“No.” I laughed. She was a nice old lady, but she really didn’t give one opportunity to say anything. “I work for Mr. McAllister. He’s my boss.”
“He’s your boss? Oh, must be nice to have a hunky boss like him.” She laughed. “I mean, he’s my great-nephew, of course, but doesn’t mean he’s not handsome. He looks just like his grandfather, my sister’s husband. Very, very handsome man he was. The bluest eyes you ever did see, yeah. Such handsome man. Yeah, I bet you must be in love with him. What do they say? Secretaries always fall for the bosses, don’t they?”
“Um …” I could feel my face going red because it was true. I was falling for him.
“Don’t tease poor Abby, Auntie Barbara,” Dylan said with a smile. “Abby, would you like anything?
“Maybe some tea and a scone as well.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll be back.”
He walked away and then I turned back to Barbara, who was peering intently at me. A warm smile crossed her face.
“I see how you look at him. You love him, don’t you?”
“No, no. No, I don’t love him. I barely know him, I just started working for him recently.”
“It’s okay. It’s just the two of us now. I recognize love when I see it. And he’s going to need someone like you to help him.”
“What do you mean?” I said, softly.
“Well, he had a hard life, didn’t he? I mean, I know he’s successful now, but he’s had a hard life.”
“You knew he had a hard life?”
“We didn’t really know what became of him, you know? I didn’t know him. His grandma didn’t know. They tried to find him, but he got lost in the system in the States, and well, over here in Scotland, we’ve got no say in the States, you know? His mother, she loved him, though. She really, really loved him. It was such a sad story. But I guess I shouldn’t say anything until he gets back.”
“I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that his mother loved him,” I said.
“I think so.” She nodded. “He’s a handsome boy, isn’t he? But you can see the pain in his eyes. Oh, the McAllisters. We’ve had such a hard life. Generation after generation, something always happens. I hope he’s able to break the curse.”
“The curse?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I don’t like to say a curse. It’s not like a witch came and cursed the family or anything, but it’s been a lot, you know?”
“I don’t understand. If you’re married to … If you’re the sister of his grandma, how are you both McAllisters?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you that. My husband was brothers with her husband. We married two brothers. Two sisters and two brothers.” She laughed. “I guess it’s not just you people in America that have crazy stories.”
“I guess not.” I smiled at her.
“You’re a bonnie lass.” She nodded. “I’m happy he’s got you. Even if you’re only a secretary, I can tell you got a good heart, and well, he’s going to need to have a strong person by his side when I tell him the story I got to tell him.”
My smile faded. “Is it that bad?”
“I don’t know. Depends if you have a bleeding heart, my dear.” She sighed. “I wish I didn’t have to be the one to tell him, but he found me, and I suppose I owe it to him.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “No matter how hard, I think he needs the truth. I think he’s been carrying this for a long time.”
As the words came out of my mouth, I knew that they were true. Even though I barely knew him, I knew that this was something Dylan needed to have resolved. I was happy that I was here to share it with him. I only hoped that if he needed someone’s shoulder to cry on, that he would cry on mine.
Even though I didn’t know what was going to happen between us, I wanted to be there for him, no matter what.
Chapter 35
Dylan
* * *
Barbara and Abby were sitting at the table talking about something that apparently had them both intently engaged.
I wondered if bringing Abby with me was a mistake. This was a deeply personal situation, and I wasn’t really sure why I had invited her. I hadn’t even really thought about it, yet now that we were here, I didn’t feel ready to share something like this with her. If anyone should be here with me, it was Kent. Not Abby.
But part of me was glad that she was here with me, though I couldn’t have said exactly why. It wasn’t like she knew me deep down or that I even wanted her to. We’d been intimate, but both of us knew that was just sex. And yes, it had been amazing sex, and yes, I wanted to do it over and over again, but it was nothing more than that. Just because I couldn’t get the vision of her brown eyes from my mind, just because every woman with dark curly hair made my heart skip for a few seconds until I realized that it wasn’t her—it didn’t mean anything. Not a thing.
Abby Waldron was my secretary, and she was fun. She was a good time. She was someone that I liked, respected, and lusted for. She was someone that …
I suddenly realized that I was focused more on Abby than on Barbara. Abby was occupying my every last thought these days, but Barbara was the reason I was here. I’d flown to Scotland for her, not for the business meeting.
I couldn’t have cared less about the meeting; we could have done it over the phone or via Zoom. The real reason I’d come was to find out more about my family, my birth mother in particular.
It was hard going through the foster system. It was hard not knowing where I came from or who my people were. All I’d had to go on was our names, Dylan and Kent McAllister.
Our names were the only thing we had of her.
When I’d been in college, a girl had asked me if I was Scottish. I’d looked at her in confusion. “Do I sound Scottish?” I’d said.
“No.” She laughed. “But your last name, I’m guessing your people are Scottish?”
A million different thoughts had passed through my brain. Scottish. My ancestry was Scottish, perhaps. It was then that the idea had crossed my mind to hire a private detective to try and find out more information about my heritage. But I’d been poor then, and even a DNA test had been out of my reach. Now, though, now I had money and time, and what I would find out couldn’t hurt me.
My heart was made of steel and I liked it that way. Nothing could affect me. Nothing could hurt me. Nothing could keep me up at night. I lived the life I wanted, and emotions didn’t get the better of me. I didn’t understand why everyone didn’t live like that.
So many people made decisions based on emotions—discomfort, pain, jealousy, envy. Not me. I made the best, most calculated, decisions for my business, and look where it’d gotten me. It’d gotten me to millions, billions of dollars. That was all that mattered.
I paid for the drinks and the scone for Barbara, took the tray back to the table, and sat down.
“Not talking about me, I hope.” I gave my Aunt Barbara my most charming smile.
She beamed back at me. My great-aunt. Aside from Kent, I’d never expected to see a member of my family in real life. I’d hardly even considered the possibility. I don’t know why. My parents must have had relatives. I’d just figured that no one in their families wanted us, or someone would have taken us in. So why should I want them?