Page 111 of The Highlander's Kilted Bride
“Yes, my grandfather told him just that, in slightly more colorful terms.”
She smiled. “I would have liked to have heard that.”
“Especially when your mother began yelling at them,” he wryly replied.
She winced. “If Mamma’s yelling, matters are getting out of hand.”
“So we need to find that damned brooch before your entire family comes apart at the seams or someone really gets hurt. Which brings us to Johnny. How did you get on with him?”
She waggled a hand. “As I suspected, he’s lost a considerable sum playing cards.”
“Most of which he owes to Morgan, I assume.”
“Yes, although I’m to mind my own business, Johnny insists. It’s a matter of honor, you see.”
Kade’s mouth turned down with disgust. “There’s nothing honorable in a genuine rogue taking advantage of a boy like Johnny.”
“Johnny thinks he’s man enough to handle the situation on his own, unfortunately. He also rejected the suggestion that his fall was anything but an accident.”
“Hmm.”
Kade stretched an arm along the top of the bench, brushing her shoulders. He was probably just settling in for a chat, but Charlie had to resist the overwhelming temptation to snuggle against him. This was a serious discussion and not the time for mooning over the man of her dreams—or climbing into his lap and making mad, passionate love to him.
“Did you ask him about the brooch?” he asked.
“Yes. Point-blank. And he denied it, which I expected. Johnny is frightened.”
“Of Morgan.”
“Yes, but of my father finding out, too.”
“Your father won’t shove him off an embankment,” Kade dryly commented.
She grimaced. “I know, but no one will believe that Sir Leslie would hurt Johnny. And I’m not sure it was even done deliberately. Perhaps it was a shove done in the heat of the moment, and Sir Leslie didn’t intend for him to take such a tumble.”
Kade shook his head. “I’m fairly certain it was deliberate.”
Charlie frowned. “Why?”
“I know the type. He’s a bad actor, and he’s obviously desperate for the money. That’s why he’s thrown his hat in the ring to find the brooch.”
“How flattering,” she wryly said.
Kade looked sideways at her. “Och, lass. You know what I mean.”
“Yes. I know I’m not the main attraction in this absurd mess.”
He turned toward her, and a hand drifted down to settle on her shoulder. She was now all but cradled against his chest, without having had to do a thing.
“I beg to differ, Miss Charlotte,” he murmured.
Though they were in deep shadow, she could see the glimmer of heat in his gaze and his seductive smile.
She had to swallow twice before she could answer. “In what way?”
“To me, you are the only attraction. Not your dowry, and certainly not your bloody brooch.”
She rested a gentle hand on his cheek. “That’s nice of you to say. So, what are you going to do about it?”
