Page 2 of Desiring the Highland Laird
“I met someone.” She said it as though it were a secret she was afraid to release into the world.
“His name is Bruce?”
“Yes.” She took her by the hand and tugged her down the sidewalk. “We can discuss it on the way to my flat.”
Evie had no choice but to follow her sister, her mind swirling with questions. She was gone less than a year and now she had a flatanda boyfriend?
What had Evie been doing the last few months? Nothing except for throwing herself the biggest pity party on the face ofthe planet. All because she missed her twin with a ferociousness she had never expected to feel.
She blamed it, too, on the fact that Brianna was so far away, and they rarely talked. Having Chloe move over four-thousand-miles away was like having her heart ripped from her chest and stomped on. It was the worst day of her life when she left but she didn’t dare stop her. She couldn’t. Not for selfish reasons. Even though Chloe had asked her what she thought when she was offered the job.
In fact, Evie talked her into taking it. Telling her she would be fine. She could manage on her own.
They had never been separated for so long or been so far apart in their entire lives. They spent every moment together growing up. They shared a room. They leaned heavily on each other when their parents died at fifteen and Brianna, ten years their senior, became their legal guardian. Evie suspected Brianna was angry at having to give up her life to return home and take care of them until they were out of high school.
Then, later, when they were independent and Brianna had returned to her beachy ways, they shared an apartment.
Until Chloe left.
Chloe loaded her small suitcase into the back of a compact car.
“Evie.” There was a terse note in her voice. “You haven’t listened to anything I said.”
Evie realized Chloe was talking nonstop and she hadn’t heard a word.
“I’m sorry,” she said, flushing hot. She hadn’t meant to ignore her. She was lost in thought.
“I know that look.” Chloe motioned to the passenger side.
But Evie hesitated as she stared at the small car. “You can…drive? Here?”
She gave her a bright smile. “Sure.”
But Evie wasn’t so sure. “But it’s on the wrong side of the road, Chlo.”
“The right side if you’re talking to a Scot.” She giggled and motioned to the passenger side again. “Hop in.”
With reluctance, Evie slid into the passenger seat. “I didn’t know you were driving here.”
“Well, with the work visa, I was able to get a driving permit.”
Her sister pulled into traffic on the left side of the road, merging with ease. Evie gripped the door so hard, her fingers ached. Traffic was heavy as they moved down the narrow road, the other side of cars zooming by at an alarming rate. It didn’t seem to bother Chloe.
Evie cut a glance at her sister as she navigated the streets as though she’d been doing it her whole life. She was definitely the prettier of the two of them. It was hard to be jealous of her when she was so damn likeable. She was the popular one in school. The class president. The one voted Most Likely to Succeed. Homecoming queen. Prom queen.
Then, in college, she took her classes seriously. So serious, in fact, she dumped a guy who wanted her to move in with him, get married, and drop out. Chloe was not going to let anyone stand in her way. Chloe wasn’t in love with him. She was in love with her studies and history.
“I missed you, Chlo,” she said finally.
Chloe gave her a sideways glance and smiled. That grin that said everything was going to be all right now that they were back together. “I missed you, too, Eve.”
She clasped her hands in her lap and watched as the city flashed by the window. Chloe sped round a roundabout like she had driven them all her life. Evie gritted her teeth and tried not to cry out with sheer terror as they took the corner on what felt like two wheels. She tried conversation to keep her mind off the road.
“Did you ask Bri to come?”
Her sister stiffened at the mention of their older sibling’s name. Her hands clutched the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned white.
“I didn’t.”
