by Kam McKellar
Once Upon A Time In Scotland
MacLarens of Balmorie 05
Kam McKellar
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Divorced single mother, Abbie, heads to Balmorie Estate for a nine week stay to catch up with friends, enjoy the peace and quiet, and hopefully get a little work done. But a Highlander with a bad boy reputation seems bound and determined to change her plans, and her mind.
The more time Liam MacLaren spends with the quiet writer-in-residence, the more he wants to put his player days behind him. That is, if he can convince Abbie to take a risk and give love a second chance ...
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CHAPTER 1
Riley Walker's life is the stuff of dreams, Abbie thought in a semi-drunken haze as she lounged in the booth and watched the happenings in the centuries old Scottish pub. Her college friend was marrying an ex-military, half-Scottish hunk who owned one third of an honest to goodness castle.
With a wistful sigh she saluted no one with her glass, then tipped up her Guinness.
She should be mingling like everyone else, but instead she was content to smile on the outside and sulk a little on the inside. Sulk because she was no longer like Riley or Blake or Mia—her college friends who'd come together for a girl's week in Scotland to celebrate Riley's engagement. Her friends were all beautiful, single, successful, and they still had it.
Abbie was pretty sure her it had been lost somewhere in the midst of marriage, motherhood, and divorce.
She drained the rest of her beer.
Her it had once been pretty awesome. And, God, how she missed it.
A fact that had been glaringly obvious last night when Blake finally arrived and they spent the night in the cottage behind the castle catching up. Their tales had been filled with work, travel, shopping, fitness, and the dating scene. Abbie's contribution was relaying the latest in her world—namely putting cereal in the toilet to convince her son to pee in the potty. Good times.
She smiled. Logan was the most lovable little boy in the world and she missed him terribly.
Last night, reconnecting with her friends had made her realize that, yes—her mother had been right. Abbie had fallen into a major personal rut. And, worse, there was a definite possibility that her it might never come back.
Blake slid into the booth, out of breath and swinging her long blond hair over her shoulder. “I swear I could stare at that man all day long.” She rooted through her large purse and pulled out lipstick and a mirror to reapply.
Abbie stifled a hiccup. “What man?”
Blake frowned at her over the top of her mirror. “What man? Seriously, Abbie?” She shook her head as though Abbie was a lost cause. “The bartender. Graham. Tall, dark, and Scottish.” She gave a sigh. “Can't beat that.”
Mia slid into the booth, followed by Riley who handed Abbie a fresh Guinness. “I'm so glad you girls are here,” their hostess said, her usually sharp eyes going soft. “Oh, crap. What time is it?”
Abbie glanced at the wall clock behind the bar. “Twelve fifty.”
“Oh, good,” Riley said, relieved. “We're right on schedule.”
“Please, for the love of God, tell me we are not riding back in the boat. I've had way too much to drink.” Mia looked pale at the idea. Sweet auburn-haired Mia, the peacemaker they called her in college.
“Hamish only dropped us off. Liam is going to take us back in his truck. He rents a townhouse next door.” Riley turned curious copper eyes on Abbie. “Have you met him, Abs?”
Abbie went through her mental list of people she'd met already. Unlike Blake and Mia she'd been at Balmorie for two weeks, having taken Riley's offer to rent one of the estate cottages for an extended stay. So far, she'd met Riley's cousins, Kate and Lucy, along with their significant others, and Fran and Hamish Graham, the sweet old couple who helped run the castle. “No, don't think I've met him yet.”
Riley's smile was wicked. “Oh, you'd remember if you had.” She downed her drink. “He's been working out on the farm a lot with Jamie, and Devin keeps him pretty busy with restoration work... I'm gonna settle the tab and we'll head over.”
“Thank the Lord,” Mia muttered as Riley left the table. “Seriously, I might have called a cab or something. That old man hauled ass over here. Thought I was going to be sea sick.”
Abbie wasn't sure there was a cab to be found in these parts, and Mia had always been a bit sensitive on the water. In her opinion, Hamish had gone at a steady clip across the loch, but nothing outrageous.
Any other time, Abbie would have voted for the scenic loch ride, but as buzzed as she was, the road might be the better option.
They scooted out of the booth, said goodbyes to the locals they'd met, and then followed Riley to the exit just as the front door opened. Bringing up the rear as she was, Abbie didn't have a good view, but she did hear Riley greet their ride. And when Blake and Mia stopped in front of her and elbowed each other, Abbie knew Liam must be as handsome as the other MacLaren men she'd met.
“This is Liam MacLaren,” Riley introduced him with a slight slur. “My soon-to-be hubby's incredibly good-looking cousin and our driver for the night. Say hi to my girls.”
“Welcome to Scotland, ladies,” he said as Riley introduced Blake and Mia. The thick brogue filtered Abbie's way sending a happy shiver along her skin. She was a total sucker for the brogue and his was deep and masculine.
