Chapter 28 #2
“Oh, come on. Everyone knows I’m kidding,” Robyn huffed and got up to stride across the room toward her sister.
“I am very grateful you are cooking a delicious Christmas dinner for our horde, and I’m sorry for teasing you.
Even though you make it really hard not to when you’re wearing those antlers on your head. ”
Sloane and I chuckled at the sisters’ banter. “This is nice,” Sloane said quietly as we stared around the room. “This is how it should be.”
Our eyes met, and I saw a sadness in hers that mirrored my own. A moment of deep connection thrummed between us, and I reached out to squeeze her hand. “Merry Christmas, Sloane.”
She squeezed my hand in return. “Merry Christmas, Roe.”
“What whisky is this?” Brodan asked, frowning as he smelled it.
Gifts had been exchanged before dinner, and I was almost brought to tears by the Adairs’ generosity. Not only had every couple given me a gift, they’d given Sloane, Callie, and Walker something too. I now had everything from perfume to a spa voucher to take home with me.
My gifts of a book about screenwriting and a bottle of his aftershave had delighted Brodan. He was impressed I’d guessed correctly what he’d worn. I’d nearly burned my nose off in a fragrance store trying to find the damn scent, but it was worth it to see that boyish smile.
However, he’d told me he wanted to wait until we were alone to give me his gift, so I was stuck in anticipation throughout dinner.
As for dinner, it had been a tasty, raucous affair.
Skye and Vivien interrupted it a few times, their parents jumping up from their seats mid bite to run upstairs to check on them.
Eilidh and Lewis squabbled over who had the most mashed potatoes while Callie watched on in bemusement.
Arro had one glass of wine and almost crash-landed in her dinner from tiredness, so Regan got up to make her an extra-strong coffee.
There was teasing and conversation among the Adairs, and they pulled me, Sloane, and Walker into it as if we’d always belonged there.
I learned Regan was studying to get a business degree so she could open a preschool in Caelmore, an excellent idea since we were sorely lacking in that department.
Arran regaled us with the latest stories from the Gloaming.
I saw Sloane eyeing Walker a few times, especially as he was seated on Callie’s other side.
He was soft with Sloane’s daughter in a way he wasn’t with anyone else, and I had to admit I could see why that might intensify Sloane’s crush on him.
It was chaotic and joyful, and I’d never had a Christmas dinner like it.
Now the adult after-dinner drinks of whisky and Baileys (for those who didn’t drink whisky) had been served.
“It’s Tobermory, I think,” Thane said in answer to Brodan’s question.
“We drink Macallan,” Brodan replied, indignant.
“It was a gift. I thought we’d try it.”
“We don’t just drink Macallan,” Lachlan added. “I quite like a bit of Talisker.”
“Aye, Talisker is nice,” Mac agreed.
“I prefer a peatier whisky,” Walker offered. “Like Caol Ila.”
“Nah, too smoky,” Arran disagreed.
“Exactly.” Walker glowered at him.
I looked at Sloane and mouthed, “Seriously?”
She hid a smile behind her glass of Baileys.
“Hey, that’s an idea.” Brodan stared at Lachlan like he’d been struck by lightning. “You and I should open a distillery.”
Lachlan snorted. “Aye, I’ll just hand over a few million pounds to do that, shall I?”
Brodan shrugged. “We can afford it.”
“Arsehole,” Arran teased.
His brother flashed a middle finger at him as he continued to talk to Lachlan. “Seriously, Lachlan. An Ardnoch whisky promoted by the famous Adair brothers. Folk will eat it up. And we could create a whisky that we all can agree on.”
Lachlan considered it, while my heart beat a little faster for Brodan. He was genuinely excited by this idea. “Do the research, bring me the numbers and what’s required, and we can talk.”
“Really?” Brodan grinned, definitely excited.
His eldest brother chuckled. “Really.”
“Must be nice to throw a few million away on a distillery,” Arran said jokingly and raised his glass. “To pricks with too much money.”
Walker clinked his glass off Arran’s.
