Dev grunted.
"I fear we'll never find the right lass for our Dev," Ian said as he came through from the dining room. Dev shot him a glare. Ian grinned, ruffled Dev's hair and then leapt back as Dev swatted at him.
"Lads," Fran warned.
After Ian poured a cup of coffee, he leaned against the counter. Dev could feel his brother's eyes on him. No doubt Lucy filled him in on the events of the morning, what she'd seen, and whatever Kate chose to tell her. Bloody perfect. As the older brother Ian was required to get some ribbing in.
"All right, looks like I'm done here," Fran said, taking off her apron and hanging it on the wall. "Ellie will be here any minute."
"Go on," Ian told her, "I'll show her around when she gets here."
Fran paused and eyed the two of them. "You lads behave yourselves."
Dev chuckled at that, making Fran shake her head as she left the kitchen. Then, he counted, wondering how long it would take—
"So what the hell happened this morning?"
One second apparently.
Dev washed his food down with his coffee as Ian sat at the table. "Not what you think, bro."
"Then correct me."
"Rather not."
Ian leaned back and eyed him. When he was younger, Dev always crumbled under that steady blue gaze of his brother's. Since then, he'd learned to wait it out, not rise to the occasion.
"Lucy's a little worried," Ian finally broke.
All he wanted was to eat his breakfast in peace and not think about Miss Chaos herself. Dev polished off the second biscuit. "Nothing to worry about. Things got off to a weird start that's all." And if he hadn't seen Kate naked in the barn, maybe things wouldn't have progressed the way they had. His brain wouldn't have been scrambled from the get go.
Ian wasn't going to let it drop, however. Dev could see it in the thoughtful, intelligent gaze staring back at him.
"Look. First day. She ran into my barn buck ass naked after skinny dipping in the loch. Kind of set us off on the wrong foot."
And he hadn't been the same since.
Ian let out a whistle. "Damn, man." He dragged a hand through his black hair. "That'd make for an awkward beginning."
"Trust me, it was way more than just awkward. Have you seen her?"
"She's a beautiful woman," Ian admitted. "Has had a rough few months."
Finished, Dev stood. "Her business, not mine."
"Didn't seem that way this morning."
Dev rolled his eyes and went to rinse his plate in the sink. Ian's chair scraped over the stone, but Dev didn't look. He was done with the conversation. Ian's hand landed on his shoulder. "She'll be gone soon. Out of your hair. Who knows, maybe she'll find a good guy. Bring him to the wedding in a couple months. Not your business."
"Nope," Dev said as he scrubbed the plate clean.
Ian gave him a slight push. "You're such a liar."
Dev turned to find Ian grinning like a damn fool. "And I'm about to mop the floor with your face."
"Bring it on, little man." Ian darted out the kitchen door, Dev hot on his heels.
After the lads were gone, Fran and Hamish pushed away from their eavesdropping spot along the dining room wall and smiled. "Aye, she's the one," Hamish said with certainty. "That skinny dipping . . . fate I tell ye. Couldn't have done better m'self. Gave those two a head start, I'd say."
