Prologue
ARRO
SIX YEARS AND FOUR MONTHS AGO
Ardnoch Castle, Sutherland
Scottish Highlands
It was strange to see my family home filled to the brim with glamorous people, famous faces, glittering evening gowns, kilts, and tuxedos.
Servers in traditional uniforms—coattails, cravats, and white gloves—moved among the crowd, carrying trays of canapés and flutes of champagne.
Growing up in our grand castle of a home, it had been a daily overwhelming pile of never-ending repairs.
We’d stuck to living in only a few rooms. The rest, along with the hallways, were damp, cold, and grim.
During the winter, the castle had been freezing.
But my eldest brother, Lachlan Adair, took some of the megabucks he’d made as a Hollywood action star and convinced a few of his very wealthy friends to take some of theirs, and they invested back in our family’s estate.
To turn it into this. A private club for the film and television industry’s elite.
I won’t lie. Part of me hated it. I was territorial and concerned they’d disrespect our home, our history.
Yet I knew deep down they wouldn’t because Lachlan wouldn’t allow it.
And I knew that without this club, Ardnoch Castle and Estate would have been taken from the Adairs forever.
Lachlan would’ve had to sell it. This way, at least, it stayed in the family.
“Why do you look so miserable over here on your own?” Thane, my second-eldest brother, sauntered toward me, his wife, Francine, at his side.
I shrugged, giving him a forlorn smile. “You don’t think it’s strange?”
He glanced around. “Aye, very. But it’s a grand building, Arro. This is what it was meant for.”
I knew he was right and lifted my glass in acknowledgment.
“At least you look the part.” Francine wrapped her arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. “You look stunning and fit right in with all these Hollywood people. I look like a whale.”
“You do not,” I scoffed. “You’re glowing and gorgeous.” Fran was five months pregnant with her and Thane’s second child, and since I loved being an aunt to my nephew, Lewis, I was extremely excited to welcome a new addition to the family.
Fran patted her dark curls at the same time she smoothed a hand down her rounded stomach. “Thank you, but I don’t feel it.”
“You’re beautiful,” Thane countered gruffly, but I noticed he didn’t reach for her.
My brother and his wife were usually so publicly affectionate, it would send me running in the opposite direction.
One, because I didn’t want to watch my brother in a lip-lock, and two, because of the envy I felt.
I was so happy for Thane, but sometimes I wanted a love like my brother had.
Problem was, the likelihood of ever finding it was slim, considering I was already in love with someone, and he didn’t love me back, and I was terrified I’d never be able to move on from him.
Still, I wasn’t so self-involved that I hadn’t noticed things seemed a little strained between Thane and Fran.
Or that my brother had been distant with everyone lately.
I didn’t realize I was staring so intently at him, but as if sensing where my thoughts lay, he took hold of Fran’s hand, and she seemed to melt with relief into his side.
“Where’re Brodan and Arran?” he asked.
I shrugged, looking around for our brothers. “They’re here somewhere. Probably finding someone to kiss at midnight.”
“Have you found someone, Arro?” Fran grinned at me.
Yes, yes, I have. I shook my head. Because although I’d found someone I wanted to kiss for all my midnights to come, it was doubtful he’d kiss me back.
Speaking of, “Where’s Mac? I haven’t seen him all night. He’s not working, is he?”
Fran shrugged. “He is head of security.”
“No.” Thane shook his head. “Lachlan gave him the night off so he could enjoy the New Year with us. One of his team has taken lead for the evening.”
“So where is he?”
Fran snorted. “Probably hiding from the many women desperate to get him into bed.”
Inwardly, I flinched, while Thane winked at me and said to his wife, “Sweetheart, men don’t hide from that.”
“Och, you.” She turned to berate him, but he caught her in a kiss.
I was so happy to see them acting normally around one another, but I did not want to stand there and watch. “Enjoy!” I called over the music before I left to make my way out of the great hall.
Mac definitely wasn’t in there, and honestly, his face was the only one I wanted to see.
It always was.
And it had been this way since Dad died.
Or maybe longer. I’d known Mac since I was fourteen, but I had spent little time with him back then since he and Lachlan were always off traveling the world for Lachlan’s job as an actor, what with Mac being part of my brother’s security team.
But I distinctly remembered the Christmas Mac spent with us when I was eighteen years old.
