Can't Tie Me Down! (Sinclair Sisters 1)

“Not happening.” Keir swung her around and headed through the makeshift campground toward Arness’ main street and her apartment.

“I’ll check for you,” Donna called. “It’s important that we make sure these boys are identical.”

“No!” Duncan shouted, and Mairi watched him take Donna’s hand and march her to his car. “You need to get to work,” he said as he stuffed her into the passenger seat.

Mairi slumped in Keir’s arms. “You ruined my chance to get my hands on twins.”

“You say that like I should feel bad. Well, newsflash, Rusty, I really don’t.”

With that, he strode past his apprentice working on a car in the garage and kicked open the door that led up to her apartment. All the while, Mairi’s eyes stayed on the twins as she wondered exactly how identical the men were.

Chapter 12

Half an hour later, Keir stomped back down the stairs to his garage. Mairi had locked herself in the bathroom with a pile of sandwiches and half a dozen magazines and told him she wasn’t coming out until she’d used all the hot water, and she was sure her hair was bug-free.

Since she was out of his reach, Keir made sure the doors and windows were locked, and then retreated to regroup. He needed a better plan of attack. The one he was using wasn’t working fast enough—not if she was itching to get her hands on the twins’ abs. He lifted his shirt and looked down. His abs were way better than theirs, and she was welcome to put her hands on them anytime.

“Not sure acting all caveman was the way to win her over,” Sean said from the desk, where he was setting up the website Keir didn’t want.

“What was I supposed to do? Let her fondle the twins? Not on your life.” He opened the tiny fridge in his even tinier office and took out two cans of Scotland’s other national drink, Barr’s Irn-Bru. He threw one at his brother, who snatched it out of the air with a thanks. “These guys have no self-respect. They camp out here, mooning over Mairi, flashing their abs to tempt her. It’s time they went home.”

Sean took a long drink before wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “Aye, how dare they? Don’t they realize they’re homing in on the woman you’ve been stalking for years? How many times have you flashed your abs at her, again?”

Keir narrowed his eyes at his brother and wondered if hitting him would help relieve some tension. “Not stalking. Staying close to and looking out for her. There’s a difference.”

“Aye, sure there is.” Sean sat back in the rickety office chair and gave Keir a considering look. “And it just gets hot in the garage. That’s why your top comes off at the drop of a hat.”

Keir answered with a hand gesture. He didn’t have time to deal with his brother. Not when there was a gang of geeks outside trying to tempt Mairi away from him. A little voice asked him if they could really tempt her away if he didn’t have her to be

gin with. That little voice was just someone else Keir needed to punch.

“Can you keep an eye on her while I go home, shower and pick up some stuff?” he asked Sean.

“Sure. This will take a while anyway.”

“I told you already,” Keir said. “You don’t need to do this. I don’t need a website.”

“And I already told you that you do. Whether you like it or not, old man, I’m dragging you and your business into this century.”

“Fine, knock yourself out, but don’t blame me when none of my customers use the damn thing.” He tossed his crumpled can into the trash. “I need to get cleaned up. I’ll be back soon.”

“Keir?” Sean said, stopping him on his way out. “Are you sure about this? About Mairi? You’ve been here for two years and she hasn’t given you the time of day. You’re no closer to winning her back than you were when you bought this place.”

Keir ran a hand through his hair. Sean wasn’t wrong. Keir had foolishly thought that he’d buy the business and worm his way back into Mairi’s good graces. All he’d really managed to do was irritate her further.

“You don’t know everything that happened with me and Mairi. She has a right to hold a grudge,” Keir said, staring at the wall, but not seeing the shelves, instead seeing the past. The look on Mairi’s face the one and only time they’d made love. The vulnerability in her eyes when he’d left straight afterward.

“It’s been years,” Sean said softly. “She didn’t come see you the year you were in prison. Then you spent more years working, building up your business and seeing other women. Then one day, out of the blue, you decide you want another chance with Mairi and buy this place. I hate to say it, you know I’m behind you one hundred percent, but maybe you missed your chance. Maybe the time you had with Mairi is gone for good. Maybe it’s time to move on.”

Keir leaned back against the vintage muscle car they were restoring for a customer in Glasgow. Suddenly, the situation with Mairi felt heavy, as though it were a weight he would never get out from under. Could a person attain forgiveness? Was there really such a thing as a second chance? Did he deserve one? Hell, did anyone? All he knew was that he needed one, and he needed it badly.

“We were together months before we slept with each other,” Keir said to his brother. It felt as though the words had to come out. That he had to tell someone before the weight squashed him flat. “I wanted her to know I loved her before I took her to bed. I wanted her to know she was different from other girls. Because she was. She is.” He let out a long, heavy breath. “After Mairi, I tried dating other women. I tried moving on. But every one of them was measured against her and found wanting. It got to the point where I had a choice: either settle for second best and always pine for the woman who got away or throw everything into trying to get her back. I chose the latter option, because settling for someone other than Mairi wasn’t fair to me or to the woman who got stuck with me.”

“I get that, I really do,” Sean said. “But it’s been two years. How long do you keep on trying? The rest of your life?”

Keir looked at his younger brother and saw such genuine concern on his face that it reminded Keir just how much he loved the annoying wee fart. Sean had been a surprise baby when his parents had thought Keir was enough, which meant there were six years between the brothers. The night Sean had gotten into trouble and messed up both their lives, he’d been just nineteen years old—one year younger than Mairi at the time. Keir had been twenty-five, older, wiser, smarter—or so he’d thought. All he’d known for sure at the time was that he had to step in and give his baby brother the chance to turn his life off a rotten path. And he had.

Keir couldn’t be prouder of him. They’d spent years working through the guilt Sean felt over ruining Keir’s life. The truth was that Keir didn’t regret stepping in to save his brother, and he knew if the situation were reversed, his brother would have done the same. So, no, he never blamed Sean, and he made sure Sean got over blaming himself. The only thing Keir wished had been different was that the car theft had happened on another night. One where he hadn’t managed to get Mairi into bed for the first time. That was his only regret—timing. Maybe if the timing had been better, she would have listened to his explanation and would have stood by him. Maybe.