Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
FYFE
“ I ’m going to kill him.” I strode toward my car keys, entire body bristling with unspent fury.
Eilidh had informed me about her altercations with Cameron Phillips.
And now he was a dead man.
“No.” Eilidh dove in front of me, arms and legs comically splayed like she was trying to stop a ball from going into a goal.
Millie giggled from her playpen, like she thought we were playing.
First, I’d awoken to find the woman of my dreams standing over me and Millie, only for her to announce she wanted casual sex. Even though I understood she was protecting herself and that I deserved it, the more I thought about it, the angrier I got.
Because that’s all sex had ever been to Eilidh as far as I could tell. It’s all it had ever been to me.
But buried in my deepest fantasies, I knew one of the reasons I’d vowed not to give into my attraction to Eilidh was because I knew it could never be casual between us. It would always mean more.
It pissed me off she ever thought it could be that unremarkable between us.
And now this.
That prick of a doctor using my relationship with my child to blackmail Eilidh into dating him?
Aye, he was so fucking dead, he was a ghost already and didn’t know it.
“Out of my way.”
“No.” Eilidh straightened, a mulish look on her gorgeous face. “I put Cameron in his place. Walker was there, and he rallied my dad and uncles last night, and they all paid the good doctor a visit that almost got them arrested.”
“How so?” A flash of spiteful pleasure rushed through me at the thought of the Adair men putting the fear of death in Dr. Dick.
“Cameron made a complaint with the police.”
“Fuck.”
“It’s fine.” She waved a hand. “Uncle Lachlan took care of it. Anyway, Uncle Lachlan also informed Dr. Mulligan that the new doctor in his practice is harassing and threatening me, and considering Cameron’s contract is for a trial period only, he’s fired, and it’s all legal. Dr. Mulligan just told him this morning that he wasn’t the right fit and they no longer required him. There’s nothing Cameron can do about it. Uncle Lachlan texted me while you were in the shower to let me know. Cameron’s pretty much dealt with.”
Although I was relieved he’d lost his job, I wasn’t entirely convinced. “You got him fired and you think he’s not going to be pissed off about that?”
“Until he’s moved out of the village, I promised my dad and Walker that I wouldn’t go anywhere alone.”
Annoyance flushed through me. “You came here alone.”
“I left the safety of my parents’ house and drove to the safety of your house.” She shook her head. “I think they just mean while I’m out and about.”
“Well, I’m not leaving you here alone.”
“Don’t you have the best home security system ever?”
I glowered at her dry tone. “Not the point.”
“It’s very much the point. I’m literally safest in your house. You have panic buttons downstairs and upstairs, for goodness’ sake.”
Rationally, I knew she was correct. I had the kind of security system I didn’t actually require, but since it cost me half the price it would cost someone else, I went all out with it. Once that alarm system was on, no one got past it. And whether someone broke in or Eilidh hit a panic button, the security team at Ardnoch (and me) would be alerted immediately to an intruder and my office was ten minutes away. Ardnoch Estate wasn’t much farther. “Fine. But, Eilidh, if that bastard comes near you again, I am going to kill him.”
“Get in line.”
“I mean it.”
Her expression gentled. “I know.”
Sighing, I grabbed my car keys and strolled over to kiss Millie on the head. She seemed to be doing a lot better this morning, so I hoped her infection was already clearing up. “I’ll see you soon, wee yin. Daddy loves you.” The words slipped out without thought, and I froze for a second over her pen.
I glanced back at Eilidh and she was smiling, tears bright in her eyes.
There was that overwhelming sensation inside me again, so big, so expanding, it was terrifying.
Millie’s babbling brought my head back down. “Daddy loves you, Mills,” I repeated intentionally as I stroked my hand over her hair. She beamed up at me, her new teeth making her gummy smile so fucking cute, it killed me.
Swallowing hard, I forced myself away from the pen and strode toward the front door. I stopped at Eilidh’s side first.
My heart bloody well ached at the look in Eilidh’s eyes. They were filled with hero worship, something she hadn’t given me in years. Christ, I’d forgotten how much that look made me feel ten feet tall. And I hadn’t realized how much it hurt to have her not look at me like that anymore.
I’d taken so much of Eilidh for granted.
If she’d let me, I’d spend a lifetime making it up to her.
“When I get back, we need to talk about earlier. I won’t do casual with you, Eilidh. But I won’t let you go without a fight either.”
There was a sexual playfulness to this morning’s encounter.
It was doused now with abject emotion.
Fear shadowed her features. “I can only offer you casual.”
“I can’t. I won’t.”
“That’s what I need.” She shrugged sadly. “I need time to trust. To take things super slow, no promises, no commitments. Time to know that what’s between us is more than you needing a partner, needing a mum for Millie. Because that won’t last, Fyfe. Eventually, you’ll wake up one day and realize you settled.”
I gaped at her, stunned that she could ever think that. “It boggles my mind that you could imagine a man would ever be settling for you. Don’t you know how spectacular you are, Eilidh Adair?”
Tears brightened her eyes.
I bent my head to look deep in them. I wanted her to feel my sincerity. “I would never start something with you and then abandon you.”
“I know. You would never abandon anyone once you committed to them. I don’t want someone who’ll stay with me out of obligation and a sense of honor. I know that’s what you’d do. I want a man who wants to be with me for the rest of his life.”
Jesus, she still wasn’t getting it. I opened my arms. “Then look no further because here he stands.”
She sucked in a breath. “You don’t mean that.”
“I am not having this conversation with you while I’m rushing out to work. In fact, I’m not having this conversation, period. You will never believe words. You need action. That action starts tonight.” I nodded, decided, and strode toward the front door.
“What does that mean?”
I just shot her a cheeky grin over my shoulder and walked out.
“What does that mean, Fyfe Moray!” she yelled as I shut the door behind me.