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“Are you quite finished?”
“Would ye slap me if I said I wasn’t?” He waggles his eyebrows.
Now, this is the Angus I have grown to adore like a big brother.
Therapy has taught me to let others into my life, bringing me comfort and a degree of happiness to balance against the traumatic loss. Grief is so fucking sad and exhausting, so I need to findmyjoy in this life sentence the universe gave me without getting overwhelmed with guilt.
“Please do not leave my sight. Between you and Gwen, ye have the MacDougalls in a tailspin today, and I am getting overworked with drama.”
I hold both hands up in surrender, fighting a smile while he looks back at his phone and returns to typing.
I haven’t brought any drama to the table, but I don’t respond to his comment because, for once, I can see Angus seems a bit stressed. Instead, I wait, arms folded across my chest for him to finish.
“Are you messaging Tucker?”
Angus pauses typing his message. His attention leaves the phone to focus on me. One hand rubs the back of his neck, which translates to him deciding if he will answer me. I know he is messaging Tucker, and I already told him not to. “Ophelia, do ye trust me?”
“I like to think I do, so that will be a firm yes.”
“I know what ye said earlier, and I did listen, but somebody ye didn’t think of forewarning to stay silent messaged me to tell me she wrote to her brother after getting the burner phone number from Gwen. Alice slid under yer radar. Tucker got sent the video of you and Birgitta going at it courtesy of Alice. We MacDougalls have a bro-code that we have all sworn allegiance to, and that is to protect the ones we love or care a great deal for, and we keep each other in the loop. The Royals are part of our bro-code, and usually, I honor it. Tucker hasn’t read the messages or watched the video, or else he would be using shouty text at Shamus or me, or Teagan would be getting interrogated.
“I just finished messaging Tucker with damage control about the Birgitta escapades and Gwen’s morning with Shamus—just in case Alice added that information in—so these photos will settle his mind that ye are doing okay when he reads my messages. I promised ye we would stay quiet and let ye do the explaining. They say a picture paints a thousand words. All the visual scenarios Tucker will be concluding to when he eventually reads and then watches the video Alice sent him should, hopefully, get smoothed over upon reading my messages. Seeing yer happy face dolled up in yer dress will add validation, but as I said, if he asks me questions, I will answer honestly. It is the best I can do for ye.
“I have assured him Birgitta won’t be setting foot on yer property ever again. The last thing Shamus wants or needs is Birgitta messing with his life, but that isn’t my story to tell.”
“Fair enough, I can appreciate Shamus wouldn’t want to talk about her. Thank you for trying to do damage control on my behalf. Alice is loyal to her brother, so it makes sense she sent him the video, but I don’t want him distracted by me while he’s on the job. Can you let him know I’ll write to him tonight, and Shamus will forward it to him?”
“Already let him know you will explain today’s fiasco.”
“Thank you. Now, jumping lanes, have you seen how gorgeous Teagan looks today and every other day of the week? It must be hell living under the same roof as her,” I say, teasing Angus. Birgitta doesn’t deserve her name mentioned anymore in our conversations. Time to lighten the mood because Tucker has gone to a lot of trouble, by the sounds of it, and I aim to forget what happened between Birgitta and me and move on to enjoy myself for the rest of Valentine’s Day.
Angus narrows his eyes, giving me a tight smile. “Yes, I did notice how beautiful all ye women look today. Alice, Paisley, and Gwen also look gorgeous. Let’s get ye to ye Valentine’s surprise before the MacDougall phone tree starts burning up with messages, or Tucker breaks his promise to ye and calls to speak to ye. I have given proof of life, and I will be taking many photos at lunch and some videos and sending them to his burner to stop his mind from wandering into dark territory where you and his sisters are concerned. We shall now walk outside, but so there’s no threat of spoiling Tucker’s plans before we get to the destination, I will need to—”
“Blindfold me,” I say, finishing his sentence
“Aye.”
Angus produces a black satin blindfold. When he sees me staring at it in his hands, he says, “Oh, the questions ye want to ask me.” He smirks. “And they are probably all true.”
“Oh, brother, you are unbelievable.”
“Maybe. Now turn around.” Angus blindfolds me.
“So… trains, planes, or automobiles?” I am curious, plus I have always wanted to use that quote in a sentence.
“Nope. We are walking.” I gasp out loud when my knees buckle from underneath me when Angus whisks me up into his arms. “Correction. I’m walking while ye listen to the tale I have to tell ye. It is fresh news. And before ye complain about me carrying ye, I am under strict instructions from Gwen. She wants the Jimmy Choos in perfect condition for when she wants to borrow them and where we are going; a high percentage ye might teeter or get the heels damaged while blindfolded. Also, we will take too long to arrive at our destination. So suck it up, princess, time is getting away from us.”
“Okay, I will not complain. These Jimmy Choos are worth preserving and feeling foolish for, so back to the fresh news to distract me because you don’t want to know my tactics for getting you to put me down.”
“Oh, I already heard about when Tucker put ye over his shoulder.Hil-ar-i-ous.And trust me when I tell ye this news is hot off the press and worth staying completely silent while I tell ye the tale.”
I swing one arm around his neck. “I am all ears. Hit me.”
Angus walks, and I have to smother my mouth with my palm to keep from interrupting until he finishes, but of course, I don’t make it very far into his story. “Shut-the-front-door! Alice has a boyfriend?” I squeak out, doing my best not to shout. “When did this happen? It is beyond adorable news and so worth this ride.”
“I just won a bet with Teagan,” he murmurs good-naturedly.
“Angus,” I groan.
