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

“I’m thinking,” Mairi snapped back.

She heard a deep chuckle behind her and chose to ignore Keir. Once she’d dealt with the boyfriends, she’d deal with him.

“Okay.?

? She took a deep breath, plastered a smile on her face and stepped in front of the open window.

There was a cheer and a round of applause. Mairi grinned at the familiar faces and waved. She felt like a celebrity. Or royalty. It was actually kind of cool.

“Stop playing to the crowd,” Agnes snapped. “Tell them this is all a mistake.”

Mairi cleared her throat, motioned for silence, and was surprised when she got it. “There’s been a mistake,” she shouted so that everyone could hear. “My web page was hacked. Someone else wrote the message about me wanting to get married. It’s all a lie. I don’t want to get married. You can all go home now.”

There was silence, and then they started chuckling. Mairi frowned at them. “I’m serious. I’m not getting married. I don’t want a husband. This is all a mistake.”

“We read your Facebook posts, Mairi. You told us there that you’d say this if you weren’t impressed by our efforts to woo you,” somebody shouted. “We know this is a ploy to weed out the boyfriends who aren’t serious.”

Mairi squinted in the direction of the voice. “John?”

“Hi, Mairi,” he shouted back.

She took a second to let it sink in that the guy had come all the way from Australia for this fiasco.

“I have nothing to do with that Facebook page. It’s run by the same person who hacked me. You need to trust what I’m saying and go home.”

There was more laughter.

“I’m being serious,” she shouted, feeling frustrated. She turned to Agnes. “They don’t believe me. I told you this would happen. I need a whiteboard.”

“Get out of my way.” Agnes pushed her aside. “Listen up,” she shouted. “You need to go home. Mairi was hacked. She won’t be marrying any of you.”

“Don’t worry,” somebody shouted, “we’ll step up our game. You’ll be impressed with what we have planned. Isn’t that right, lads?”

There was a loud cheer.

“You know,” Keir said, “I can stop this in a split second. All you have to do is agree to marry me.”

“I’d rather stick a fork in my eye,” Mairi told him, as the men outside began to chant her name.

Agnes gave up and slammed the window shut, then pulled the curtains tight. “I always wondered what mass hysteria looked like. Now I know.”

“I told you they wouldn’t listen,” Mairi said. “They need proof.”

“And how are you going to give them proof?” Agnes demanded.

“I haven’t figured that part out yet. I only got as far as bullet points.”

There was a noise at the front door, and they turned to see a piece of paper slip under it. Keir shook his head before bending to pick it up. And yes, Mairi checked out his backside. It wasn’t like she could help it. It was right there, blocking her view of the door.

Keir unfolded the paper and read aloud. “‘Roses are red, violets are blue, my dearest Mairi, please say “I do.” Signed, Kevin Partridge, PhD.’” Keir’s lips twitched, and his eyes sparkled as he looked at her. “I’m guessing the PhD isn’t in poetry.”

“Give me that.” Mairi snatched it from his hand.

“We need to call the police,” Agnes said. “Have them get rid of the guys.”

“They won’t,” Keir said. “Edna at the shop is happy to have them here, and she gave permission for them to camp on her land. They aren’t breaking any laws or causing any trouble. The police can’t do anything. But I can.” He started humming the ‘Wedding March’, and Mairi’s fist actually tingled at the thought of thumping him in the stomach. Although the blow would probably cause more damage to her hand than to his abs.

“This is serious,” Agnes said. “I have to go to Glasgow this evening, to sit exams tomorrow. I’ll be gone all week. I can’t leave you here to deal with this alone. What if one of them takes things too far? How do we know you’ll be safe here?” She nodded, as though coming to a decision. “You need to come with me.”