“No, I doona know what to tell ye for I doona know and I doona care. I shall no be sad to see her go.”
Baodan’s jaw tightened at Niall’s words. “Ye should be ashamed of yerself for saying such a thing.”
“Why? She doesna like me, and she makes it clear.”
The look of disgust on Niall’s face made Baodan’s fists clench together in anger. He turned away, knowing his temper was about to flare. He didn’t look back as he walked away, only speaking loudly so that Niall could hear him. “Perhaps ’tis the way ye treat women and the way ye lie to everyone around ye that makes her no so fond of ye. I canna say I like ye much meself at the moment. Watch over the keep while I am away.”
Fuming, Baodan exited the castle’s main entrance as fast as he could. He shuddered at the thought of Niall’s thoughtless words. It made him wonder just how good of a man he could be when both his brothers were the worst sort of men.
Chapter 5
On The Plane To Scotland
Present Day
I was drooling. So much for looking attractive. With my head slumped against the window of the plane and cold drool dribbling out the side my mouth, attractive was the last word anyone would use to describe me. I fell asleep just as soon as I settled into my seat, and as the unpleasant tickle woke me, I realized I wasn’t sure if we were in the air yet.
Eyes still closed, I raised my head off the side of the window and ran the back of my hand over my chin and mouth. With no turbulence or movement as far as I could tell, I assumed that we’d yet to take off. Planning on resuming my slumber within seconds, I reluctantly opened my eyes and slid the plastic cover on the window up just slightly so that I could peek outside.
Sure enough, I saw tarmac rather than sky, and it was clear there had been some sort of delay. I groaned and started to close the window when a familiar voice to my left caused my hand to freeze on the shade.
“Hey there, sleepy. I almost woke you, but you looked like you really needed some shuteye. I couldn’t believe it when I got to my seat and saw you sitting there. What’s it been, Mits, five years? Surely we will take off soon. We’ve been sitting here for over an hour.”
I didn’t turn, didn’t even respond as I sat there pinching my eyes closed while facing the window of the plane. I quickly tried to think back to the restaurant. Had I really only drank two margaritas? The incident in the bathroom had been weird enough, but this? This was just too much. The chances of this happening were so small, I sincerely couldn’t believe it was really Jep’s voice I heard behind me.
“Mits? Are you okay?”
If only I didn’t need to pee so badly, perhaps I could simply lay my head down and feign sleep for the duration of the flight. Unfortunately, I did have to go to the bathroom. I’d gone into the restroom inside the airport and never ended up inside a stall. Besides, it might have been five years since I’d seen him, but I still knew Jep well enough to know that he wouldn’t let me deplane without speaking to him. And why would he? He’d been my best friend, and I his, for over twelve years.
We’d been childhood friends and then young lovers, and he’d smashed my heart into a gazillion pieces.
Knowing I couldn’t face this direction forever and, with the length in between us speaking growing awkwardly long, I swallowed the lump that formed in the middle of my chest at hearing his voice and faced him.
I smiled as I looked him over, hoping he would be unable to see every thought that ran through my mind. He’d changed. His previously dirty blonde hair was darker, and his brown eyes were tired, less hopeful than they’d once been. Small bags pouched his eyes, the kind that men get as they grow older, but he was too young to have them already. He seemed to have aged too quickly in the few short years since I’d seen him last.
I glanced down at his left hand to find he was still married. If his marriage even remotely resembled what mine had been, it went a long way toward explaining why he looked so much older.
If he was a stranger and I was meeting him for the first time, I don’t think I would have found him overly attractive, but he wasn’t a stranger and, despite the changes in him, I found him just as handsome as always.
I swallowed once more and said a silent prayer in the hopes that my voice wouldn’t come out shaky and weird. “Jep! I’ve never been so surprised to see anyone. Why are you going to Scotland?”
He smiled back and reached across the armrest to pull me toward him. “Business. Now come here. It’s been too long since I’ve held you in my arms.”