Lachlan’s lips twitched. “Trust me, I have better planned.”
Brows furrowed, I eyeballed my delicious club. “Nothing’s better than a Morag sandwich.”
Mac chortled while Lachlan gave a beleaguered sigh. “Sandwich. Mac. You. With me.”
Huffing under my breath, I stood and handed over the rest of my lunch to my dad who took it eagerly, eyes filled with humor at my less than happy expression.
“This better be good.”
“I can kill him for you if it isn’t,” Mac teased.
“No need. I’ll do it myself.” I glared pointedly at Lachlan as I crossed the small room toward him.
“It’s a sandwich.”
“It’s food. You should know by now not to mess with my food.”
Lachlan grinned. “I have more food planned where we’re going.”
I looked back at Mac. “Shouldn’t he have led with that?”
He laughed. “Enjoy yourselves.”
Despite my teasing, I was not only delighted Lachlan sought me out during the day, I was happy to see he and Mac were a little more comfortable around each other. “What does Mac know that I don’t know?” I asked, striding down the castle hallway at Lachlan’s side.
“I’m taking the day off.”
“Okay?” And at no forthcoming details, I added, “Is that it?”
He smiled mysteriously and placed a hand on my lower back to guide me out into the main reception. Two members on the sofas near the fireplace were glued to a newspaper and an e-reader, respectively. One looked up, and Lachlan murmured a good-afternoon to him. The other kept reading her newspaper.
Outside the main entrance, I stopped at the sight of the black Range Rover already pulled up.
“Get in.” Lachlan opened the front passenger door for me.
Shooting him a narrowed look that amused him, for once I didn’t argue and hopped into the SUV.
Glancing into the back of the vehicle, I noted the box with my new drone, my camera bag, and supplies. Next to them was a large picnic hamper.
“What’s going on?” I waved a hand over my shoulder at the things he’d obviously procured from my bedroom.
Lachlan pulled on his seat belt and started the engine. “You wanted to take the drone out, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I know the perfect place. It’s a ninety-minute drive on mostly single-track roads through stunning scenery. Thought we could stop halfway, eat, you can take photos, and then we’ll set up the drone near where I have in mind.”
I felt a little fizzle in my stomach. Was this … a date? Pulse beating a little faster, I tried to sound unfazed as I asked, “Are you going to tell me the destination?”
“It’s a bridge.”
I frowned. “A bridge?”
“A sweeping curve of a bridge in a picturesque location. The scenery is beautiful, but you’ll need aerial shots to get the true impact of it. I thought if we left a little later, you could get some shots in the daylight and then some during sunset.”
His thoughtfulness was a total turn-on. It was also a little overwhelming. But Lachlan was acting so casual about the whole thing, I knew I’d ruin it if I made it a bigger deal than he obviously thought it was. “Sounds good.”
He threw me a smile as we drove through the woods toward the security gates. “We could both use a day off the estate. Away from everything. And for once, the sun is shining.”
I returned his smile. “True.”
“You had an affair with Bridget Mendez?” I gaped at Lachlan as he drove with relaxed confidence down single-track roads. As much as I was in awe of the scenic drive, our conversation about past relationships was distracting to say the least.
He grinned like a schoolboy. “I did.”
I stared out the windshield, processing. Bridget Mendez was in her sixties now. At the height of her film career, she was an ’80s pinup star. Not much of an actress, but iconic and considered one of the most beautiful women in the world.
“What age were you?”
“Twenty-three.” He shrugged. “She likes them young.”
“You’re lying,” I said, not believing he was lying for a minute.
Lachlan threw me a wounded look. “I would never.”
It occurred to me that he had shared secrets the tabloids would have a field day over. He trusted me. The thought made me smile. “You couldn’t tell anyone, could you?”
“Mac knew. I’ve told Thane.” He grinned. “And now you.”
“Well, I can’t beat that.” I waved at him. “Bridget Goddamn Mendez.”
“What do you mean you can’t beat that? You’re sleeping with me.”
I laughed uproariously at his cockiness. “You’re gorgeous, but you’re not a living legend.”
“Hey, to some people, I am.”
We chuckled together, and I shook my head. “You’ve had the weirdest life.”
I felt him contemplate me a second before turning his attention back to the road.
“What?”
He gave me another considering look. “It doesn’t bother you?”
“What doesn’t bother me?”
“Me. Talking about the women I’ve slept with?”
I’d never been the jealous type. “You’re not sleeping with them now, are you?”
“Of course not. I can barely keep up with you.”
“See, that’s what happens when you have sex with a woman ten years younger than you,” I teased.
“I’ve had sex with younger women,” he muttered, eyes flicking down my body before moving back to the road. “Age has nothing to do with it.”
“Oh, and what has?”
“You.” He slowed, hitting his turn signal to pull into a tiny parking spot off the road at a gate. Lachlan unclipped his seat belt, eyes hot. “You’re wild.”
I liked that description. “I do have stamina.”
“That you do,” he murmured thickly, attention on my mouth. Then he wrenched his gaze away and cleared his throat. “Wait here.”
Wondering at his abruptness, I shook my head and watched as he got out of the SUV and opened the gate. When he returned, we drove down the single track where a couple of white cottages were situated beneath the shadow of a hill, or beinn, as they were called here. That’s when I became aware of our surroundings. “Oh wow.”
The cottages sat on the banks of a beautiful river. We were clustered in the valley of gently sloping, patchwork hills. The sun glinted off the placid river that cut through the valley like a stream of mirror, reflecting the greens of the trees and the gunmetal-tinged clouds in the blue sky above.
Following Lachlan out of the Range Rover, I noted he grabbed my camera gear and the picnic basket. “Where are we?”
“On the River Oykel.”
“Are we trespassing?” I gestured to the cottages as Lachlan led me down a small slope near the river’s edge where a fence of wood and chicken wire halted us.
“They’ll move us if we are,” he said, unconcerned. He carefully dropped the basket and my gear over the fence before climbing it with ease. Those long legs of his.