Three votes was very close. It was possible she’d won after all. She saw the crinkles at the side of Douglas eyes and knew it was a scam. She gave him a cynical smile to let him know she was on to him.
Dougal cleared his throat and looked away from her.
“Now, to the matter of the bet,” he said.
Kirsty’s stomach lurched. She remembered quite well what her part in the bet was, she just wasn’t sure if Dougal knew and if he was going to broadcast it to the pub. She held her breath.
“For that, we really need the other party,” Dougal said. “Lake Benson, come on out here.”
The spotlight swung away from the stage and, after wobbling across the ceiling, wall and part of the bar, it steadied on the door to the kitchen. The door swung open and out walked Lake. The wind went out of Kirsty in one almighty whoosh. She had to remind herself to breathe. He was dressed in traditional Scottish garb, from his black waistcoat and tie, to his green tartan kilt, down to his kilt hose. He was stunning.
Stunning. Cocky. Arrogant. And up to no good.
He swaggered to the stage, waving at the crowd and behaving as though he paraded around in the limelight every day of the year. His eyes sought her out and his look burned. Kirsty’s mouth went dry. Then her eyes narrowed. This little setup he had going wasn’t over yet, and she didn’t want to end up the brunt of Invertary jokes until next New Year’s. She glared at him, which made him grin. Damn man.
“Lake,” Dougal said once the spotlight had found him again. “I’m sorry you lost the competition. Now you might like to sort out that bet.”
He handed the microphone to Lake.
“Nice of you to come back,” Kirsty said—aware that without a microphone, pretty much only he could hear her. “A phone call would have been nice too.?
?
“I’ll explain later,” he said, forgetting about the microphone. The crowd hushed, scared they would miss something.
Lake looked at the packed pub and took a deep breath.
“Kirsty Campbell,” he said. “As per our bet. I have something to give you.”
There were wolf whistles. Dougal grabbed the mic for a minute.
“Get your minds out of the gutter,” he ordered the crowd, then signalled Lake to carry on.
“I have here,” Lake said as he reached into the pocket in his waistcoat and came out with a white envelope, “the deed to my shop. It’s now yours.”
There was a moment’s silence before the screams of approval deafened them. Lake held the envelope out to Kirsty. She wasn’t daft enough not to take it. She snatched it from him. His lip did that thing where he tried not to smile.
“You didn’t keep it in your sporran?” she said.
“This thing?” Lake pointed at the sporran with his mic. “I thought it was a penis warmer.”
Unfortunately the mic picked up the end of his sentence and hysterics ensued. Dougal tried to call order. Eventually people were quiet. Dougal grabbed the mic, giving Lake a look that told him he’d abused his privilege and wouldn’t be allowed to hold it again. Lake grinned and rolled his eyes at Kirsty, which made her take a turn at swallowing a smile.
“Perhaps you would like to explain for the town what this means?” Dougal said.
Then he shoved the mic under Lake’s nose, because he wasn’t going to risk handing it over again.
“It means that I no longer have a business, or savings. The plans I had are no longer possible. It looks like I’m stuck in Invertary.”
Caroline gasped and clasped her heart. She always was a soppy romantic. Kirsty gave her a look that told her she’d deal with her so-called best friend later too. Caroline hung her head in an admission of guilt. Kirsty signalled that she wanted the mic. Dougal held it in front of her.
“Why thank you, Lake,” she said loudly. “It’s the least you could do. Now, tell me, what exactly will you be doing now that you’re stuck in Invertary?” She smiled sweetly as she waved the contract. If he thought he was getting it back, he had another think coming.
The mic went back to Lake. Dougal looked like he was about to burst and answer the question for Lake. It seemed like everyone knew what was going on except Kirsty. Lake gave her that lazy smile that famously wooed women out of their knickers. Kirsty pretended it didn’t affect her. His eyes sparkled at her.
“I thought,” he said lazily, “that I’d settle down and marry the new owner of the business.”
There was screaming, singing, whistles and the odd whoop from the crowd. Lake gave her a confident grin that said he had everything under control. Kirsty was not impressed with his presumptuous attitude—even though the thought of marrying Lake made her knees turn to jelly. She grabbed the microphone from a beaming Dougal.