Bonnie of Evidence - By Maddy Hunter Page 0,44
help me God, if you call me that one more time, I’ll—”
“So what do you think of the scenery?” I jumped in, yelling to be heard over the static hiss of the loudspeaker. “Is this how you imagined Loch Ness would look? Hills? Rocks? Water? Would anyone like me to take their picture?”
Bill drilled me with a hostile look. “The scenery sucks,” he spat as he heaved himself off the bench and lumbered toward the wheelhouse.
Cameron shrugged good-naturedly. “I guess he’s not into having his picture taken.”
“Pictures!” whooped Alex as he dug his camera out of his sporran. “Should have thought of it sooner.” He turned to Erik. “If you can get that wild mop of yours under control, I might even take one of you.”
While the two men fussed with hair and camera settings, I shot across the deck to kibitz with Cameron. “I’ll cut right to the chase,” I said while we enjoyed a lull in the action. “Are Bernice, Dolly, and Lucille driving you crazy?”
He seemed surprised by the question. “Have I given you the impression that they’re driving me crazy?”
“No. But there’s nothing wrong with my eyesight. They haven’t let you alone for a minute. Aren’t you feeling … smothered?”
“Are you kidding? Ask me the last time I had three women hanging on my every word. Look at this face, Emily.” He angled his head to profile his bulbous nose and disappearing chin. “Guys who look like me don’t turn women’s heads. Guys who look like them”—he nodded at Alex and Erik—“are the ones with the wow factor. So I’m not feeling smothered by any means. In fact, I’m practically giddy with all the attention.”
“You’re sure they’re not bothering you? Because I could try to have you switched to another team.”
He bowed his head toward mine. “I’ll tell you a secret. I grew up with five older sisters, so finding myself in a harem feels pretty normal to me.”
“Five sisters? Wow. That’s a lot of PMS under one roof.”
“My friends thought I was the unluckiest kid in town to live in a house with so many females, but the truth is, I really liked my sisters. Still do. Girls are okay.”
“My brother has five sons.”
Cameron cringed. “Boys can be savages. Girls are so much more …
civil. It’s a real selling point.”
I sighed. “I wish Isobel had been a little more civil. Talk about stirring up a hornet’s nest.”
“She mellowed a bit at dinner last night. She admitted she was wrong to take the cache, and she apologized for jeopardizing our chances at the grand prize, which was a lot of crow for her to eat, but she made the effort. She even volunteered to resign from the team, but I don’t know if she was serious or just floating the idea to prove how sorry she was about what she’d done. We were actually pretty cohesive again when we left the dining room, even though Dolly and Bernice were still making noises under their breath. But my whole point is, if my team had been made up of five men, there would have been no apology, no compromise, and no good will. It’d be like dealing with five Bill Gordons in a never-ending pissing contest. So I’ll keep my ladies. They’re a lot nicer to hang out with.”
“Lower your right shoulder and lift your chin a little,” Alex instructed as he set up his shot. “Thaaat’s it. Nice one. Now let’s get a shot of that famous profile. Good. Good. Can you manage a little more of a Heathcliff vibe? Less smolder and more anguished brooding?”
“This is as anguished as it gets,” muttered Erik without moving his lips. “Will you just take the damn picture?”
Cameron grinned as he regarded the duo. “Is the guy with the famous profile a celebrity or something?”
“I guess you could say that. He’s a cover model for romance novels. At least, he used to be. I don’t know how long he’s been out of the business.”
“Okay. Maybe that explains it.”
“Explains what?”
“Why he looks so familiar. I swear I’ve seen him before, but I can’t place his face. You suppose I’ve seen him on the cover of a paperback romance?”
“How many romance novels have you read?”
“None, but my sisters were addicted. It’s all they ever read. So I’ve seen my share of bare-chested hunks over the years.”
“That would be quite a coincidence, wouldn’t it?” I said, laughing. “You, traveling through Scotland with the hero of one of your sisters’ romance novels? Maybe