“Serena!” Ian was the closest and grabbed her for a hug, dwarfing her with his full-foot height advantage. “There you are! Max was just telling us he drove here himself.”
Serena laughed and pulled back. Her older brother looked tanned and happy, the usually serious lines of his face softened by a wide smile. She looked past him to his wife of six months. Grace was as petite as Serena, her cherubic blonde looks contrasting with her short, choppy hair and the colored tattoos covering her right arm. She wasn’t at all the type of woman Serena would have expected her brother to marry, but it was clear from the way he looked at her that he adored her. Serena gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“You’re looking well,” Grace said, her words colored by a faint Irish accent. “Enjoying being back on Skye?”
“You could say that. I heard you had some problems getting here.”
“Our flight from Mumbai was grounded for mechanical problems, so we had to rearrange everything. I’m sorry we didn’t make it to the house earlier. We were completely knackered.”
Ian slid his arm around Grace’s waist and pulled her close. “Wouldn’t have missed this, though, especially since we couldn’t make it back for Easter.”
“Are we ready, then?” Jamie asked, looking around the group. “Just waiting for Malcolm?”
“He’ll be along in a few minutes,” Serena said. “He’s training the new assistant manager.”
Jamie nodded, though Andrea gave her a faintly puzzled look, as if she had picked up on something in Serena’s voice. Well, what did it matter? They would all know soon enough. She followed her family through the double doors to the restaurant, where several tables had been pushed together along the far wall.
“I want to sit next to Aunt Andrea,” Em said. They shuffled around to accommodate the request. Serena put Max in the chair on her left and placed her handbag beside her to the right, a subtle cue that she was holding it for Malcolm. Andrea tried to hide her smile. The woman was definitely perceptive, even if Serena’s brothers were completely clueless.
The server came to the table—the same one who had served Malcolm and Serena on their first date, as a matter of fact—and provided them with bottles of sparkling water as well as their menus. Serena cast a glance behind her at the open doors, wondering what she was supposed to do about her date.
As if she had summoned him, Malcolm appeared in the entryway. There was no other way to describe how he looked but breath-stealing—smartly turned out in a dark suit but no tie, looking so appealing that she was sure her reaction showed on her face. He gave Serena a private look that made her catch her breath, then crossed the room to the table. “Sorry I’m late,” he said to the group, then bent to kiss Serena lightly on the lips.
Dead silence settled over the table, but Malcolm didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he didn’t care. He sat in the empty chair and reached for her hand before he met their stunned gazes. “I take it that Serena didn’t tell you we’re dating?”
Something about his utter assurance made her nervousness settle.
She smiled at him. “I hadn’t gotten to it.”
“Mmm. I can see that.” Malcolm flipped open his menu and scanned the dinner options unconcernedly. He wasn’t going to make it easy on them. Serena repressed a smile.
“So when did all this happen?” Ian asked, looking between the two of them.
Serena looked up at her brother. “A couple of months ago, I suppose.”
Ian looked past her to Malcolm. “For the sake of the occasion, do you suppose we can just skip over the part where Jamie and I threaten violence if you hurt our sister?”
“I’m sure I can use my imagination,” Malcolm said with a wry twist of his mouth before turning his attention back to the menu. “If you don’t mind the recommendation, the salt-crusted sea bass is excellent. And believe it or not, we make a fantastic steak here. All locally sourced and organically raised.”
“You know the menu as well as I do,” Jamie said.
“Of course I do.” It wasn’t cocky, just confident, and Malcolm seemed completely comfortable at the table with her family. After the initial surprise—and the smiles the women sent her way—her family seemed to be taking to the idea just fine. Maybe she was the only one who felt the awkwardness surrounding dating again after having been widowed. Or maybe she’d made such a point about her life being her own business that they no longer questioned her. She never should have allowed Edward to separate her from the people she loved.
After the server came back to take their orders and the wine was poured, Jamie leaned forward. “Andrea and I have an announcement to make.”
Everyone’s eyes snapped in their direction.
“We just received our approval to adopt.”
“That’s marvelous,” Muriel said immediately, reaching for Jamie’s hand.
“Congratulations,” Ian said. “How long will it be before you’re matched?”
Andrea looked to her husband. “A few months perhaps? Our agency thinks it could be fairly fast.”
She and Jamie looked so pleased that Serena felt a rush of anticipation for them. They’d made the best of what had to have been a very painful situation, and they would make amazing parents. She reached over to smooth Max’s hair. No matter how difficult her marriage had been at times, she couldn’t regret it when it had given her two beautiful children.
The conversation continued on the topic for a bit longer, and then Ian said, “Well, that makes my news a little less exciting, but I might as well mention it.”
“You’re pregnant?” Jamie said, deadpan.
Laughter rang out around the table. “No, fortunately, and neither is Grace.” They’d made it clear there would be no children of their own in their future, just nieces and nephews. “My contract at the Children’s Advocacy Fund is up in October, and we have another candidate who is better suited to the position in Mumbai. I’ve agreed to move instead to a full-time fund-raising role in London in the autumn. My official title will be director of strategic partnerships, but it really means soliciting ongoing corporate donations.”
