Seated around Arrochar’s large dining table was his sister, Thane, the kids, Lucy, Eredine, and Mac. The table was overlaid with food because Arro loved to cook and was good at it. Lachlan wasn’t too bad either. He’d had to be because his dad couldn’t cook, and his brothers didn’t want to try.
“This smells amazing, Arro,” Mac offered.
His sister beamed affectionately at him. “Everyone dig in.”
The next five minutes were filled with food talk. “Pass the potatoes.” “Do you want the mac and cheese?” “Try to leave some beef for the rest of us, Lewis.” “Someone put some salad on their plate, please, it’s not just there as decoration.” And so forth.
“You got enough?” Lachlan asked Robyn as he spooned more mac and cheese onto her plate.
She laughed, holding up a hand to ward him off. “More than. You trying to fatten me up?”
“I’ll take you whatever way I can get you.”
Robyn rolled her eyes, but he could tell she liked it. It made him smile harder and impulsively lean forward to kiss her, even though she was eating.
She laughed against his mouth, and he loved it.
When he pulled back, he caught Eredine’s eyes; they twinkled with joy for him.
Feeling a strange heat rise on his neck, he turned back to his plate to eat.
This was Lachlan’s happy place. Surrounded by family, the sound of their conversation filling his ears. With Robyn by his side, it felt more poignant.
It would only have been more perfect if Brodan and Arran were there.
“Uncle Lachlan?” a sweet, high-pitched voice asked.
Swallowing his bite, he looked down the table at Eilidh who insisted on being seated next to her favorite person in the world—Aunt Arrochar. “Yes, sweetheart?”
Eilidh bit her lip against a mischievous smile as her gaze moved to Robyn. “Is that lady your girlfriend?”
Robyn choked, and he covered his laughter with a quick cough. He glanced at Robyn as she took a drink of water. Patting her on the back, he asked, “All right there?”
At his teasing tone, she flicked him a dark look that only made him grin harder.
Turning back to Eilidh, he said, “This lady is Robyn. Remember?”
His niece nodded. “Is Robyn your girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
Out of his peripheral, he saw water spray across the table.
Eyes wide, he stared down at Robyn as she spluttered and coughed.
Strangled laughter came at them from all sides.
“Did I say something wrong?” He caressed Robyn’s back as she pulled herself together.
Even Mac chuckled at her side.
“No.” She blinked up at him as she wiped tears from her eyes. “That bit of mac and cheese just went down the wrong way.”
“Right.”
Her gorgeous eyes narrowed. “I swear if there weren’t children at this table, I would fork you.” She pointed said fork at him.
Lachlan leaned in, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, “It’s pronounced fuck.”
He felt her shiver and smiled smugly. Easing back, he watched her struggle to contain a smile and pressed another kiss to her lips to feel it.
“This is weird,” Thane said, breaking their locked gazes.
Lachlan looked at his brother. “What is?”
“You?” But Thane was openly delighted. “Lachlan Adair … it only took him thirty-eight years, but he’s finally someone’s boyfriend. Can you be a boyfriend in your advanced years?”
“Fu—” He caught himself, glancing at the kids. “Shut up.”
Thane snorted.
“Aw, leave him alone.” Lucy nudged Thane playfully. “It’s nice.”
“Can we stop talking about it like we’re teenagers and I’m his prom date?” Robyn pressed the back of her knuckles to her cheeks.
“Oh, do we have to?” Arrochar pouted. “We’ve been waiting on a woman taking him down forever, so we have years of gentle mockery stored up.”
“Take me down? How do you know she likes to practice her wrestling skills on me?”
“Shut up.” Robyn shoved him and he snorted, enjoying her discomfort. “My dad is right there.”
“Yes, please shut up.” Mac cut him an only semi-mocking dark look.
Lachlan pressed his lips together.
“What’s wrong with that?” Lewis asked. “I like wrestling too.”
Thane threw his brother a “will you watch what you’re saying?” look, and Lachlan was sufficiently chastened. He nodded in apology but couldn’t stop the smile prodding his lips.
Conversation resumed to subjects other than his and Robyn’s relationship, and he enjoyed the way she easily fell into discussion with his family.
She was curious about Arrochar’s job as a forest engineer and what it entailed and genuinely interested in Thane’s work as an architect.
“I’ll take you out to our homes,” Lachlan said to her as they finished dinner and moved to the lounge to relax with drinks. “Thane designed his home and mine.”
“I’d love to see them.”
Lachlan slid his arm around her, pulling her down beside him on the couch as his family and friends surrounded them.
The kids had gone off to play in the garden; Lucy settled on the arm of Thane’s chair, the two of them lost in conversation. Lachlan ignored the twinge of concern their closeness caused, knowing Lucy was just being friendly.
As Robyn continued to chat with his sister, Eredine, and Mac, Lachlan was content to just listen, pressed to her side while his hand rested on her opposite hip. It was a compulsion to keep her close, to touch her, to breathe her in as she laughed and teased and swapped stories of growing up in Boston with Arrochar’s stories of growing up in a tiny village.
She didn’t seem to mind his caresses, her own hand curled possessively around his knee.
Now and then, Arrochar would meet his gaze, and her genuine emotion and joy in what she observed made his chest expand with feeling.
In that moment, Lachlan knew he’d found something he hadn’t even known he’d been looking for.
He just hoped to fuck he didn’t ruin it.
31
Robyn
“I feel like you’re not taking this seriously.” My hands flew to my hips as I looked down at Lachlan in mock irritation.
He grinned at me, his expression attractively boyish. “Braveheart, you’re straddling me. I’m unable to take anything seriously while the blood is rushing out of my brain.”
I tried
