“I should warn you,” Callum adds, “he has a temper.”
“A sheep with attitude. Why am I not surprised in this family?”
He laughs—a rare, warm sound. “You’re starting to understand the McGregors.”
A knock interrupts us. Keira bursts in without waiting, holding a box.
“I figured you’d want this immediately,” she says, handing it to me. “Consider it a preemptive welcome gift.”
I open it to find a pair of dark green rain boots.
“Rain boots?”
“Wellies,” she corrects. “Essential for survival here. And far more stylish than Callum’s.”
I grin. “Thank you. They’re perfect.”
“I knew you’d get it. Now rest while you can. Dinner’s going to be… lively.”
After she leaves, I turn to Callum. “What does ‘lively’ mean?”
“Our mother will be there. And probably my cousin Lachlan.”
“The one who inherits the company if we don’t get married?”
“The very one.”
“Fantastic. More people to convince,” I mutter.
I stare up at the coffered ceiling. “So just to be clear—within a few hours, I’ll be having a semi-formal dinner with your skeptical grandmother, your mother, your rival cousin, and a room full of people judging whether I’m worthy of being a McGregor. All after a transatlantic flight and knowing absolutely nothing about Scottish traditions.”
“That’s about right.”
I close my eyes, fighting off a nervous laugh. “You know what? In my movies, this is exactly where the heroine makes a catastrophic mistake that ruins everything.”
Callum steps closer—and to my surprise, takes my hand.
“Then we’ll make sure reality does better than fiction.”
I look at him, caught off guard by the warmth in his touch—and the sincerity in his eyes.
“Okay,” I say softly. “But I’m still going to need a drink before dinner.”
“You’re in the right country for that,” he replies with a hint of a smile.
When he leaves the room, that smile lingers—almost tender.
No. That has to be jet lag messing with me.
I close my eyes, bracing myself for the evening ahead.
I’m Jane Carter. Professional actress. I can play the role of a woman in love with a stoic Scottish man she’s about to marry in three days.
How hard can it be?
Right?
CHAPTER 7
