Among the Heather (The Highlands, #2)

As if he knew that, Walker’s expression flattened. “Still on for lunch Sunday?”

He referred to the lunch Sloane had invited me to at Walker’s house. While Sloane rented a cottage in the middle of the village for her and Callie, I knew they’d been spending a lot of time at Walker’s because it was bigger. I doubted it would be long before that man had his girls moved in with him. I was over the moon for Sloane. No one deserved happiness more. She was one of the few people in this world I trusted.

“Of course. I’ll be there.”





Ola Q’s manager had a nasal, monotonous way of speaking that made it hard to concentrate. I waited for him to shut up about Ola Q’s significance to the world, and cut in as soon as he took a breath. “I understand all that, Mr. Paulson, and that’s exactly why we’d love to hire her to perform at our summer solstice party here at Ardnoch.”

Ola Q was a sexy Australian pop star who’d had a tremendous year of global number one hits two years ago, and while fervor for her had died down a little, she was still a big enough star to make my event special. We hosted a Christmas party and extravagant New Year’s Eve event at Ardnoch every year, and I felt like we were missing a trick during the summer. Summer was our busiest time, with most of Hollywood taking a break between June and September. As much as I hated parties, I felt we should host a special summer event for our members. Lachlan agreed, and I told him I’d take care of it.

“Ola has a gig in London that week.”

“I know. Which is why it’s perfect. We’ll fly her up here if you’d like.”

“I just don’t think this kind of thing is her thing, you know.”

He was lying. He wanted me to beg. To offer ludicrous amounts of money. Thankfully, when you had a business as successful as Ardnoch Members-Only Club, you could afford to pay people only what they were worth. “Oh, well, I understand. There are other performers who recognize what a singular opportunity it is to perform for the crème da le crème of Hollywood, so I’ll bother you no more. Thank you for your time, Mr. Paulson, I appreciate it—”

“Well, wait there,” he cut in flatly. “I should talk to Ola first.”

A knock sounded on my office door seconds before it opened and Wakefield appeared. I held up a hand with a small smile as I spoke into my phone. “Oh, excellent. If you could respond to our request by the end of this week, that would be wonderful.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay.”

“Goodbye.” I hung up before I had to listen to his toneless voice again. I noted Wakefield’s bemused expression. “Problem?”

“Your sister has arrived unexpectedly,” he announced. “She’s coming up the driveway as we speak.”

“What?” I practically screeched. Pushing my chair away from the desk, I hurried and followed Wakefield from the office. “How? When? What?”

“She just arrived at the gate with no explanation, I’m afraid.”

What the hell was my baby sister doing in Scotland when she was supposed to be at her fancy-ass art school? Pulse racing with the anxiety that seemed to hit me whenever my family became part of my daily equation, I rushed out into the wintry day. Shivering, I watched the cab in the distance as it followed the gravel driveway through the manicured lawns toward us.

My sister Allegra had just turned nineteen and was supposed to be in attendance at Otis College in LA. Fear that she was on yet another downward spiral held me stiff as the cab drew closer.

Wakefield strode out to open the back passenger door and out popped Allegra. A rush of love and homesickness hit me at the sight of her, mixing with all my worries.

“Oh, don’t look like that!” my little sister called as she hurried over the gravel. “Everything’s cool, I promise. Happy Valentine’s Day!” She threw her arms around me before I could say a word. I returned her embrace, and thanked the universe that she was safe and here with me.

“You’re okay?” I asked hoarsely.

“I promise,” she repeated, squeezing and then pulling back to meet my gaze. Her eyes were as watery as mine. “Missed you, big sis.”

Clasping her beautiful face in my hands, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Missed you, too, Ally.”

She beamed like a little kid and hugged me tight again. I laughed and stroked her hair. “Come inside out of this arctic cold so you can tell me what the heck you’re doing in Scotland.”





My sister had dark hair and the same olive skin we’d inherited from our mother, but that’s where the similarities ended. Allegra was a few inches shorter than me, and while she was slighter than Mamma, she had the same overwhelming beauty that made me worry about her.

This world liked to use up beauty until there was nothing left.

Allegra sat in the breakfast nook of our family home on the estate, a mug of coffee between her hands. “It gets dark so early here,” she noted, glancing out the window behind her.

After she arrived, I got her settled at the house and then promised I’d finish work early so we could talk. Valentine’s Day was not a holiday we celebrated at Ardnoch unless we received individual requests from members. A few married couples had arrived at the estate for the long weekend, so I coordinated with the chef, housekeeping, and Wakefield to make sure their requests were ready for smooth execution. Then I returned to my baby sister.

Now here we were, with food the estate chef had prepped for me heating in the oven.

“Are we going to talk about sunset or are you going to tell me why you’re here?” I’d returned to the house just as the sky darkened to find Allegra had made herself at home. Four pairs of shoes now sat at the front door. Her laptop was on the coffee table, her e-reader plugged in near the couch. The fireplace was roaring and there were crumbs all over the kitchen island.

I’d spent most of my day distracted and worried about why she’d come.

“Do Mamma and Dad know you’re here?”

“Are you just going to fire question after question at me?” Allegra’s large dark eyes glimmered with amusement, but I saw the weariness buried in them too.

“Ally.”

She sighed heavily. “No, they don’t know.”

Our mother was staying in our New York apartment because she loved the city at this time of year. Dad was on the set of a movie in Vancouver.

It was my turn to exhale slowly. “So … what brings you here without telling our parents?”

“Will you sit?” She patted the bench beside her. “I have something to show you.”

Warily, I padded over in bare feet. The first thing I usually did upon arriving home was change out of my constricting pencil skirt and button-down shirt. But I’d been too impatient to talk to Allegra. I shimmied in beside her as she lifted her phone off the table and tapped the screen.

“I’ve been keeping a secret.” Her voice trembled with nervousness, and I felt answering butterflies in my belly.

“Okay …”

Allegra licked her lips and clutched her phone to her chest. Our eyes met and hers almost pleaded with me. “I created a social media account under an alias and started sharing art on it.”