I’d just started my first semester at Aberdeen University and was happy to be home with my family.
Over the two weeks of that holiday, Mac and Lachlan stayed at Ardnoch, too, and I’d developed a crush on the older man my brother considered his closest friend.
Mac was thirty-one at the time, and definitely not interested in his brother’s teenage sister.
That didn’t bother me back then. I just loved having crushes because I enjoyed the butterflies and hyperawareness, the mooning and fantasizing. It was fun!
Love, however, love was not fun.
Love hurt.
And somehow, almost eight years after that crush developed, after Lachlan and Mac had come home to rebuild the estate, I’d fallen in love with Mackennon Galbraith. I was pretty certain he still saw me as Lachlan’s wee sister.
Which was why I’d gone all out on my appearance tonight.
For once, I’d used a little of the inheritance I’d gotten from Lachlan when he sold land we owned elsewhere, and I bought myself a stupidly expensive dress, but it made me feel sexy.
My job as a forest engineer meant I was forever running around the Highlands in jeans or walking trousers and comfy jumpers or T-shirts.
For once, I wanted to show off my figure.
I moved through the receiving rooms that Lachlan had transformed for his guests into spaces where they could socialize, smoothing my hands down my dress as I searched for Mac.
Lachlan looked a little annoyed when he saw me earlier, but thankfully, he’d kept his mouth shut.
As much as he wanted to keep me a wee girl, I wasn’t.
I was a woman. Twenty-five years old, almost twenty-six, and capable of making my own decisions.
Including wearing a long dress that made me feel a little naked.
It was silk, fitted, and a pale icy blue that matched my eyes.
If it had been embellished with lace, it could’ve passed for a negligee.
I wore my hair down and asked my stylist to lighten the blond to platinum. The effect made my eyes bluer, and I decided I loved it so much I’d forego an updo and style it with some waves.
Two Hollywood actors had flirted with me within the first hour of the party.
I rarely needed that kind of attention to bolster my confidence, but Mac wasn’t like any man I’d ever wanted before. For a start, I’d never been in love until now.
While Mac wasn’t the type of man to settle into a serious relationship, I’d seen the women he casually dated.
He was a man of varied taste, so there was absolutely a chance he could be attracted to me.
I’d never lacked for confidence or had self-image issues, mostly because of my upbringing.
Who cared what anyone else thought? About anything!
I’d grown up in a village where everyone knew your business, and the only way to survive it was to not give a damn.
Tonight was a braless night for me, and I gave zero fucks. The dress had thin spaghetti straps, and the silk fabric was so fine, I couldn’t wear a bra with it.
Okay. So it was a deliberate choice. I wanted to see if Mac would notice. Sue me.
It was difficult for him to notice, however, if I couldn’t bloody find him.
Wondering suddenly if he’d locked himself in his office, I shifted direction, avoided eye contact with guests, and disappeared down the Staff Only corridor.
Mac’s office door was shut.
I took a deep breath, rapped my knuckles against it in warning, and pushed inside.
Peeking my head around the door, I found Mac sitting on the armchair in his small office. He looked mammoth in the room that he’d filled with bookshelves. He turned, and my heart melted at the melancholy in his gorgeous eyes.
Without a word, I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. “Mac?”
His gaze drifted down my body, lingering on my breasts, and my breath caught as my stomach flipped with excitement.
But he scowled and looked down at the floor. “What are you doing here? You should be out enjoying the party.”
“With a bunch of people I don’t know?” I tutted and sat down on the edge of his desk. “No, thanks.”
He stared sullenly at the floor, and my chest ached with longing.
Most of the time, Mac was so charming it was difficult not to flirt outrageously with him. He had a wicked smile and always seemed to know just the right thing to say.
However, as I’d gotten to know him well these last two years, I witnessed him go through periods of brooding.
Lachlan wouldn’t tell me what put Mac in these strange moods, but I desperately wanted to know.
So I could comfort him. Soothe whatever hurt him.
Like he and Lachlan had soothed me after my father died in my arms.
Tears pricked in my eyes at the memory, and I looked away. “What is it about New Year’s Eve that’s so depressing?”
A gruff snort drew my gaze back to Mac. Our eyes met, and my pulse throbbed.
Jesus, would I ever be attracted to another man as much as I was attracted to this one?