He held the door as the girls filed outside and soon Abbie found herself staring up at a tall, broad-shouldered Scot with a wicked smile, steel blue eyes, and a beautiful face. He wore tan cargo pants, work boots, and a button down oxford shirt rolled to muscled forearms. His hair was a dark whisky-brown and while short, it was wavy and slightly unruly.
The breath slid right out of her and she just stood there rooted to the spot, staring like a drunken idiot as he stared right back with a lop-sided smile and a gleam of interest in his eyes.
And, holy crap, something burst in her stomach, something she hadn't felt in four years.
Butterflies.
She just got butterflies.
Abbie cocked her head, amazed at the sensation. It was almost a relief in a way, that she could still feel that sudden, airy zing, and she found herself slowly grinning at the good-looking Scot with happiness.
His sexy smile deepened and his eyes raked over her with blatant consideration.
“Liam, meet Abbie Murphy. Abbie, Liam,” Riley's smug voice cut through her ogling and not a moment too soon. “Abs and I were college roomies. In the same creative writing class... She's an author now—” Riley hiccuped— “and has a very successful mystery series.”
She didn't know about very successful, but she did all right.
“Ooh, goodness,” Riley commented after another hiccup and the patted Liam on the chest. “Yup. Think it's time to go.”
As Riley headed out the door, leaving her alone with the drool-worthy Scot, Abbie froze.
She might feel the zing again, but she sure as hell didn't know what to do with it. “Um. Nice to meet you,” she muttered quickly and hurried to the waiting truck.
It wasn't until she was secure in the back seat between Mia and Blake that she finally got her act together. Riley took the front passenger seat and turned around so she could rest her chin on the seat and chat while Liam drove them back to the castle.
* * *
As he drove, Liam got an earful. Thanks to the alcohol flowing in their veins, nothing was off limits. And that extended to Graham. The things that were said about his friend made Liam's cheeks grow warm. He bit back a grin. Graham was in for one hell of a ride if the Texas beauty, Blake, ever got a hol
d of him.
They seemed to forget he was there entirely.
Thankfully, talk turned to Riley's wedding and honeymoon, the destination of which was still undecided.
“Well, I vote for Tahiti or Bali,” Blake said. “Somewhere exotic and warm with clear water and lush jungle.”
“Been there,” Riley answered.
“Well that is the problem, isn't it?” Mia said with a huff. “You and your travel writing self have been just about everywhere. Where haven't you been? What about the desert, that could be romantic.”
Liam winced. The last place Jamie would want to be was the desert. The heat, the sand... All reminders of a life the war veteran would rather soon forget. Having served his country as well, Liam understood all too well. “Switzerland is nice,” he interrupted, casting a glance at Riley. “The Adriatic... Greek Islands... New Zealand...”
“Liam MacLaren,” Riley said in surprise, smacking his shoulder. “You have not been to New Zealand.”
“Aye,” he answered with a duck. “I have. Jamie, though, loves the snow. I'm thinking Iceland might be a good place.”
Riley sat back with a dumbfounded look. “Iceland.”
He winked. “Aye. Bet you've never been there.”
“That's true,” she answered slowly, considering his suggestion with real interest.
“Where did you and Jake go on your honeymoon, Abbie?” Mia asked.
Liam glanced in the rear view mirror at the black-haired lass, surprised to learn she was married after the way her exotic eyes had eaten him alive at the pub. Not that he'd minded. In fact, he'd experienced a definite jolt at the flash of lust in her eyes.
Well, hell. He was a wee bit disappointed.
“Oh, don't give me that look, Riley,” Mia said. “She's been divorced for four years and I doubt she'd want everyone to tiptoe around it. Isn't that right, Abbie?”
Divorced. His grip eased on the wheel and his shoulders relaxed. Liam couldn't help but flick another glance in the mirror to see Abbie's soft smile as she said, “Totally. No need to tip toe.”
Liam returned his attention to the road.
“We went to the Poconos,” she answered.
He had no idea what the Poconos were, but from the slight disappointment in Abbie's voice, it was clear she'd had some disappointment with the locale.
“Well, that could be nice,” Mia began with gentle optimism. “Nice cabin, romantic fire...”
“It was a cheap hotel off the interstate.”
“Oh.”
“Ouch.”
“Damn, Abbie.”
Abbie gave a drunken laugh. “I didn't care, you know? The only thing that mattered was being together, not the location.” Most women wouldn't have thought of it like that. Well, at least the ones he'd been intimately familiar with. “It became pretty clear things weren't going to work out when he calculated all the receipts from the honeymoon and billed me for my share.”
“No!” Riley almost shouted.
“What a loser,” Mia said.
