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“Only that he’s trying to wrap things up so he can come home.”
“That’s what Alec tells me, too.”
“Do you not believe him?”
Cara sighed, troubled. “I’m not sure. Something feels off. I just don’t know what it is.”
*
Bundled up, Ellawalked briskly back to the cottage, the night cold and crisp, making her cheeks sting. Opening the door to the cottage, she discovered Baird in a chair near the fire reading and making notes. He was wearing a black wool cardigan and wearing dark glasses and with his square jaw and thick brown hair he reminded her of a sexy Scottish Clark Kent.
“Hello,” Cara greeted, sliding off her coat and hanging it by the front door.
Baird glanced up and closed his book. “How is she?”
“Good.” Ella approached the fire, tugging off her gloves. “She mostly talked about Alec’s family arriving and Saturday’s party. She also mentioned I might need to do some shopping for her if gifts don’t arrive by Friday.” Ella dropped into the chair opposite his. “I don’t mind a to-do list, but I do mind that she’s trying to oversee a party from her bedroom. Where is Alec? Why isn’t he here? If he wants the party, he should be here managing everything, not leaving it to his bedridden wife.”
“I don’t think he wants the party.” Baird pulled his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “But he knows she’s looked forward to the holidays for ages and doesn’t want to disappoint her.”
“I think him not being here is what’s disappointing her.”
“Did she say that?”
“Not in those exact words, but shouldn’t he be here? What is keeping him in London? How is work so important that he can’t return to his pregnant wife who’s trapped in bed and expecting a house full of elderly people on Friday.”
“It’s not exactly a houseful. There are three relatives arriving, the two aunts and Alec’s great uncle Frederick, but I agree that hosting a party isn’t the best plan right now. They can always have the party later.”
“Yes, later. After the babies arrive. Have you talked to Alec about it?”
“He and I have talked, and he’s dealing with a lot at the moment, so he’s leaving the decision to Cara. He knows she’s isolated here, and she wants to make friends, and get to know the neighbors. In her mind, this is her chance to make friends.”
“Alec does not strike me as a party person,” Ella said.
“He’s not.”
Ella fell silent as she watched the fire burn, the crackle and pop satisfying in a way she couldn’t explain. “Are Alec and Cara doing okay?” She glanced up, her gaze locking with Baird’s. “They’re not having any marital issues, are they?”
“Not that I’ve heard, but Alec isn’t the type to overshare. He’s British. The infamous stiff upper lip and all.”
“Scottish people aren’t like that?”
“We Scots like to gab more and drink more. Or so they say.”
“Have you told Alec he just needs to put his foot down? Because once he does, that’s it. Cara wouldn’t go against him. She’s too madly in love with him to upset him.”
“He feels the same about her, which is why he hasn’t put his foot down, not that Alec would ever do that. He’s a modern man, none of that Neanderthal behavior from him.” Baird’s voice dropped, a silkiness in his tone that sent a shiver through her, reminding her of how intensely he’d made her feel last summer.
It had been instant chemistry… at least on her part.
“Unlike me.”
Another tiny tremor raced through her. “I wouldn’t call you a Neanderthal.”
“No?”
“You’re more civilized than that, more cultured. You have a lot of Celt in you.” She thought for a moment. “I know the Vikings were raiders and warlike, but Celts were, too, from what I remember.”
“Do I strike you as warlike?”
