Page 20 of Finding the One (River Rain #7)

I didn’t do much but peel vegetables or roll out dough.

But I remembered liking those times a whole lot, even if they were rare.

This made me consider the idea this was the reason why I loved cooking so much.

Because Kenna gave it to me.

And Dair was right.

Working in her kitchen with her made me happy.

“Your mum has always been lovely with me.”

“My mum has always fretted like fuck over you and Alex.”

This was awful, and I wished she hadn’t had to do that, but it didn’t surprise me.

She was her own woman and had always seemed capable, together and no-nonsense, but when it came to her children, she was all mum , openly, even effusively loving and nurturing, but when needed, strict and disciplined.

On this thought, I remarked, “You’re very lucky, Dair.”

“Aye, I ken. This is why I worry about what marks Helena made on ye.”

I shrugged. “I’m not the only kid in the world who had a crappy mother.”

“I’m not sitting across from some other grown kid from out in the world, Blake.”

Argh.

I didn’t want to talk about this. There was nothing to be done about it.

“I thought we were discussing you being a bully when we were kids,” I reminded him.

Before he could answer, the server came with our drinks (for your edification, Dair, an ale, me, their Garden Variety Gimlet, though take it from me, it wasn’t garden variety at all).

The server left and Dair took us right back to it.

“I was a boy who liked to be outside, and I was too young to realize ye simply didnae. I was told to entertain ye, and the fun shite I knew to do was all outside. You didnae like how cold it was. You complained about the rain. You didnae like horses?—”

“I love horses,” I stated hotly, because…I did. Even back then.

“You turned your nose up at them.”

“I was scared of them. They were huge , Dair. You guys bred Clydesdales.”

“They’re still just horses.”

I picked up my drink and mumbled, “Oh my God, I can’t believe we’re discussing this.”

“I think it’s pertinent, since I intend to spend vastly more time with you and you told me when we were wee, ye thought I treated you like shit.”

Vastly more?

My heart skipped a beat.

“Blake,” he growled, taking my mind off my heart.

“Okay, do you want the honesty?” I demanded.

“Always.”

“I’d just had a conversation with my mother. Never fun. But it was about the fact your family was not invited to the rehearsal dinner.”

“Ah,” he said, sitting back in his side of the booth with his beer.

“I’m not being rude,” I asserted. “That event isn’t for friends of the family.

It’s for people in the wedding party and close family.

Furthermore, Alex left me in charge of the planning, and Mum horning in to do things I knew Alex wouldn’t want exasperated me.

Something you know, Alex prefers smaller numbers.

Add to that, I knew the reason Mum invited you was so she could be around Bally, and that’s just gross.

So maybe I transferred some of all I was feeling and worrying about on you.

For that, I apologize. You’re right. When we were kids, we had different interests.

You were doing your best. I was uncomfortable because back then I was always uncomfortable, but then I knew about your dad and my mum and that made it more uncomfortable. And that’s just that.”

“That is that, love,” he said gently. “And I’m glad we’ve gone over it.”

It just sucked how awesome he was.

Uncomfortable, even difficult conversation, we had it, we said what we had to say, we were honest, and then we were done, and he ended it with his lovely brogue all gentle.

He was impossible.

“Thrilled for you that you’re glad,” I mumbled and took a sip of my own drink.

He chuckled.

Completely impossible.

I was saved from responding by the server putting the devilled eggs in front of us.

“Thank you,” I said to her.

“No problems,” she replied and took off.

I went for an egg.

Dair went in after me.

“They source local,” I told him as he took a bite. “And just to say, you chose well with the chicken pot pie for your main.”

He winked at me.

That was so hot, my heart stuttered to a complete halt.

“Glad you approve,” he said through egg while I restarted my heart.

He swallowed and pointed at the remaining portion (why they didn’t serve four for two people, I didn’t know, restaurants had a knack for odd numbers, and it drove me batty—I mean, it made sense to give four portions, two eggs, halved, equaled four, for goodness sake).

“And that was bloody magnificent,” he finished.

Why did it delight me he liked my favorite restaurant in Prescott?

“You eat the second one,” I told him after I consumed mine. “I got the pork tenderloin, which is going to be heavy, and you eat like a linebacker.”

“I eat like a tighthead prop,” he corrected.

“Whatever,” I muttered.

He grinned at me and took the last egg.

I felt something funny and looked across the restaurant.

A man was staring at me.

When he caught my eye, he smiled.

