorgeous,” Walker retorted grim-faced, even as he slid his arm around Sloane’s waist and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Let’s get this over with.”

She grinned up at him, her daughter’s resemblance to her uncanny. Then she turned to us. “That’s what he said the first time we had sex.”

“Mum!” Callie squealed in outrage.

Sloane pointed at her daughter. “You torture your dad, I’m going to torture you right back.”

“I think what I actually said was something along the lines of ‘Get upstairs and I’m in charge,’” Walker commented like they were talking about the weather.

His wife gaped at him in sincere wonder. “You remember?”

“Ahh!” Callie slapped her hands over her ears. “I didn’t hear that! I didn’t hear that!” She whimpered comically as she turned to her boyfriend. “I’m scarred for life.”

Jared looked down at me, thoroughly amused. “Can we just stay here all night?”

“It is entertaining, isn’t it?”

“For you, maybe.” Callie grabbed Lewis’s hand. “Some of us have just been traumatized.” She huffed, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Have a nice night!”

“See you.” Lewis waved to us before Callie dragged him out of the house.

Sloane and Walker high-fived.

Three weeks.

Jared and I had enjoyed three weeks of peace and quiet. Jim had Jared’s father interviewed again and he admitted to killing the sheep and chickens. He was arrested and out on bail. The case against him probably wouldn’t go to trial, and it was just a waiting game to see how much time he got. It might not be a lot. What really mattered to us was that he was out of our lives. Jared had scared the shit out of Hamish, and apparently, my wealth and family name intimidated the asshole too. So I was optimistic we wouldn’t hear from Hamish McCulloch again anytime soon.

We’d also bought six new chickens and a rooster to get us started on the henhouse, and despite my lingering sadness, I named them all. I’d named the chattiest hen, Cathy, and she, like Ginger, was the first to run to greet me in the mornings.

Our life was bliss.

That sounded overblown and insincere, but for me, it was bliss.

After years of trying to fit into a life that never quite fit, I found Scotland. Then miracle upon miracle, I found Jared. While he split his time between working the farm and managing the ongoing work on the glamping pods, I painted in this new style I’d discovered within myself. I’d also reached out to an estate agent to see if there were any buildings available to rent in Ardnoch for opening my gallery.

At night, I’d cook if Jared was running late, or if he got home early enough, we’d cook together. We’d listen to music on low and chat about our days as we made dinner and ate. Usually, we’d curl up on the couch after and watch some TV. Then, alone in our room, we always seemed to be in absolute sync. The sex was either adventurous and passionate or it was sweet and sexy and slow.

Either way, it was the best sex of my life. More intimate than anything I’d ever experienced.

And as much as I loved our sex life … I think I might have loved waking up next to Jared even more.

Sometimes I couldn’t believe how lucky I’d gotten. How we’d signed up to a fake marriage only for it to turn into a relationship I’d never dreamed I’d one day have. I’d always been envious of Aria and North, of Sloane and Walker. Of Sarah and Theo. Of all the Adairs and their partners. It was incredible to find so many truly happy couples in one place. No way could I be that lucky, right? They’d used it all up.

But they hadn’t.

I’d found some luck just for me.

I was thinking all this as Jared and I strolled into Ardnoch Castle with Walker and Sloane. Usually Walker would work at an Ardnoch event, but Aria had wanted him and Sloane to attend as guests, and for once, they’d agreed. Sloane had confessed she hadn’t gotten the chance to dress up in a while and fancied getting out of the house. As gruff as Walker was, he’d pretty much do anything to make his wife happy, so he’d agreed to escort her to the party, and Monroe and Brodan, who had decided not to attend, were babysitting Harry.

Feeling Jared stiffen a little beneath my hand, I looked up at him. His face was set in a neutral expression, but there was a hardness along his jaw that suggested more tension.

The great hall was packed with guests in summery cocktail and evening wear. A band was set up on a small stage in the corner, and the pop singer Koda belted out her latest number one single. It didn’t surprise me that my sister had managed to snag a megastar to perform at an Ardnoch party. There was a very good reason Lachlan Adair had left the running of the estate to Aria. My sister was excellent at her job.

