Pepper, the Highlander & the Dead Guy

It was, however, enough to bring this non-date to an end.

I stood, pulled some bills from my pocket, dropped them on the table and looked to Burke. “I need to get going. Any news you have, you know where to find me.” I turned to Amy. “I’ll call you later.”

Beau had almost reached Ian by the time I reached the door. I took the stairs down fast, figuring Ian would be hot on my heels and I wasn’t wrong. He called out to me before I reached my truck.

“Pep, please let me talk to you.”

I turned and held up my hand, warning him to stop. “What’s there to say? You ruined my lunch with an old friend. I can see you saying hello, why wouldn’t you, but kiss me like that in front of everyone? And the wine, appreciated, but not necessary. Beau was the end of it, sending him to spy—”

“Whoa, I didn’t send Beau,” Ian said, taking a few steps closer to me. “He saw Amy and wanted to talk to her.” He ran his fingers through his hair, then shook his head. “Ah dinnae know what got into me. The truth is when I saw you with him, I got jealous. I had hoped to talk you into having lunch with me and the crew so you could meet more of the models, then I saw you with him and…” He shook his head again. “I acted poorly and I’m sorry.” He stepped closer and eased his hand out to take mine. “Please forgive me.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond, but as usual my mouth started talking before my brain gave any thought to it. “You were jealous?”

He smiled that disarming smile of his and, of course, my stomach had to flutter.

“Aye, I was jealous.” He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed the back. “I like you, Pep, I really, really like you.”

“You barely know me.” Was that me trying to dissuade him?

“You dinnae have to know someone for long to ken how you feel about them. And today showed me how I really feel about you.”

My mouth opened and spoke without any thought yet again. “I really, really like you too, Ian.”

“I’m thrilled to hear that, Pep,” he said with a smile and pulled me into his arms to kiss me.

“If you like each other so much, you might want to be truthful with each other,” Burke said, ending the kiss before it got started.

Before Burke could ruin anything for me, I took charge and turned to Ian. “I was meeting Burke for lunch because he told me he had some information about Willow Lake Lodge I might be interested in.”

“You’ve been making inquiries about Willow Lake Lodge?” Ian asked. “Anything you want to know, Pep, just ask.”

“Like how the lodge and land weren’t included in Max’s will or how you inquired about plans to build condos, similar to my plans for the property?” Burke asked.

“Both things I already knew and was going to ask you about tonight,” I said to Ian, then turned to Burke. “You told me about the lodge and property not being included in the will and your grandfather told me about Ian making inquiries into a planned condo community. Is that the information you were going to tell me?”

Ian spoke before Burke could answer. “That was probably my father’s solicitor who inquired about condos. He was impressed with Burke’s plans and thought it a wise investment. He actually tried to convince me to accept your offer.”

“The offer is still on the table,” Burke said eagerly. “Strathmore Builders would be only too happy to work with you in the building of such a community.

“Not interested,” Ian said to my relief.

“Not even developing part of it? Strathmore Builders could do it all for you. It would be a great investment and net you a sizeable amount,” Burke suggested. “Think about it. It could work out nicely for you. Bring you a good amount to invest for retirement.”

I sent him an evil look.

Burke shot me one back. “Why do you want to live out in the woods by yourself anyway? Think how great it would be to have neighbors close by.”

Ian laughed. “She’s not alone. She’s got Highlanders, Vikings, bikers, barbarians, and more looking out for her.”

“Funny,” Burke said, though he didn’t laugh.

It not only amused me, but it also had me looking forward to meeting every one of those guys.

“The lodge is having a big Halloween bash, most of the town is invited so we can meet and get to know the people in the area, and they can see for themselves what’s happening with the lodge. You should receive your invitation soon. Let’s talk a day or so after the party,” Ian said.

Burke stuck his hand out. “I gladly accept the invite and look forward to it. I’ll have my assistant set up an appointment for us to meet.”