Here With Me (Adair Family 1)

Mac nodded. “I could … I could come visit.”

I smiled, relieved at the offer. “I’d like that. And I’ll be back, Mac. I love it here. I love spending time with you.”

My dad beamed. “Me too, wee birdie.”

“I’m thinking of traveling. On a shoestring budget, of course. But the preorders for my Highland photos prove it’s worth it, business-wise. I’ll be a travel photographer.”

“That sounds great, Robyn.” His brows pinched. “Will it be forever … or do you think you might choose somewhere to settle down?”

I heard the real query in his question, and it soothed something deep in my soul. My dad wanted me to come back to the Highlands. Permanently. “I don’t know,” I answered honestly. While I loved my dad, this was a small community with little chance of meeting someone I’d want to settle down with. Lachlan’s smile popped into my head, but I threw that thought out right away. “I just want to try the traveling thing first. I might hate it. I mean, until these past few months, I’d lived in Boston my whole life.”

“You should do it,” he assured me. “You’ll regret it otherwise. Don’t ever have regrets in life, Robyn. I don’t want them for you.”

A knock at the door halted my answer, and I craned my neck as Lachlan strode into Mac’s office.

He took us in, his eyes glancing from me to Mac and then to the half-eaten sandwich in my hand. He crossed his arms over his chest and said, a little disgruntled, “You’ve already eaten.”

“Kind of.”

“Give the rest to Mac,” he ordered.

I raised an eyebrow. “This is a Morag sandwich.”

Lachlan’s lips twitched. “Trust me, I have better planned.”

Brows furrowed, I eyeballed my delicious club. “Nothing’s better than a Morag sandwich.”

Mac chortled while Lachlan gave a beleaguered sigh. “Sandwich. Mac. You. With me.”

Huffing under my breath, I stood and handed over the rest of my lunch to my dad who took it eagerly, eyes filled with humor at my less than happy expression.

“This better be good.”

“I can kill him for you if it isn’t,” Mac teased.

“No need. I’ll do it myself.” I glared pointedly at Lachlan as I crossed the small room toward him.

“It’s a sandwich.”

“It’s food. You should know by now not to mess with my food.”

Lachlan grinned. “I have more food planned where we’re going.”

I looked back at Mac. “Shouldn’t he have led with that?”

He laughed. “Enjoy yourselves.”

Despite my teasing, I was not only delighted Lachlan sought me out during the day, I was happy to see he and Mac were a little more comfortable around each other. “What does Mac know that I don’t know?” I asked, striding down the castle hallway at Lachlan’s side.

“I’m taking the day off.”

“Okay?” And at no forthcoming details, I added, “Is that it?”

He smiled mysteriously and placed a hand on my lower back to guide me out into the main reception. Two members on the sofas near the fireplace were glued to a newspaper and an e-reader, respectively. One looked up, and Lachlan murmured a good-afternoon to him. The other kept reading her newspaper.

Outside the main entrance, I stopped at the sight of the black Range Rover already pulled up.

“Get in.” Lachlan opened the front passenger door for me.

Shooting him a narrowed look that amused him, for once I didn’t argue and hopped into the SUV.

Glancing into the back of the vehicle, I noted the box with my new drone, my camera bag, and supplies. Next to them was a large picnic hamper.

“What’s going on?” I waved a hand over my shoulder at the things he’d obviously procured from my bedroom.

Lachlan pulled on his seat belt and started the engine. “You wanted to take the drone out, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I know the perfect place. It’s a ninety-minute drive on mostly single-track roads through stunning scenery. Thought we could stop halfway, eat, you can take photos, and then we’ll set up the drone near where I have in mind.”

I felt a little fizzle in my stomach. Was this … a date? Pulse beating a little faster, I tried to sound unfazed as I asked, “Are you going to tell me the destination?”

“It’s a bridge.”

I frowned. “A bridge?”

“A sweeping curve of a bridge in a picturesque location. The scenery is beautiful, but you’ll need aerial shots to get the true impact of it. I thought if we left a little later, you could get some shots in the daylight and then some during sunset.”

His thoughtfulness was a total turn-on. It was also a little overwhelming. But Lachlan was acting so casual about the whole thing, I knew I’d ruin it if I made it a bigger deal than he obviously thought it was. “Sounds good.”

He threw me a smile as we drove through the woods toward the security gates. “We could both use a day off the estate. Away from everything. And for once, the sun is shining.”