“I thought you enjoyed being a program coordinator!” Serena said.
“I do. But I only took it because the last person backed out of his contract, and they were in a tough spot. This new candidate speaks Hindi and Marathi, which I don’t. Besides, Grace and I have been married for six months, and we’ve only managed to be in the same country at the same time for about half of it.”
Serena grinned. “I understand your reasoning, but what does Grace get out of it? Isn’t that a bait and switch?”
“Very nice, Sis, thanks.” Ian sent her a look, but it wasn’t without affection.
Serena stifled a chuckle. “Seriously, though, how does your new line of work appeal to you, Grace?” she asked. “Humanitarian work has to be a big change from war photography.”
“It is,” Grace said, “though of course the biggest difference is spending most of my time in an office. I never thought I would enjoy art direction so much, but it helps that I have some truly talented staff photographers.”
“Tell them about the exhibit,” Ian prompted.
Grace shot him a wry look that made Serena think he wasn’t supposed to mention it. “I’ve been invited to contribute to a big open-air exhibit outside the Natural History Museum. Fifty years of London street photography.”
“That’s brilliant news!” Serena said. “I hope you’ll let us know when it is. We’d love to come. I hate that we missed your last exhibition.”
And then the attention focused on her. She raised her hands with a laugh. “Don’t look at me. I do have something to show you all, but it can wait until after dinner.”
As conversation flowed around the table, Malcolm stretched his arm across the back of her chair, a comfortable, affectionate gesture she realized she’d missed. Serena chatted with Andrea over Max’s head, while Malcolm talked to Ian and James about his amateur boxing days. Once the food arrived, the conver
sations tapered off: all the dishes were unequivocally excellent. Malcolm acted like the doting boyfriend, refilling her wineglass, offering her tastes of his meal so she could sample other dishes. She admired his poise, how seamlessly he settled into his place beside her. She could tell that not only did her sisters-in-law like him but her brothers respected him, which was a far more difficult thing to earn.
“Malcolm, are you coming back to the house for dessert with us?” Muriel asked, and Serena realized she’d lost the thread of the conversation somewhere.
Malcolm looked at Serena questioningly.
“Please do. You don’t want to miss out on my famous Black Forest gâteau.”
“I’d love to, then. Thank you. But first I think Serena has something she’d like to show everyone.”
“I do.” Serena folded her napkin next to her plate and rose. The rest of her family followed suit, and they poured out into the foyer. She took a deep breath, inexplicably nervous, and led them into the parlor. “You’re looking at the soft opening of the Isleornsay Gallery, currently located at the MacDonald Guest House.”
She stepped back to watch their reactions as they wandered through the parlor, taking in the new room. Rather than setting the paintings in stark linear arrangements, she’d placed the colorful abstract canvases as she would show an eclectic collection in her own home: loosely fit together like puzzle pieces. She’d made use of the existing picture rail by hanging them from a fine chain for an effect that was simultaneously traditional and funky.
Malcolm slid an arm around her and whispered in her ear, “You did an amazing job here, Serena. Truly.”
Jamie was the first of her family to speak. “This is great, Serena. Really unexpected. Local artists, I presume?”
“Yes.” Serena handed out the finished cards, thick vellum stock that gave details about the artists and the individual works. They might be a tiny gallery, but she was determined to give the artists their due respect.
Grace was standing close to one painting, scrutinizing it carefully. Serena moved in beside her. “What would you think about doing a small exhibit here someday, Grace? I mean, we’re not the Natural History Museum . . .”
Grace smiled. “I’m experimenting with platinum and palladium prints right now. Maybe a series of landscapes? I’ve got film from our last trip to Skye that has yet to be printed. I think some of them might suit.”
“You name it and we’ll do it,” Serena said.
Ian came up behind her and slung an arm around Serena’s shoulders. “I’m proud of you. This is wonderful.”
“I thought it was a promising marketing idea.”
“It is, but not because of that. It’s good to see you doing what you love again. Think you might ever show some of your own?”
“I don’t think so,” she began, but she didn’t finish the sentence because she caught a glimpse of Max climbing on top of a wingback chair. No doubt he intended to test his flying ability. She started toward him, but Malcolm beat her to it.
“No, you don’t, you little daredevil.” Malcolm scooped him off the back of the chair and tossed him over his shoulder. “Leave the flying to Superman, why don’t we?”
Serena watched the two of them, her heart swelling to bursting. Em was by Malcolm’s side now, clamoring for his attention, and he hoisted her with his other arm, pretending to stagger under her weight.
“So. Malcolm. Serious or not serious?” Andrea appeared at Serena’s side and followed her gaze. “Or is that a silly question?”
“Undefined right now.” Technically it was true, but there was nothing casual about the way she felt about him.
“Is this the reason for your sudden interest in moving back to Skye?”
“It’s one of them.” Serena suddenly felt pummeled by uncertainty. “Am I being completely foolish here? We’ve only known each other for a few months, and we spent part of that fighting.”
“I’m not sure I’m the best person to answer that question,” Andrea said. “I moved to Scotland for a man I’d known for only five days.”