I knew that kind of smile, and fortunately (this time) it wasn’t one that told me he’d seen me somewhere on social media in all my glory tearing Chad a new asshole at our wedding or some other hijinks I’d gotten up to.

But unfortunately, it was an even worse kind in this scenario.

For God’s sake, he was with a woman, and I was with a man.

I glared at him, shifting my eyes pointedly to the woman he was with and back to him before I turned again to Dair.

But he was looking over his shoulder at the man.

And then he was putting his napkin on the table and sliding out of the booth.

Dear Lord, what was he doing?

“Dair.” He couldn’t help but hear me (this was a tiny place), but he didn’t pause in moving toward the man’s table. “Alasdair!” I snapped, trying not to be too loud but needing to stop him.

It didn’t work.

I sat helplessly, not knowing what to do, as I watched Dair stand at their table and say things. The man’s face was white as a sheet. But as the woman gazed up at Dair and heard what he had to say, her face got red as a beet.

Dair finished and strolled back to our table. But even if he was a big guy who took up a lot of space, I didn’t miss the man leaning toward the woman, reaching her way and talking fast. Nor did I miss the woman’s straight back, the angry line of her shoulders and the infuriated shakes of her head.

So when Dair slid back into the booth, I leaned forward and bit, “What did you do?”

“I told him to keep his eyes on his woman and off mine. And if he smiles at you again, like he did or in any way, I was going to knock his teeth down his throat.”

That was insane!

“You threatened him?”

“Are you sitting across the table from me?”

“Yes.”

“Did we share an amazing kiss this morning?”

Gah!

“Yes, Dair,” I sighed.

“And is he with a woman who is obviously not his mother or sister and making eyes at mine?”

“You could have just ignored it,” I suggested.

“Why?” he asked, sounding genuinely surprised I’d suggest such a thing. “That wasn’t for his benefit. It was for hers. She should know.”

She should.

Totally.

It stunk that he was right.

“Well, you didn’t have to threaten him,” I stated.

He took a sip from his beer and said casually, “That was for me.”

Lord.

I took a mouthful of my drink.

“Though, I fear this is going to be an issue with how gorgeous you are,” he went on. “It’s not been lost on me men stare at you all the time.”

They did?

Before I could ascertain the veracity of his remark, the server came around and swept away our egg plate.

She had to dodge the woman making an angry exit and the man chasing after her.

Fabulous.

I shot Dair a homicidal look, or what I hoped was a homicidal look.

Dair ignored it and declared, “Now…us.”

Outside of his wink and him thinking I was the most beautiful woman he ever saw, so far, this hadn’t been all that fun of a date, what with him pointing out I was a bitch to him at the rehearsal dinner and then him ruining some poor woman’s night and perhaps her entire relationship.

I didn’t get to tell him that.

“I have a match to call this weekend,” he started.

“Ye probably want to go home to make sure your mother didn’t fuck with any of your shit.

So the weekend after that, you come to me.

Tomorrow, we’ll spend the day together, family dinner at the end.

We’ll sort the next visit when you’re out with me. ”

“I see you have this all planned,” I remarked.

“Do ye have plans the weekend after next?”

“No,” I admitted

“The whole week after that?”

What was he saying?

“I’m spending a week in Scotland?” I queried.

“We’re not going to get to know each other better with ye spending a couple of days with me while you’re jetlagged before you fly home.”

“That would be an awful lot of time spent together at the start of a relationship,” I remarked.

“We’re not going to get to know each other better with ye spending a couple of hours with me here and there when we live an ocean away from each other.”

He just got worse and worse, mostly because, when we were having words, he was so often right.

I gave in. “I’ll have to check my calendar, but I don’t think I have anything on.”

Though, I’d told Nora I’d help her with an event she was planning, but maybe I could do what I needed to do remotely.

“I’ll be getting to ye in New York, lassie, dinnae ye worry,” he assured.

Easy for him to say.

I was worrying about everything.

It was like he could read my mind, because he asked, “What’s bothering you about this?”

“What if we don’t work?” I asked.

“I dinnae ken,” he answered. “Though, think we might want to try first before we worry about it not working.”

“You’re a family friend.”

“Your mother was friends with my father, and we know where that’s at,” he retorted. “This goes sour, we live in different countries, lass. It’s not like we’re going to be bumping into each other at the market.”

This was true.

“Why are ye determined to drive a wedge into this?” he asked.

Why indeed.

“Blake,” he pushed.