However, as staff in tailcoats and white gloves moved around the guests, offering glasses of champagne and hors d’oeuvres, I realized how this must all look to Jared.

Like it was another world.

One he didn’t feel comfortable in.

The truth was neither did I, but at least I was used to it. “You okay?”

Jared glanced down at me. “Aye, I’m fine.”

We weren’t just putting in an appearance at the party for Aria’s sake. Tonight was the first night Jared would meet my parents in real life. They’d arrived in Scotland yesterday. Together they’d stay at the beach house for a week before Dad flew off to work on whatever film was up next while Mamma stayed on the estate for at least a month. Her time here was spent mostly walking on the beach and luxuriating in the spa, but she loved it. She said it reenergized her for returning to the States. My mother usually spent fall in our family penthouse in Manhattan.

“Allegra?”

The male voice drew our heads to the left. I immediately felt awkward. Pasting on a friendly smile, I turned, not letting go of Jared, to greet the handsome man. “Taka.”

If Jared was tense before, he went stiff as a board.

Taka Aikawa. My hookup buddy.

The gorgeous, suave Japanese American actor was killin’ it with one hit miniseries after another, so I was surprised he had time to spend at Ardnoch this year. I really hadn’t expected to see him or I would have prepared Jared. Taka’s dark gaze darted up and down my body with familiarity. “You look great.”

“You too. Taka, this is my husband, Jared. Jared, this is an old friend, Taka.”

“Husband. Right! I heard about that.” Taka reached out a hand to Jared. “Hey, man, congrats. You caught a good one.”

I really thought Jared wasn’t going to shake his hand, but to my relief he took it firmly (maybe a tad too firmly) in his and gave it a pump.

At his silent greeting, Taka’s smile wavered as Jared released him. He stretched out his fingers absentmindedly as he focused on me again. “Do you remember the weekend we met in Santorini? The Greek fisherman Quinn was obsessed with?” He referred to a long weekend I’d spent with him and his best friend Quinn on the Greek island two years ago.

“Yes …”

“He finally convinced him to move to New York. Took him two years, but perseverance.”

I laughed. “Good for Quinn.”

“I also saw Rishi Padman at our place in Marbella a few weeks ago.” He said it offhand, but I winced a little at him calling the rental where we’d met to hook up last year and the year before as ours. “Her parents cut her off. I got her a part in my new show. She’s actually good.”

“That’s great.” I glanced at Jared. He wore a flat expression, like he’d disappeared somewhere else, but I knew he was listening to every word. “You know, we’ll catch up later, Taka. We have to go say hi to my parents.”

“Oh, sure, sure. We’ll catch up later.” He leaned as if to kiss me and then remembered himself. He gave me a sheepish shrug and then blanched at the scowl on Jared’s face.

I attempted to hurry Jared away, but it was like trying to move a brick wall.

“Sorry.” I didn’t know why I was apologizing. I mean, we both had a past. But I knew how I’d felt at first about Sorcha, so I understood Jared’s feelings. To an extent.

“So, that was your fuck buddy,” Jared muttered. He tugged at his bow tie as if he wanted to rip it off. He most likely did.

“Jared …”

“I’m not judging you. I’d be a hypocrite.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

He shrugged. “He’s just … not what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

Jared met my gaze. “Marbella? Santorini? You flew across the world to hook up with this guy?”

“Every time my visitor’s visa here expired.” There had been nowhere else I wanted to be but Scotland, so if I couldn’t be here, I just went wherever I could.

“Right.” Jared blew out a shaky breath. “He and I are very different men, and I don’t have to spend a lot of time with him to know that.”

“Yeah, you are,” I agreed, slipping my fingers through his. Pressing my breasts into his side, forcing his gaze down to mine, I continued, “That’s why he was just a way to pass time and you are my husband.”

He curled his fingers around mine and squeezed, giving me a nod.

It should have reassured me.

But there was something in his eyes that made a flicker of anxiety flare in my gut. I just hoped that nothing else happened to give me cause to panic.