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

“You will not!” The last thing Mairi needed was Agnes elbowing her way back into the situation and taking over. When she got in one of her I’ll-sort-it moods, she tended to trample over everything and everyone to ensure her will was carried out. Mairi had a headache just thinking about it. “These exams are important, and you left Keir to look after me.”

“And he isn’t. I know this because. You. Fell. Down. A. Cliff.”

“Keir grabbed me and pulled me into the cliff. If he hadn’t, I’d have hit the water. Trust me. He’s watching out for me, whether I want it or not. And in case you were even vaguely interested in what I might want, the answer is I don’t want him here.”

“I’m coming home,” Agnes said, making Mairi wonder if she’d heard anything she’d just said.

“No. I forbid it. Sit the exams and come home when you’re done. I’m fine. It’s all fine.” She stood up, still holding the towel. “If you come home before the week is up, I swear I will make you pay.”

“How, exactly? Are you going to cook for a month?”

“No.” Mairi narrowed her eyes at the faded Valentine’s card Agnes kept pinned behind the photos on her noticeboard. It had been written by a local hotel owner’s son, whom Agnes had spent a summer with as a teen. The same hotel owner that Agnes had been cultivating for years, hoping to manage his business once her course was finished. “I’ll call Old Man Ferguson and tell him that not only did you have an affair with his son years ago, but there was a love child that you put up for adoption. I’ll tell him that the only reason you want to work for him is to ruin his business and get revenge on his family for leaving you alone and pregnant as a teen.” Damn, that sounded good.

There was an aggravated sigh. “You’ve been watching daytime soaps again, haven’t you? What did I tell you about that? I told you they would rot your brain, and now we have proof, because that was a seriously crap threat. Nobody would believe it.”

“Fine, then I’ll fill your bed with spiders and worms if you come home early.”

“You little witch.” Agnes sucked in a deep breath. “I’ll stay here, but Keir better make sure you’re safe or I’ll deal with him myself.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know. Now go sail through those exams and become a big-time hotel manager.”

“I love you, you halfwit.”

“Love you too, big brain.” Mairi hung up and turned to find Sean standing in her doorway, his arms full of boxes of chocolates.

“They’ve stopped sending flowers,” he said, looking a little bewildered.

Mairi snatched a box from the top of the pile. Thorntons, her favorite. She looked up at Keir’s brother. “You want to watch daytime TV and pig out on chocolate?”

“Works for me.” He turned and headed back into the living room. “Put on some clothes, though,” he called back at her. “If Keir catches me here with you dressed like that, he’ll kill me.”

“Keir wouldn’t care if I was walking around naked when he returned.”

There was the sound of unhinged laughter from the living room. Mairi threw on some old sweatpants, which were a fetching shade of puke green, and a pink and white striped tee and went to join Sean on the sofa. She opened the chocolates, put her feet up on the crate that functioned as a coffee table, and pointed the remote at the TV.

“Jeremy Kyle,” they both said in delight as the tabloid talk show host appeared on the screen, surrounded by shouting guests.

“Which one is it?” Sean tore into giant box of Roses chocolates.

Mairi hit the button that would give them the show details. “Your boyfriend killed my hamster.”

With matching grins, Sean and Mairi settled in to watch some train wreck TV.

Chapter 13

Keir parked his SUV in front of the garage, right behind the horse-drawn buggy. He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, then opened them again. Nope, the buggy was still there. A guy in a black top hat was sitting at the reins, and the horses had left their own little presents right outside his door. Next to the buggy stood Amir, dressed head to toe in traditional Pakistani clothes. He had on what looked like beige silk pajama pants under a long beige tunic, with a dark blue jacket on top. The jacket had a high collar and beige embroidered patterns on it. On his feet he wore what looked like beige silk slippers and about a ton of hair gel on his head.

With a sigh, Keir climbed out of his SUV and headed for Amir.

“Nice outfit,” he said.

And he wasn’t joking—it was nice. Not as good as a decent kilt, but he’d bet Mairi would be impressed. Something he didn’t want her to be, which meant he needed to nip this effort in the bud straight away.

Amir ran a hand down his jacket with pride. “This is my favorite formal kurta pajama suit. The color will be most complementary to Mairi’s beautiful hair.” He reached into the back of the buggy and pulled out a bag. “Can you give this to Mairi, and tell her I would be most delighted if she would grant me the honor of wearing this on our date tonight?”

Keir peeked in the bag. Bright pink and blue silk peeked back at him.

“It’s a Punjabi suit,” Amir said. “Pants, tunic and scarf. Comfortable and practical, as well as being most pleasing to the eye.”