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

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” She looked at him but couldn’t read anything from his face. It was closed up tight.

“Aye. It’s good. It’s what you wanted.”

“Yeah,” Mairi said softly.

They stared into each other’s eyes for the longest time, and Mairi saw pain in Keir’s, maybe some regret—but worst of all, she saw resignation.

At last, he cleared his throat. “Okay, I’ll go sort out Sean.” And then he was gone, closing the door firmly behind him.

Mairi stood there, staring after him until Agnes walked in front of her. She held up a glass full of water and threw the contents in Mairi’s face.

“What the hell, Agnes?”

“I thought you needed waking up.” Agnes glared at her. “You want him. He wants you. This is painful to watch. Get a grip, pull up your big girl knickers and sort this out. You think that man is going to hang around here waiting for you forever? He isn’t. Not if he thinks you still hate his guts. Stop letting your fear rule you, or you’re going to lose him. Is that what you want? On top of that, the rest of us are fed up with you two circling each other. It’s making us nauseated.”

She stalked away, leaving Mairi to drip onto the debris-strewn carpet.

Chapter 23

The meeting took place on the green outside Edna’s shop. Under Agnes’ instruction, Keir and the fake boyfriends put together a small stage in front of the cliff. Seeing as Mairi would be using it, they built it far enough away from the edge not to be a danger. They rigged up a microphone and a large screen with a projector aimed at it—because Mairi had insisted that Sean give his confession in a bullet-point presentation format her guys would understand.

Not that Keir had seen Mairi since he’d dragged his brother into her flat. According to Agnes, she’d needed the time to plan what she was going to say at the meeting. Knowing how little thought Mairi put into everything she did, Keir suspected she was just napping.

“Are you going to hit me again if I talk to you?” Sean asked as he came up beside him.

“Depends on whether something really dumb comes out of your mouth.”

“I wanted to check that you weren’t still planning on running away.”

“Yeah, there’s a good chance you’re going to get hit again. I don’t run. I never run. And I’m definitely not running now that I’ve managed to get Mairi in my bed. I’m going to hang around and wear her down with great sex, until she realizes she loves me and has to marry me for real.”

“Good plan. How long do you think that will take?”

“The way Mairi holds a grudge? Five, maybe six years.”

“You two have a seriously twisted relationship, you know that, right?”

“Aye.” Keir grinned with pride.

Behind him, the grass had filled with people who’d come from far and wide to witness Mairi’s announcement about whom she’d picked to wed. They were going to be disappointed. Which made Keir want to cackle with depraved laughter.

Two news crews had set up near the front of the crowd. They’d been joined by two other crews, from the main morning TV shows. A food truck was parked in the far corner, ready to sell hot pies and chips to the masses. Over the road, Edna’s shop was doing a roaring trade, and the woman was actually happy for once.

The night was mild, and the sky was clear, making it easy to see the carpet of stars above, and if you concentrated hard, and listened beyond the chatter of the crowd, you could hear the waves lapping at the base of the cliff. It was a perfect night for Mairi to put an end to this mess.

Keir and Sean stood at the edge of the stage while the geeks tweaked the sound system and computer setup they’d rigged up for Sean’s confession As Keir watched, a ripple started at the back of the crowd and grew as it edged toward the front—Mairi was coming.

The crowd parted in front of him and he saw her clearly. She was wearing curve-hugging jeans, a black t-shirt with Can’t Tie Me Down in white letters across her chest and a pair of well-worn cowboy boots she’d owned for years. Her hair was wild around her shoulders and her lips were painted pink. She took his breath away and made his head spin.

Mairi walked straight up to him and smiled wide. “We ready to start?”

“Aye.” He nodded to the t-shirt. “Subtle.”

“I thought so.” She pushed her shoulders back and stared him in the eye. “You going to be here when this is over?”

“Rusty, you couldn’t drag me away. We have things we need to settle.”

“Not settle,” Mairi said with a sparkle in her eye. “Explore.”