The Highlander's Hope - A Contemporary Highland Romance Read Free Page A

Maybe if you weren’t driving like a maniac, you’d have seen me.”
    He took a deep breath to keep from yelling and did his best to ignore the throbbing vein at his temple.  “I’ve driven down that road a million times and could do it blind—but only if there’s no one in the middle of the road.  Anyone with a wee bit of common sense would know you don’t park around a turn where ye’ll not be seen.  Even with a flat, you certainly could have driven it another ten feet down the road.” 
    “So now I have no common sense and it was all my fault?  You really are an arrogant jerk.”  With hands on curvy hips and her eyes ablaze, she looked ready to unleash her wrath.
    So why was it his lips could do nothing b ut quirk into a smile?
    “What are you grinning at?  Do you think this is funny?  It took me hours to soak the cold and mud from my skin.” 
    The girl was furious with him, and yet he could not help himself.  Something about her made him want to push her buttons—all of them.  “I wouldn’t think ye’d have a hard time heating up with that temper.  Yer cheeks have gone so red, yer freckles have gone into hiding.”
    She swore under her breath and then spun on her heels, stalking out of the room.  With a quick jaunt, he caught up to her, gently grabbing her arm to stop her, not quite ready to have his fun come to an end. “It’d be a pity to go before you find what ye’re looking for.  But please, don’t let me stop ye.  I’m sure ye have other ways of finding what ye’re after.”
    “ I may need your help for my research, but if you think I’m going to beg and plead, or kiss your wee Scottish arse , then you’re going to be waiting a long time.”
    A laugh escaped him, despite it all.  “I’m sorry.  I was just teasing ye.  It’s absolutely true—I’m a total arse.”
    He saw the internal debate going on inside that pretty head of hers.  She was still furious with him, and yet there was her research to consider.  Or was there more to it?  She was putting up with an awful lot. 
    His gut told him she was up to something, but what?  Maybe it’d be best to string her along until he could get more information.  S o he tried again to get her to stay and to avoid the tongue lashing he’d get from his father for upsetting a guest, no matter that he was a grown man.
    “I r eally am sorry.  I take full responsibility for the incident.  I was in a hurry, and being familiar with the road, I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should’ve been.  Truce?”
    She let out a weary si gh.  “Truce.”
    ***
    Iain stared at his laptop screen, cursing his brother for making such a mess of things.  His email back to Malcolm was harsh, but he’d not mince words when the fool had just put their entire estate in jeopardy.  Things were a mess, and it was Malcolm’s fault—and his father’s for being gullible enough to believe whatever lies Malcolm fed him.  Neither their father nor sister knew that things now verged on the brink of disaster.  He’d try to spare them as long as possible, and with luck, he’d manage to turn things around before anyone found out. 
    Cat.  It was as if the gods had decided to play a cruel joke on him.  She could be trouble—in more ways than one.  And though she could prove a pleasant enough distraction from his troubles, she brought out the worst in him.  The only other woman he’d ever antagonized like that was his sister when they were still children.  Yet tonight, he’d barely been able to resist such games, even though he knew better than to let his guard down.
    He knew there was more to her visit than she was telling him, and with the mess his brother was in, he couldn’t afford to have it leak to the media.  His business rivals would pounce, and his clients would second guess his abilities—as if it wasn’t bad enough that he now had to find the funds to bail his brother out of his troubles.  It didn’t sound like the men