Lachlan and Brodan stared at each other, shrugged, and then raised their glasses too, making us laugh.
Thane, however, raised his and said seriously, “To men who worked hard for every penny and brought prosperity back to the place they call home.”
“Aw, big brother.” Arran launched himself at Thane, hugging him hard.
“Get off!” Thane shoved him away, laughing.
“Don’t spill your whisky!” Regan yelled from across the room, noting the friendly tussle.
“Don’t worry, it’s not Macallan,” Brodan called back.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, I’ll find you the bloody Macallan,” Thane huffed and stalked toward the kitchen.
“Thanks, big bro,” Brodan called after him.
“You’re awful to him. The both of you.” Lachlan shook his head, smirking.
“He’s just so easy.” Brodan smirked.
“Be nice to your brother, Brodan Adair,” I warned.
He turned to look at me, eyes glinting beneath the Christmas lights. “I tell you what, I’ll be nice if you come with me.”
“Where?”
Holding out his hand, he insisted, “Just come with me.”
I gave Sloane a bemused look before placing my hand in Brodan’s. He began leading me through the living room, and my cheeks flushed for no reason at all.
“Are you leaving, Uncle Brodan?” Eilidh yelled from her spot on the floor with Callie. They were building the Lego version of the house from the movie Home Alone.
“Not yet, princess.” He winked at her. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Will you help us with this when you come back?”
“Of course,” he promised.
My heart melted because I knew it wasn’t an empty promise.
We left behind the noise of the main room, and Brodan pulled me down the hallway toward the front entrance.
Just before the mistletoe, he opened a door and led us into an office.
He shut the door quietly behind us and then took my glass from my hand and rested it on the desk with his.
Pulse racing, I faced him, trying to maintain a calm expression.
“First things first. Why would you think you don’t deserve me?” he asked without preamble.
Damn it.
I knew he’d be a dog with a bone about that.
There was no point hedging. If the ache of longing inside me was anything to go by, I was already losing this battle to protect my heart from him.
“I’ve forgiven you for the way you treated me,” I said.
“But I’m not sure I’ve forgiven myself for Arran.
I thought I had. But I keep asking myself, every time he comes near me, how you can watch on and not remember that night and how it ruined us.
I know you and I weren’t together, but you were my best friend, and I hurt you. ”
He frowned deeply but stepped toward me to clasp my face in his hands.
“For a start, I hurt you first. And second, when you told me what it was like for you that night, how it was just blankness until the moment I appeared, I felt nothing but sympathy for you. Because I’ve been there, and I know how scary that feeling is. ”
Surprised, I asked, “What happened?”
He moved his hands from my face to my shoulders, then smoothed them down my arms to my hands to thread his fingers through mine. “A few years ago, when I got that note from Vanessa?”
I nodded for him to continue.
“Like I said, I spiraled. It was on the heels of Fergus’s psychotic break. I was drinking and partying a lot. Then one morning, I woke up and …” He gave me a wary look. “There were multiple naked strangers in the room. Women and men. And I couldn’t remember a fucking thing. But I was naked too.”
My hands tightened on his. “Brodan.”
“It scared the hell out of me. So I know what it feels like to black out on alcohol and not know what the fuck you’re doing.
Side note, I got every sexual health check under the sun done after that, so no need to worry about our night together.
As for yours and Arran’s night together …
I’m not angry at you and Arran. Or jealous when you hug.
Arran is head over heels for Ery, and I know you don’t feel that way about him.
I don’t see that night as something you made happen.
It was a night that happened to you. I’m just sorry that it did. I’m sorry it happened to us all.”
His compassion broke me.
Tugging on his hand, I wrenched open the door and gestured for him to follow me into the hall. He did so, his nose wrinkled in confusion.
I stood us beneath the mistletoe and stared up into his beautiful face. “The bet is off, Brodan. I don’t want to play games anymore. I just want you.”
Relief flooded his expression and was quickly followed by heated determination. He yanked me against his hard body, bending to reach me.
Then his hot mouth was on mine, and it felt like coming home.