Chapter Two

Michael…

Afew minutes earlier…

“That Sophie’s a bit of alright, isn’t she?”

Duncan murmurs.

We’re walking in the front door with another feckin’ armful of pine garlands for Mum’s decorations and Sophie’s there, burdened under a stack of fabric higher than her head and swaying gracelessly from side to side.

“What the feck is she doing?”

He frowns. “Is she fightin’ off a bee or somethin’?”

“I think she’s dancing?”

“Are ya gonna keep staring at her like some lovesick arsehole, then? At least smile at her, you look like a murder waiting to happen.”

My little brother leans his shoulder against mine, grinning big enough to show off all his even white teeth.

Those teeth could use some rearranging.

His gaze drops to my hands, tightening into fists against the greenery and he laughs. “Ach! No brawling, ya’ bampot! Mum will have us spending the night patrolling the grounds if ya’ land a punch.”

“You’re pushing it,”

I sigh, shoving my pine boughs on top of his burden and walking away, his laughter following me.

Feckin’ Christmas. So many days of makin’ nice with clan members and holdin’ off on what needs to be done because we must have a “happy family Christmas.”

Mum’s a strong, level-headed woman, but she melts like spun sugar during the holidays, and Christmas turns her into some kind of tinsel-covered Yuletide fanatic.

Maybe it’s time for me to do a little celebrating of my own.

I step into Sophie’s path, knowing she can’t see over her bundle. She walks right into me, nearly bouncing off my chest before I grab her arms.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I was just tryin’ to-”

“Give them over,”

I growl, trying to sound impatient and dismissive when what I really want to do is throw the feckin’ tablecloth on the floor, lay her down on it and bury my face between those long legs of hers.

“I didn’t see ya,”

she says apologetically.

Ignoring her, I lift the starched white fabric in my arms and gesture with my head. “Lead on, lass.”

Aye, I want to carry this ridiculous pile of cloth if it makes Sophie’s life easier, but I also like the way she looks up at me with that bright smile a’ hers. The only thing that would make this better is if I could walk behind her and appreciate her fine arse in that tight black dress.

But that would make me even more of a bastard than I already am, so I shorten my steps so she can keep up with me.

“Um, are you excited about tonight?”

Sophie asks, tucking her thick blonde hair behind her ear.

Feck. Even her ears are beautiful. Small, perfectly shaped.

“Excited?”

I raise a brow, “I canna be excited for a holiday I’ve outgrown.”

She looks as offended as if I’d just told her that her parents were brother and sister. “How can ya not love Christmas? All the family gettin’ together, grand gifts and food?”

“Have ya seen what it looks like when my entire clan gets together?” I ask.

“Ach, stop that,”

she frowns at me. “You’re actin’ like you’re bracing for the invasion of the booze-drenched hill people. I think it’s wonderful that ya have so many people to love ya.”

Staring down into her wide, earnest blue eyes, I feel a twinge in my gut. Sophie dinna have any family, other than her ma. “You’re right,”

I concede, rubbing the back of my neck, “I’m crabbit tonight. I’ll paste on a smile before the rest of the family gets here.”

“Well, let’s see it, then,”

she says firmly.

“What?”

“Give me the smile,”

she persists, “the nice one ya have when your youngest cousins are climbing all over ya.”

She gazes at me expectantly, raising a haughty brow. It’s so fecking adorable that a huge grin spreads across my face. Goddamn, this woman is going to kill me. I have never wanted to kiss anyone so bad in my life, and those pretty heart-shaped lips are inches from mine.

“Aye!”

she says happily, “That’s the stuff.” Looking to her left into the dining room, she seems to remember that she’s working tonight. “Well, this is me,” she says, holding out her arms for the table linens.

I barely brush her as I pass by to drop the cloth on the table. Just the lightest touch but enough to smell the sweet scent of vanilla from the cookies baking in the kitchen and peppermint, like she’d been sucking on a candy cane. The vision of her pink mouth wrapped around something else and sucking away makes my traitorous cock harden.

Setting down the napkins was a mistake. With nothing left to hide my stonner but the bulging fly of my jeans, I nod brusquely and leave the room before I can make a bigger arse of myself.

“Oh, look!”

I groan silently, turning my head. Sophie’s staring out the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, and she points as if I might miss it. “It’s snowing! Isn’t it beautiful?”

Looking at her huge smile, her blonde hair that’s lit like sunshine in the light from the fireplace, and how that old dress perfectly skims her curves, I nod, clearing my throat. “Aye. So beautiful.”

Stonner - Scottish slang for an erection

Crabbit - Scottish slang for cranky