“Sammy!” Martie looked horrified.
“Oh, stop staring at me like that, Martie,” Sam snapped. “He deserved it.”
Martie turned to Duncan. “So you met my sister in Scotland?”
“Aye,” he said. “At an airport north of Glasgow.”
“And?” Martie prodded.
“One more word,” Sam said to Duncan, “and so help me, I’ll—”
“I was her pilot,” he said.
“And?” Martie prodded again.
“I flew her to her destination.”
“That’s it?” Martie looked terribly disappointed.
“And that’s it.”
“So if you were just her pilot, what are you doing here?”
“Coincidence,” Sam broke in. “He, uh, he had to take a…he was supposed to fly a—”
“Businessman,” Duncan offered.
“Yes,” Sam went on, “he had to fly a businessman from Glasgow to Houston for—”
“For a conference,” Duncan said. “Electromagnetic technology.”
Martie considered them both for a long moment then sighed loudly. “You know, that’s the funny thing about telling lies. Keep them simple, that’s what I always say.”
“What did it?” Duncan asked. “The electromagnetic technology?”
Martie nodded. “That was really a little much.”
“Don’t you have something to do?” Sam asked her. She was starting to feel desperate. “Like cut a wedding cake or toss a bouquet?”
“Oh, my God, I forgot!” Martie lifted her skirt above her ankles and flew to the door. “Join us, Duncan,” she tossed over her shoulder. “Maybe I’ll get to the bottom of this mystery before the honeymoon starts.” She hurried toward the ballroom in a flurry of white lace.
“Over my dead body,” Sam said to Duncan as soon as her sister was out of earshot. “Forget she said anything. I’m dis-inviting you.”
“You can’t do that. It’s her wedding. She can invite whomever she pleases.”
“You don’t belong,” she said bluntly. “You’re a stranger.”
“Not to you.”
“Especially to me. What happened between us was an enormous mistake.”
“’Twas no mistake.”
“A mistake,” she repeated. “Believe it or not, I don’t make a habit of sleeping with strangers.”
“Nor do I, Samantha. You have no worries on that account.”
Fierce heat rose from the soles of her feet. “That, Mr. Stewart, is none of my business.” It was her business, of course, but right now all she wanted was to get as far away from him as fast as she could.
“Still, it is something you deserve to know.”
“A little late for that, wouldn’t you say?”
“Aye,” he said, “and for that I’m sorry. You deserved more consideration.”
“I really don’t want to have this conversation. We made a mistake. I don’t see why it’s necessary to talk about it.”
“A mistake?”
“Of course. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to watch my sister and her husband cut their wedding cake, and you’re not going to stop me.”
IF SAM had expected Duncan Stewart to go quietly into that good night, she quickly found out how wrong she was. It seemed as if he was always within reach, those dark blue eyes of his fastened on her with laser-like precision. Was he serious about the ten thousand dollars? The idea seemed absurd to her, but then so did everything else that had happened since that ill-fated flight to Glenraven. Just because he was an artistic genius didn’t mean he was rich. And she knew enough about castles and titles to know that they didn’t necessarily translate into wealth. Maybe he needed the money to put toward a new Cessna to replace the one they’d wrecked along the shores of Loch Glenraven.
Still, she couldn’t fault Duncan Stewart on his manners. He mingled easily with people, identifying himself only as a pilot when they asked. A few of Martie’s artist friends instantly recognized his name, but the Scotsman shrugged and said his was a common name back home. He stuck fairly close to her side but not so close as to set too many tongues wagging.
Of course, just the fact that she was with a man was bound to attract a certain amount of attention, especially since it happened about as often as Halley’s comet sightings.
“So who is he, darlin’?” Lucky asked as they shared a dance toward the end of the evening. “Is it time to plan another wedding?”
“You can put away your tux, Daddy.” She tried to keep her voice light and breezy. “Unless Frankie has a fiancé or two up her sleeve, you won’t be playing father of the bride again any time soon.”
“Didn’t know they grew ‘em so big in Scotland.”
“Spoken like a true Texan,” she said with a nervous smile. “We don’t have the market cornered on size.”
Lucky gave her a curious look. “So how did you two meet?”
“I told you, he was my pilot.”
“And he’s here because—”
“I don’t really know,” she said, “and I’m afraid I don’t really care.” She’d long since learned that, with her father, the best defense was a good offense.
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“I’m telling you everything I know.”
“Baby girl, you haven’t told me everything you know since you were three years old.” To Sam’s amazement, his eyes filled with tears.
“Daddy?” She stopped dancing. “Are you okay?”
“Just feeling some regrets today, darlin’. Wishing I’d made a few different choices.” They picked up the rhythm again.
“We all have regrets,” she said carefully. Since Lucky’s heart attack some months back, he’d been prone to bursts of high emotion, and for the first time, she was beginning to understand how that felt.
“Martie and Francesca—I made mistakes with them, too, but they found a way to forgive me.”
“Forgive you? I don’t understand.”
“You were always so smart and seemed so happy that I didn’t bother to look deeper, to find out what you really needed.”
“Daddy, I—”
“No, don’t interrupt me, darlin’. Let me get this off my chest. You needed something your sisters didn’t.”
“I really wish you—”
“You needed the kind of parents Julia and I didn’t know how to be.”
“You did your best for us. I know that.”
“I wasn’t around. This damn business—”
“The business is what kept a roof over our heads. I understand that.”
“It was more than that, darlin’. Same thing that busted up the marriage. Julia and I were too damn selfish to see what was right in front of us.”
She tried to make light
