Actually winks.
Then turns to my family.
“Good evening,” he says smoothly. “Apologies for the unannounced visit. I thought it was time I properly met my fiancée’s family. And—I brought Hamish back.”
“Hamish was missing?” my mother asks.
“Long story,” I mutter.
Callum steps closer.
The silence is suffocating.
Jane’s hand tightens on my arm, stopping me from intervening.
Alistair and Callum now stand face-to-face.
Two heirs. Two rivals. Two men who look very capable of violence.
My heart pounds.
Time slows.
And then?—
The door bursts open again.
The elegant white ewe trots into the dining room, bleating cheerfully?—
Followed by Hamish.
With a red rose in his mouth.
CHAPITRE 7
ALISTAIR
How to Survive a Dinner with the McGregors Without Losing Your Dignity (or Your Head)
I stand in the doorway, bouquet in hand and a carefully polished diplomatic smile fixed in place, assessing the situation like a general surveying a battlefield. Across from me, Callum McGregor advances with the quiet, implacable determination of a Highland bear guarding its territory. Said animal may have vanished from Scotland centuries ago, but at this point, I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if one strolled in behind him.
Over his shoulder, Keira shoots me a look that wavers somewhere between panic and disbelief. The rest of the McGregor clan appears frozen in what could only be described as a living painting titledScottish Shock.
And then, shattering the fragile tension—Rosita appears.
My sheep.
Inside the McGregor house.
And, as if that weren’t enough, Hamish follows… with a rose clenched between his teeth.
For one fleeting second, I seriously question whether that pre-dinner whisky hit harder than expected.
“Rosita?” I blurt.
She turns her sweet pink nose toward me, recognizes me instantly, and lets out a delighted bleat.
“Youknowthis animal?” Maggie McGregor asks, peering at me over her tortoiseshell glasses.