“Total fucker is more like it.” Blake tossed her hair over her shoulder with an angry flick. The girls went silent for half a second before bursting out laughing. “Well, it's true. No offense, Abbie.”
“None taken. He was. I should have seen it though, you know? In hindsight, he was so angry about me being pregnant, angry about getting married, angry that it would put a huge dent in his financial plans. All the cutting costs and things he claimed we had to do without was really punishment for Logan. Because we had enough money to be comfortable. He was relieved when it ended, relieved to wash his hands of the both of us.”
Bloody bastard if ever there was one, Liam thought, frowning. Old anger stirred inside him; he knew exactly what it was like to be abandoned by a parent.
“Well, good for you for getting out of the situation. I know it must've been hard.” Mia let out a heavy sigh. “I wished we would've kept more in touch. I miss you girls.”
Oh, shite. Liam stepped on the gas, hoping that by the time he got to the castle, the women hadn't flooded the cab of his truck with tears.
CHAPTER 2
By the time he parked, more than a few tears had been shed. But it hadn't been as bad as he'd expected. Jamie stepped from the castle to collect his drunken bride-to-be—no doubt, the man had been pacing the length of the Great Hall waiting for them to get back safely—as Liam helped everyone from the truck. Abbie was saying goodbye to her friends while Riley planted a kiss on Jamie's smiling lips.
“Appreciate you giving them a lift,” Jamie said as he approached. “I'll escort Blake and Mia to the cottage. Would you mind seeing Abbie to hers?”
“Aye, 'tis no trouble.”
With a grateful nod, Jamie helped Riley and her friends down the path that led to the small two bedroom cottage near the castle, leaving Liam standing in the drive with the black-haired beauty. Abbie was petite and curvy with creamy skin and a faint splattering of freckles across the bridge of a small nose. Her mouth was sexy as hell, and those dark, exotic eyes were mesmerizing.
She was so striking, he found himself asking, “What are you?”
She flinched. “What do you mean?”
Brilliant. He hadn't meant to give voice to his question so bluntly. But since he had... “Sorry. I mean your ancestry. You have an interesting look about you.”
Her deep frown suggested she was unsure if the word interesting was a compliment or not. “My mother is Greek and my father is Irish.”
“Ah. That makes sense then.”
“What makes sense?”
“Your eyes. They're,” he paused, trying to find a word that wouldn't embarrass him or insult her. “Beautiful. And your freckles...” And that mouth and that fall of black hair... “It's a . . . nice, uh . . . combination.”
Holy shite. What was he, thirteen again?
Right. Well, he'd just screwed that up royally. He cleared his throat. “Ready to go?”
Her face was still stuck in a confused frown. “I'm fine. I brought the bike, so I can just walk it home.”
Liam shoved his hands in his pockets. Christ, he was jumpy tonight. “Where'd you leave it?”
She glanced at the corner of the castle and he saw it propped there against the wall. Without a word, he brought it over and put it in the back of his truck, then opened the passenger side door.
With a sigh, she got in.
He shut the door and went around to the driver's side, berating himself. Women never made him uneasy. But, this one...
The sooner he dropped her off, the better.
* * *
As Liam walked around the front of the truck, Abbie resisted the urge to rub her freckles—something she always itched to do whenever anyone mentioned them; as if she could ever rub them off. She'd tried enough times in her youth, but those faint spots were there to stay.
He'd said she looked . . . nice, and he'd been frowning like a madman when he said it. She had no idea what that meant exactly.
As he settled in and began driving her down the dirt track that led beyond the castle to her cottage, Abbie couldn't help but stare. He had a lovely profile. The way his hair curled around his ear and brushed his neck . . . she bet he smelled good there, probably tasted even better...
A low groan rumbled in her throat.
She looked away quickly when he glanced over.
Everyone said she was terrible at hiding her emotions. It was the eyes, they said, windows into every feeling she had.
Liam cracked a window, then let out a tense sigh. The muscle in his jaw ticked a few times. Awesome. He obviously did not appreciate being ogled by a semi-drunk, sex-starved—
“Everything is working well at the cottage?” he asked suddenly. “Power, water...”
The question was out of the blue and she had to concentrate in order to answer. “Well, the water in the bathtub won't heat beyond lukewarm,” she answered.
“Sorry about that. I'll have it fixed. Anything else? You're the first one to sta
y there since its renovation,” he explained.
“No, no that's it, I think. Just the water.”
Awkward silence filled the cab, but the cool air flowing in from the window was a welcome relief. Being alone with a smoking hot guy shouldn't have been so difficult. It was the alcohol making her all hot and bothered. Well, that, and the fact that she'd only had sex with a vibrator for the last four years. And even that eventually lost its meager appeal.
She craved companionship, touch, connection...
“Abbie?”
“Hmm?”
“We're here.”