Chapter Nineteen
An hour later, we were preparing to climb into my old car when the crunching of tires on gravel drew our attention to the long driveway, where it wound through the deep woods toward the house. The vehicle became visible gradually as it passed through the shadows into the dappled sunlight and, finally, into the full sun. A blond-haired man sat behind the wheel of the red sports car, which he parked alongside my old beater. Aidan's rental was stashed on the opposite side of my car.
The blond man shut off the car's engine, swung open the door, and hopped out with a big smile on his face. He turned to Aidan, offering his hand. "Mr. MacTaggart?"
Aidan, appearing wary and somewhat confused, took the man's hand. "Aye, I'm Aidan MacTaggart. Who are you?"
"Billy, from the rental agency."
My Scot's eyebrows knit together. "From the what?"
"The car rental agency. Your brother called about getting you an upgrade."
"Upgrade?" Aidan's confusion crumbled away, replaced by the light of understanding. "Ah, Lachlan said he was going to get me a better car. I almost forgot."
He sounded like he wished Lachlan had forgotten.
Billy the Car Guy handed Aidan the keys to the cherry-red vehicle. "It's a convertible, by the way, perfect for beautiful summer days."
Aidan accepted the keys, but his gaze swiveled to me and he smiled in his secret way that made my body hum. "Mm, perfect for enjoying a beautiful lass on a beautiful summer day."
"Exactly," Billy said, seeming oblivious of the innuendo in Aidan's words.
I understood what he meant by enjoying me — and he wasn't talking about making me laugh. The sparkle in his eyes confirmed my analysis.
Aidan hooked the key ring over his middle finger and flipped the keys around it once, with a bright jangling sound. "Billy, how are you to get back to wherever you came from?"
"I'll take the other car. The one you rented yesterday."
"Of course." Aidan extracted the keys to that vehicle and tossed them to Billy. "Do I tip you? I'm new to this country and don't know all the etiquette."
"No tip required, sir. Your brother took care of everything."
Aidan's mouth warped downward at one corner, half annoyance, half humor. "Naturally, he did. Lachlan takes care of everything for everyone, whether you want him to or not."
I slipped my arm through his, leaning into him. "Brothers. They can be presumptuous, but they do it out of love."
Billy glanced back and forth between us, his brows furrowed. "Sure, I guess they do. I should get back to work. Have fun with the car."
The youthful blond all but ran to the other rental car, apparently put off by our conversation. The poor boy must've been confused by our interactions. As the rejected rental roared off down the gravel drive, spewing dust and gravel in its wake, I rested my cheek on Aidan's upper arm and gazed up at him.
"So," I said, "shall we take your gift for a drive?"
"Yes." He straightened, determination on his face. "I planned to take you for a drive and I intend to keep my word."
"Actually, it was my idea." I stepped away from him to circle around the front of the sports car, approaching the driver's side. "Cool, it's a Mustang."
"If Lachlan could've hired an Aston Martin, I'm sure he would have."
"Here in the U.P., you aren't likely to find a rentable luxury car, especially not one as expensive as an Aston Martin."
"Lachlan owns two of them." Aidan puckered his mouth. "He keeps trying to give me one."
"Oh, don't be so petulant about it. Your brother's only trying to help." I walked back to him and looped my arms around his neck. "I think it's nice your rich brother wants to help out his family. In my experience, a lot of people who have money don't like to share it with anyone. Or if they do share, it comes with chains attached."
"Chains?" He crooked a finger under my chin, tipping my head up until our gazes met. "You say the oddest things at times. Have you known someone who — "
"Let's not talk about serious things." I tightened my arms around his neck, pulling my body snug against his, loving the feel of his hard muscles pressed into my breasts. "Let's take advantage of this wonderful summer's day."
"We will." He peeled my hands away from his neck, taking one in his big hand and leading me toward the Mustang's passenger door. Like a perfect gentleman, he held the door open while I climbed inside and settled onto the lush leather seat. I ran my hands over the upholstery. "Oooh, this is nice. I could get used to the high life."
He frowned. "Guess Lachlan should be dating you."
Before I could respond, he slammed the door shut. I watched him stalk around the front of the vehicle, tear open the driver's door, and throw his big body into the seat. He yanked the door shut with a huff.
"Oh come on," I said. "You have to get over this aversion to being pampered. Are you jealous of Lachlan? Because I'm here with you. I invited you to stay with me, not your brother. I'm sleeping with you, not your brother."
"If you met Lachlan, you'd probably prefer him. Or maybe Rory." Aidan jammed the key in the ignition, jerking it to stir the engine to grumbling life.
I let that go for the moment, more concerned with the nature of Aidan's statement. "Is Rory well off too? Because if he is, I'm starting to see a definite pattern."
"He's got money. Not as much as Lachlan, but at least fifty-fold more than I've got." He shifted the car into reverse, flung an arm over the back of my seat, and craned his neck to glance behind. "And of course there's a pattern. They're successful and I'm a failure."
"That is not true."
He swerved the car backward in a semicircle, so fast I was thrown forward. Since I hadn't done up my seatbelt yet, I had to thrust my hands out to stop from careening into the dashboard. I yelped.
Aidan hit the brakes hard, which flung me backward into my seat.
"Jesus Christ," I hissed, "if this is how you drive, you can forget me going anywhere with you."
He dropped his face into his hands briefly, then looked at me with regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry. That was childish and stupid, and I could've hurt you. It will never happen again."
"Damn straight it won't. If it does, I'm out of here and you can sleep in this car."
"I'll be more careful, I swear it." He pointed at my lap. "But you should still do up your seatbelt."
"Oh yeah." I secured the belt and rested my arm on the center console. "By the way, you are not a failure. Everybody has bad times and that does not make you a failure in life in general."
He grunted, then shifted the car into drive and eased it down the gravel road.
Okay, I guessed we weren't going to talk about this anymore for the moment. Probably for the best, since I had no desire to become roadkill. Men could be sensitive about money and perceived status, even men who were otherwise self-assured. When it came to seduction, Aidan had no doubts about himself. But clearly, his brothers and their monetary success made him feel inferior. In a way, I could understand. As someone who'd suffered my own financial woes, I knew how easy it was to define yourself by the lack of zeroes at the end of your bank balance. I'd also learned to avoid that particular trap.
Aidan would have to figure that out on his own, though. I couldn't make him believe it.
Just like he couldn't make me believe we belonged together.
Sighing, Aidan relaxed into his driving with a satisfied smile on his lips. "Where should we go?"
"What are you in the mood for? Secluded or crowded?"
"Secluded." He glanced at me sideways, his smile heating up to a steamy simmer. "I have plans for you that might be illegal in public."
I sank into my seat, warm and soft and tingling with anticipation. "Take a left at the end of the driveway. We're heading north, into the wilds."