I swallow but nod, keeping up the illusion.
“Then I’ll support you,” she says. “But promise me you’ll be careful. The McKenzies are not known for their loyalty—and this rivalry between our families won’t disappear overnight.”
“I know.”
“Maggie is going to explode like an old whisky barrel left in the sun. You do realize that, don’t you?”
I wince.
“I’m aware. But she’ll come around. She got used to Jane.”
“Jane isn’t a McKenzie,” my mother reminds me. “She isn’t the heir to our oldest rivals.”
“Love doesn’t follow orders,” I declare with theatrical flair that surprises even me.
My mother squeezes my hand.
“No. And that’s exactly what worries me.”
We walk back toward the castle as twilight slips into night. Despite the story I just spun, a knot tightens in my stomach.
What have I done?
Now I actually have to contact Alistair McKenzie. The thought of facing my longtime rival with this completely unhinged proposal already makes my palms sweat—but I lift my chin anyway.
I’m a McGregor. We don’t back down from a challenge.
Even if that challenge involves convincing a McKenzie heir to pretend to be my fiancé.
God help us both.
“I just wonder,” my mother adds as we reach the front door, “how Callum is going to react when he finds out his little sister is dating a McKenzie.”
I stop dead.
“Oh… I hadn’t thought about that.”
She pats my shoulder.
“You might want to start preparing. Your brother comes back tomorrow with Jane. And if you think Maggie is protective, just wait until you see Callum.”
With that, she pushes the door open and steps inside. The Highland hills disappear behind us into the night.
As we cross the hall, I can’t shake the feeling that I may have just triggered the biggest McGregor–McKenzie clash in history.
A nervous laugh slips out of me.
How am I supposed to convince Alistair McKenzie to go along with this?
Or worse… how am I going to explain the truth when my family finds out?
Then again, we wouldn’t be real McGregors without a little chaos.
CHAPITRE 3
ALISTAIR
Selling the soul of the Highlands
