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"Wrong. I know more than you do."
Ava's eyes flash even wider this time, though only for a second. "How could you---I assumed you---"
"You assumed I'm a hick and that I've lost all my geospatial expertise after returning to the Highlands."
"Well, you do sell whisky for a living."
"And what's wrong with that? I craft whisky, though. I'm not simply a salesman."
Rebecca wraps her hand around mine and smiles with pride. "Thane creates the most innovative and original whiskies you'll ever taste."
I can't stop myself from smiling. Rebecca's endorsement means more to me than any award or review of my whiskies. The woman I worship loves my single malts and believes in me the way I believe in her. After all these years of shying away from romance and hiding my past from everyone, I finally understand that's exactly how my life needed to unfold. I met the perfect woman at the perfect time.
And I am in love with Rebecca Taylor.
The realization hits me so hard that, for a moment, I can't breathe. I stare at Rebecca as if I've never seen the lass before, as if I've suddenly been dropped into an alternate universe. Thane Buchanan in love? No one would believe it. I've dated occasionally, though I only made it beyond the first date with Fiona. Our two weeks had been my longest relationship, and that wasn't serious for either of us.
Rebecca has changed my life.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Rebecca
I study the man sitting beside me, worried about his abrupt shift from smiling to staring blankly at me. Thane seems to have frozen up, like an old computer that needs a tune-up. Did I blurt something out that shocked him? All I remember saying was that he makes the most amazing whiskies. But I've told Thane the same thing before, so I doubt he's shocked that I repeated my statement in front of Ava.
Oh, yes, Ava. That woman makes me feel like a teenager defending her boyfriend from a cheerleader who wants to poach him.
I've never met a man who made me want to get catty just to protect him from another woman's advances. But I will gladly get in a chick fight with this wannabe man-stealer. Who does she think she is? No less than ten minutes ago, she called me a housekeeper and flirted with my boyfriend right in front of me. Maybe I am too old to behave this way, but who cares? Thane would fight for me, for sure, and beat the crap out of any man who tried to steal me away. I'll do the same for him.
Ava with the snooty hyphenated name has zero chance of seducing my man. Well, I assume her name is hyphenated. That's a common British thing, at least in movies.
Wow, I'm actually on board for a chick fight. My kids would be shocked to see me like this. Hell, I'd even mud wrestle to pry that woman away from Thane.
Okay, maybe I should cut Ava a sliver of slack. She has been much less arrogant since she and Thane had their private chat. Errol had called me the Thane whisperer, but my man cowed this haughty spy in five minutes flat. He's the Ava whisperer.
Thane's phone makes a bleeping noise, indicating a new text or some sort of notification. He digs around in his jeans pocket until he extricates the phone. With a few swipes of his finger, he brings up the notification. And he freezes again. "We've got him."
I slant forward to squint at the tiny screen. "Holden? You've got him? That was amazingly fast."
"Dinnae get excited yet. I need to verify this." He hurries over to the desk and pulls up the information on the computer screen. Thane's expression falls. "No, it was some other bloke. The program misidentified him."
Damn. I was hoping this ordeal would be over soon. "Evan and Grey seemed so sure it would work."
"They might be miracle workers, but they aren't infallible. Besides, this is bleeding-edge technology."
Ava sits up straighter and clears her throat. "I almost forgot about the gift I brought for you."
She jumps up and hurries outside.
Thane and I exchange confused looks.
Ava returns carrying a black box the size of an average laptop computer. She hands the item to Thane. "You were incorrect. The program your mates created was incredible, but it's hardly the most cutting-edge option available. This is the bleeding edge."
He gingerly accepts the box. "What is it?"
"Something my current agent heard about during his surveillance of a Russian miscreant who kept it on a computer that's cordoned off from the rest of the world." She glances sideways at Thane's computer, then returns her attention to him. "This box contains a copy of a program that will make the one your mates created seem like child's play."
"How do I access the data?"
