There with You (Adair Family 2)

Whistles rent the air, making him grin ruefully.

“To have my family here, safe and well,” he continued, “it’s all any of us can ask. And I wish nothing but the same for you, my friends. Tonight, we let go of yesterday and embrace new beginnings.” He raised his glass, and the guests followed suit. “May ye for’er be happy an’ yer enemies know it! Slàinte Mhath!” He pronounced the Scottish Gaelic for “cheers” as slanj-a-va.

“Slàinte Mhath!” the guests roared, and the band broke into the beginning chords of their biggest hit to date.

I watched Lachlan stop to shake hands with guests. All the while, his eyes were on Robyn. Just a few weeks ago, I’d imagined spending New Year’s Eve with Thane. Maybe sneaking away from everyone else to kiss at midnight. As I followed my new colleagues to collect fresh trays of drinks, I scoffed at the very idea. Perhaps in five years’ time, I’d be less bitter and at a Hogmanay much like this, I’d be able to clink my glass against his and wish him well.

I winced.

I did wish him well.

I would never wish Thane anything else.

But I wasn’t quite ready to wish it to his face.

36

Thane

“Brother, a word.” Thane didn’t care if he was being rude as he took Lachlan’s elbow and forcefully removed him from his conversation with the famous director, Merriam Burbanks.

“Excuse me,” Lachlan said before he was hauled away. “You can let go of me now.”

Thane released him, knowing his big brother would follow, as they moved swiftly through the crowd, their expressions warding off anyone who might approach to engage them in conversation. Thane searched through the famous faces to find Regan. She was in profile, flashing her pretty dimples at Roman fucking Bright, of all people. Even in the ridiculous livery Lachlan made his staff wear, she was appealing. And Bright seemed to think so as he stopped her from drifting away with her tray of champagne flutes. His lips were quirked in flirtation. The bastard was married, but Thane knew via Lachlan that the son of Hollywood legend Garret Bright was a well-known womanizer.

His gut twisted as he wrenched his gaze away, stormed from the party, and turned down the castle corridor toward Lachlan’s stage office. Once inside, he waited until his brother shut the door behind him.

“You said she wouldn’t be here.”

“I said she wouldn’t be a guest here.” Lachlan shrugged.

“You bastard. I can’t believe you hired her.”

Lachlan stared calmly at him. “Robyn is as good as my wife. Regan is her sister.”

“So you hired her? For how long? Until her visa expires?”

“No.”

Thane’s stomach dropped. “No?”

“She’s applying for her ancestry visa. I have a friend at the Home Office who’s going to push it through so she doesn’t have to return to the States to wait for it. I offered her a position and a cabin here on the estate for however long she needs it.”

“With no thought to me or the kids?” Thane seethed.

Lachlan quirked an eyebrow. “I’m sure the kids will be pleased Regan can still be in their lives. Frankly, your attitude to this point has suggested you don’t give a fuck about her. I didn’t think you’d care. But Robyn does. Robyn wants her here, so I’m making that happen.”

“Don’t give a fuck? Didn’t think I’d care?” he whispered harshly, feeling the unfamiliar urge to punch his brother.

He received a hard warning look. “I’m not the one you’re angry with.”

“Oh?”

“You’re angry with yourself, you hardheaded prick.” Lachlan cut him a dark look. “A decade of happiness is better than a lifetime of emptiness.”

Thane tensed, remembering those words.

“That’s what you said to me,” Lachlan pushed. “Not even eight months ago. When I came to you about Robyn, you advised me to face my fears and just be with her. Not very good at following your own advice, are you?”

“You love Robyn.”

“And by that, I suppose you mean you don’t love Regan?”

Sweat dampened Thane’s palms and suddenly his bow tie was too tight. “We don’t make sense.”

“That’s a lie and you know it. I have never seen you happier than I have these past few months. I suspected something was between you but couldn’t be sure. What I did know was whether you had given in to your attraction to Regan, you were more content with her in your life than you have ever been. Ever, Thane.”

The truth in his words was soul-destroying. “I have to protect Eilidh and Lewis. If Regan was older, ready to settle down, then it would be a different story. It would be a calculated risk that anyone takes when they’re in love. But Regan’s too young. Right now, it’s just asking for Eilidh and Lewis to be hurt.”

“And asking for you to be hurt, am I right?” Lachlan glared at him. “Or I’m wrong. Because you can’t love her if you don’t trust her. And you obviously don’t trust Regan and her feelings for you.” His brother shook his head in disappointment and strode away.