Scot to the Touch (The Hots for Scots #7) - Caroline Lee Page 0,61

alone.

Sometimes, Davina still remembered their immature giggling as they snuggled one another, and shivered.

But if it helped her get what she wanted…

“And who exactly is Agatha considering settling down with?” Grandda finally grumbled.

Pretending nonchalance, Davina deftly plaited a length of wool with his white hair. “Oh, Kat didn’t say. But since ye havenae been back for a visit since last year…”

She left the sentence hang, as she herself had been hanging, waiting for his permission to go to Oliphant Castle. She’d do it without his permission, but it would be easier if he would agree. And if that meant bringing him along too, using visiting Agatha as an excuse, than she would accept it.

“I cannae believe she’d take up with someone else, no’ at her age,” he muttered.

“If ye were there, she wouldnae. Ye ken she was taken with ye, Grandda.”

“She loved me, or so she said.”

Well, that was news. “And ye? Ye’ve stayed away…?”

He grumbled a bit. “I suppose I loved her as well as I loved any other woman. And ye ken why we’ve stayed away, lassie. Because of that bastard—”

“He isnae there,” she blurted, then winced, knowing she shouldn’t have admitted to knowing who Grandda was talking about. “I mean, Katlyn hasn’t written of her brother-in-law visiting. He must no’ have stayed at Oliphant Castle.”

Grandda hummed. “Must’ve gone back to St. Andrews. Kat doesnae say?”

“Nay,” Davina murmured, grateful her grandfather couldn’t see the tears she was frantically blinking away as she tried to focus on the strands in her fingers.

Nay, Kat didn’t say where Graham was, and Davina didn’t know, for certes.

Because not once in the last six months, not once after all they’d shared, had the man written to her.

Six months, and not one word.

She’d put off other marriage contracts, using the uncertainty of her sister’s husband’s future as an excuse. Aye, the MacKinnons needed a heir, and the laird’s grandson-by-marriage was a good choice. And if one of Katlyn’s sisters-in-law birthed a son first, then Kiergan would be free to become the next MacKinnon laird, and Davina would be free to marry whom she chose.

So she’d avoided Grandda’s attempts to introduce her to suitors and sign betrothals, all because she was waiting on one man: Graham MacVanish, recently learned to be an Oliphant bastard, and Kiergan’s brother.

Graham, who hadn’t contacted her, despite his vow to never forget her.

Graham, who hadn’t written to her once, who hadn’t sent word through Kat, who appeared to have forgotten about her.

If she didn’t love him so much, she would hate him.

Finally, after enough time had passed that she assumed Grandda had fallen asleep, the old man muttered, “No’ at Oliphant Castle, eh? Then I suppose there’s no harm…”

Davina sucked in a hopeful breath, determined to drag the conversation away from Graham, and remind Grandda of the reasons he wanted to visit the Oliphants. “Lady Agatha must miss ye terribly.”

“And I—well, sometimes a man just needs a willing lass in his bed to warm his bones. Or one bone in particular.” He ended on a raspy chuckle.

Blessed Virgin, wipe that image from my mind, and I’ll say a dozen Hail Marys to ye.

Quickly, she reached for the last of the braids and tried to keep her voice light. “Shall I write to Kat and tell her we’ll be there in time for her confinement? I cannae wait to hug her again.”

Grandda grumbled, shifted, then sighed. “Aye, fine, alert the lassie. When ye’re finished here, go start packing my best kilts, aye? I have to look fine for my Aggie.”

Her heart speeding in excitement, Davina’s fingers flashed. “Aye, and then I’ll pack my own things. When will we leave?”

As she finished up, the two of them chatted about plans, and Davina fought to keep her fingers and her voice steady. She was going to see Kat again! She’d be there for the birth of Kat’s child, and she’d get to hold her niece or nephew in her arms! She’d learn the future of the MacKinnon clan, and this cursed limbo would be over.

And mayhap she’d learn what had befallen Graham, why he hadn’t contacted her, despite his vow to always love her. Why he’d seemingly forgotten her.

Davina told herself Katlyn was more important; Kat was the reason she was so excited to visit Oliphant Castle again. Hugging Kat and seeing Kat’s family again and meeting Kat’s baby…that’s what mattered most.

And she almost believed the lie.

Are you ready to wrap up all this nonsense? And discover why in the world Graham has been ignoring poor Davina all these months? Just what has been going on at Oliphant Castle? Find out in Too Scot to Hold!

About the Author

Caroline Lee has been reading romance for so long that her fourth-grade teacher used to make her cover her books with paper jackets. But it wasn't until she (mostly) grew up that she realized she could write it too. So she did.

Caroline is living her own little Happily Ever After in NC with her husband, sons, and new daughter, Princess Wiggles. And while she doesn't so much "suffer" from Pittakionophobia as think that all you people who enjoy touching Band-Aids and stickers are the real weirdos, she does adore rodents, and never met a wine she didn't like. Caroline was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2006 (along with everyone else) and is really quite funny in person. Promise.

You can find her at www.CarolineLeeRomance.com.