Page 76 of The Wedding Engagement

Sam laughed. “I’ll invite him. I heard he looks awesome in a kilt.”

Arran took in the genuine excitement in Sam’s eyes and assumed it was related to getting married rather than to the idea of having a Highland cow in a kilt at his wedding. “I’m looking forward to it,” he told his friend.

“Me too,” Sam said, giving him a side glance. Then he shifted over to nudge Arran’s shoulder with his own. “What’s up?”

Arran ran a hand over his hair. “Why would anything be up?”

“You’ve been giving off a very subdued and decidedly un-Arran-like vibe of late.”

He swallowed, avoiding his friend’s gaze. “No, I haven’t.”

“Hmm.”

Arran chanced a glance over at Sam, who was studying him rather intently. “Stop staring at me, dude.”

A smile playing on his lips, Sam shifted his gaze back out over the valley. “Sorry. You’re just so damned handsome, ya know?”

Arran let out a soft laugh.

Sam cleared his throat. “Is this about Liv?”

Arran’s pulse picked up, his mouth awfully dry all of a sudden. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Sam sighed. “Come on, man. I’ve been waiting for you to talk to me about it, but it seems as if I’ll be waiting until we’re ninety and sitting next to each other in our armchairs at the nursing home. So, I’m bringing it up.”

Shit.Why hadn’t he at least anticipated this conversation? If things had gone the way he’d wanted, then it would’ve involved telling Sam at some point. “It’s…kind of complicated. And I didn’t want to upset you.”

Sam met his gaze, raising his eyebrows. “You’re not seriously thinking I’d be pissed off?”

He didn’t know what to say. “Well, yeah. Kind of.”

Sam shook his head. “Fuck, dude. I’m not the sort of guy who doesn’t want his sister to have a love life.”

Arran sucked in a breath. “I know, man. I’m not saying that.”

Sam eyed him. “And if she’s with my best friend, the coolest guy on the planet, then that’s amazing.”

His heart swelled, and for a second Arran wasn’t sure what to say. Sam smiled. “And it might have escaped your notice, but I’m withLiv’sbest friend. So it’d be pretty hypocritical of me to object.”

“Good point,” Arran said, his tension easing a little. “But before you get too excited, I’ve stumbled at the first hurdle. Something happened between us, but now she’s backed off.”

Sam frowned, nodding. “Something happened on Skye?”

“Yeah, just a kiss.” Although it had felt more significant than “just a kiss.” He tried to swallow down the pain in his chest. “How did you know something happened?”

“A feeling. The way you’ve both been acting since.”

Arran snapped his gaze onto Sam, concerned. “She’s been acting different?”

“Yeah. Kind of subdued.” Sam smiled. “Kind of like you. Hence, I took two, added another two, and hey presto. We have a four.”

Arran wondered for a moment why the saying was “put two and two together.” Surely putting one and one together was even simpler. Though not when it came to him and Liv.

He wasn’t sure how much to tell Sam. The little Liv had confessed was in confidence, plus he didn’t want to upset Sam and make him worry about his sister. Especially when he was shouldering a lot of wedding-planning-related stress. Arran knew from experience that though it was a happy time, it was also a full-on one.

Sam pursed his lips. “Weird that she’s backed off. Because I had definite vibes that she fancied you. And when I asked her about it, she didn’t deny it. Plus, Maya intimated that Liv had confided in her about it.”

Arran nodded. He didn’t doubt Liv was attracted to him; he believed her when she’d said she’d wanted to kiss him, and he’d felt it too. Their connection was intense. “I don’t think it’s lack of interest. I’m just…not sure what’s going on with her.” He opted not to say anything further, to protect both Liv’s and Sam’s interests.

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