Serena chuckled. Jamie and Andrea certainly redefined the meaning of the words whirlwind romance, even if it had taken them more than a year after they met to tie the knot. But there hadn’t been kids involved in their situation, and Serena had to take Em’s and Max’s feelings into account.
Malcolm caught her attention from across the room. Max was now riding on his shoulders, and Em had claimed one of his hands. “Are we ready to go? The natives are getting restless.”
“I’m ready if everyone else is. Dessert is waiting. And it’s good, even if I do say so myself.”
“I can’t wait.” Malcolm smiled warmly at her, then gave her son a bounce. “C’mon, Maxie. It’s time for your mum’s cake, and I don’t want to miss that.”
Serena watched Max giggle as he clutched Malcolm’s head, and Malcolm gave her an uneven grin beneath the little boy’s fingers. Her earlier doubts melted away. And from the knowing glances her family leveled in her direction, everyone else knew it too.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
MALCOLM FOLLOWED SERENA back to Muriel’s house. That had gone well. He hadn’t been concerned, but he could tell that Serena had been. Rather than be insulted, he was flattered. She wouldn’t be so worried about what her family thought if he wasn’t important to her. He’d always been a good judge of people, though, so he’d known Jamie would be impressed by the personal interest he’d taken in the workings of the restaurant. Ian, the former Olympic rower, would respect the fact that he’d been a competitive boxer in his time.
Of course, it was sheer luck that Ian had waived the usual “right to threaten” reserved for older brothers everywhere.
Malcolm chuckled to himself as he parked behind Serena’s sedan and climbed out quickly so he could help Muriel from the car.
“Such a nice young man,” Muriel said, patting his arm. “Thank you for spending my birthday with me.”
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.” He smiled at Serena over the top of the car as she retrieved Max.
James and Andrea pulled up with Grace and Ian then, and they moved en masse into the house.
“I’m going to make coffee and cut the cake,” Serena said.
“I’ll help.” Malcolm followed her into the kitchen, looked around, and then tugged her to him for a kiss.
“And here I thought you were actually volunteering to help,” she said. “Silly me.”
“Oh, I am. Doesn’t mean I can’t do both.” He went to the cabinet, found a stack of dessert plates, and brought them to the island. “How am I doing so far? Do they approve?”
She produced a serrated knife and made the first precise cut of the cake. “I would say they do. The fact that you’re here in the first place means you score big with them.”
“I don’t understand.”
Serena looked startled, as if she hadn’t meant to say those words.
He could see the conflict in her eyes. “Serena, what aren’t you telling me?”
She didn’t look at him, instead drawing the knife through the cake again. “My family didn’t like Edward. Not least because he hated Skye.”
“I can’t say I was thrilled to come back myself.”
“You had a good reason. You had bad memories of the place. Edward disliked it because he didn’t want to be reminded of my roots here. He preferred focusing on the English side of my family.”
Malcolm settled on the stool across from her. “I thought he was Scottish.”
“He was. But most of his colleagues were English. He went to school in England. As did Ian, of course—but Ian doesn’t look down on the islands as being somehow inferior.”
“So Edward never came here with you, I take it?”
“Not often, and he did everything he could to keep me from coming back. Insisted on having birthday parties and holidays first in Edinburgh and then Inverness. My family, bless them, went along with it, or Em would have grown up without knowing them.�
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Malcolm stayed silent, trying to reconcile what sounded like a very controlling man with Serena’s no-nonsense, take-charge attitude. He couldn’t imagine her taking well to anyone telling her she couldn’t come home for a visit. Was that why she was so reluctant to trust him?
“I’m sorry you went through that,” he said finally. “No one deserves to be cut off from the people they love. And maybe it sounds terrible, but I’m glad you don’t have to deal with that anymore.”
Serena picked up the knife and paused, her expression raw. “Honestly, so am I.”
Then she blanched. The knife clattered to the countertop. Malcolm followed her gaze and felt the blood drain from his face when he saw Em standing in the doorway, her expression stricken.
“Em—” Serena began, but the little girl darted from the room. “I have to go talk to her. Can you do this?”
Sick over what he’d just witnessed, Malcolm nodded. He’d had no idea that Em was there or he wouldn’t have said anything about her father. Clearly the little girl hadn’t known about the problems in her parents’ marriage, and this was undoubtedly the last way Serena wanted her to find out. He trailed her into the reception room in time to see her disappear out the front door.
“What was that about?” Muriel asked, wide-eyed.
“I think Em overheard something she shouldn’t have about her father,” he said.
Muriel exchanged a glance with Jamie and Ian. There was more to this story than simply Serena’s late husband’s dislike of Skye.
“Is there something I should know about Edward?”
“Best she tell you herself,” Muriel said. “It’s not our story to share.”
Except Serena had backed away from the topic every time it had come up. This was the most she’d told him about her marriage the entire time they’d been dating.
Since Malcolm wasn’t going to get an explanation from her family, he went to the kitchen and finished cutting slices of cake, which he brought out in pairs to the group. There he sat listening to the conversation while he wondered inwardly about what else Serena had not told him. Perhaps her caution toward their relationship had nothing to do with him.
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