Fergus placed his bear claw of a hand over hers, trapping her palm against his chest. He leaned toward his captive and invaded her space while speaking in a low, even voice. “That may be, Fee, but the people are in a state of unease”—he glanced at us apologetically—“because o’ our new arrivals. So I’m escorting ye.”
Fiona’s nostrils flared, but not from anger. Her pupils swallowed up her hazel eyes as she inclined her mouth toward Fergus’s bright red ear. “Fine. But you better not eat all of Mum’s biscuits again.”
With that, she yanked her hand from the giant’s grasp, spun on her heels, and stalked out the door. With a contrite “m’ lairds” and a single nod, Fergus followed in her wake.
The moment the tavern door shut, Duncan and Jamie exploded with laughter. Duncan raked his hand through his already-chaotic hair so that it formed dark, spiky peaks. “Poor lad.”
Jamie nodded in agreement. “Aye.”
I failed to get the joke. “Why?”
“Why?” Jamie smiled, looking the most at ease he’d been all evening. “Because he’s totally besotted, that’s why. He’s been in love with Fiona since childhood.”
A miniscule sigh slipped from my bestie. Out of the corner of my eye, I noted the devastating effect of Jamie’s smile. In the aftermath, her eyes brimmed with stars that rivaled the Hollywood Walk of Fame’s.
Not that I could claim to be completely unaffected. When he wasn’t sulking, Jamie was one of the hottest guys I’d ever seen—aside from his brother. Staring at the two of them side by side was like stepping into a medieval Calvin Klein ad—only with more clothing. And when the both of them smiled, I felt the resulting swoon deep in my girly parts.
Speaking of swooning, Vee blinked dreamily up at Jamie. “And Fiona doesn’t feel the same way.”
“Nay, she’s crazy about him too.” Duncan pulled the focus back to himself, but not before I noticed Jamie’s posture shift slightly away from Vee. “But he’ll not have an easy time of winning her.”
“Winning her?” While I wasn’t a brainiac like Vee, I didn’t typically need water wings in the shallow end. I was obviously missing something. “She’s not a prize turkey. If they like each other, why don’t they just talk it out? Honesty is the foundation of a healthy relationship.”
“That’s what I was saying to Jamie this very morning.” Duncan propped his chin on his fist, batting his lashes and favoring me with a disarming smile. His twinkling eyes drew me in like a magnetic force field. Imaginary music swelled, filling the tavern with the sweet love ballad of Christine and Raoul from Phantom.
Unable to look away, I squirmed in my chair and sent Vee mental smoke signals. She reached across the table and lightly touched Duncan’s forearm. “Is Fergus any relation to Kenna’s uncle, Cameron Lockhart?”
For a moment, he appeared confused by Vee’s touch. But he quickly recovered and favored her with a million-watt smile that abruptly silenced the romantic melody in my head. “Aye. Cameron Lockhart was Fergus’s mother’s cousin. But he and his bride left Doon the year before Fergus was born.”
While Vee chewed thoughtfully at her lip, Jamie scowled at the juncture where her pale hand rested against his brother’s coppery skin. A barely audible growl rumbled up from his chest. Vee glanced toward the noise, noticed the murderous expression on Jamie’s face, and snatched her hand away as if stung.
Recognizing my cue to play rescuer, I quickly improvised. “But if Cameron left Doon more than fifty years ago and Fergus is—what, early twenties?—how does it work?” I was sooo not a math girl. On my best days, I struggled to add and subtract double digits.