business partnership motive. “A while.”
“It appears that we have a lot in common.”
“Yes.” Desire snapped between them like the brisk hilltop wind.
Thoughts of kissing her crowded his mind and made it hard to stay focused on
Dougal’s antics. Would it be so wrong if they made love tonight? The attraction
was obviously mutual. They’d known each other more than twenty-four hours and
had already spent one night under the same roof.
“Why are you laughing?” Her eyes sparkled and her hair whipped
around her riding helmet.
“I don’t know. I must be drunk on fresh air.” He did feel
giddy, possibilities swirling in his mind. Could he have found the right woman
to marry? Of course he didn’t love her or anything dramatic like that. He was
far too sensible to let his emotions run amok. You didn’t own a
two-billion-dollar business if you let anything rule you other than a cool head.
But his calculating mind was spitting out projections that made time with Fiona
look like a very promising investment.
“Me, too.” A drizzle of rain had joined the stiff wind and
glossed her cheeks. Most women he knew would be squinting against it and
worrying about their hairdo. Fiona tipped back her head and let the mist kiss
her skin.
He had every intention of kissing her himself, as soon as
possible. “We’d better go back. I think Dougal has had enough excitement for one
morning.”
“Of course. I’m dying to see more of the castle now that I’ve
had a good night’s sleep and my brain is functioning again. I barely even
remember what happened yesterday.”
He wanted to laugh again. That kiss was so fresh in his mind he
could almost taste it. Was she trying to claim she was so addled by travel and
lack of sleep that it had happened by accident? Strangely, that fueled his
desire to seduce her all over again. He could rarely resist a challenge. “I wish
I could race you back.”
“I’d win.” Confidence shone in her face, brighter than her
wind-slapped pink cheeks.
“I know these horses a lot better than you. Maybe I
deliberately gave you the slower one.”
“I’m sure you did, but I’d win anyway.”
“How?” Dougal started dancing under him, probably sensing his
fierce desire to take her up on the challenge right this minute.
“Sheer determination. It will get you almost anything if you
have enough of it.”
He laughed. “We’ll have to put that to the test.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
So was he. She might think she could beat him, but that was
only because he’d given her room to make that mistake. No one ever got the best
of James Drummond unless he wanted them to for some strategic purpose of his
own. If she beat him it was because he’d let her, for reasons she might never
guess.
What would she think if she knew that he was planning their
wedding? A grand affair in the old chapel on the estate, with guests flown in
from all over the world. Then an ostentatious party in Singapore to woo future
business partners and impress them with his new “family man” status. He’d plan
and execute the entire affair like the rollout of a new business. Fiona Lam
would have no idea what hit her.
* * *
The exhilarating morning ride left Fiona buzzing with
excitement. She couldn’t wait to do it again. Sadness sneaked in around the
edges of her pleasure, since this adventure—like her mini-affair with
James—would be short-lived. For a few brief seconds, astride her powerful and
generous horse, she’d allowed herself to imagine what it would feel like if this
was her real life. Her imagination had gone galloping off with her, and she’d
had to reel it harshly back in. She was hardly cut out to be lady of a Scottish
manor, and the locals would no doubt be appalled that a girl with no pedigree
whatsoever had usurped their laird.
She wanted to laugh. She was planning to usurp their laird. No
one here would ever even know about it, though. She’d get that factory back and
disappear
“It appears that we have a lot in common.”
“Yes.” Desire snapped between them like the brisk hilltop wind.
Thoughts of kissing her crowded his mind and made it hard to stay focused on
Dougal’s antics. Would it be so wrong if they made love tonight? The attraction
was obviously mutual. They’d known each other more than twenty-four hours and
had already spent one night under the same roof.
“Why are you laughing?” Her eyes sparkled and her hair whipped
around her riding helmet.
“I don’t know. I must be drunk on fresh air.” He did feel
giddy, possibilities swirling in his mind. Could he have found the right woman
to marry? Of course he didn’t love her or anything dramatic like that. He was
far too sensible to let his emotions run amok. You didn’t own a
two-billion-dollar business if you let anything rule you other than a cool head.
But his calculating mind was spitting out projections that made time with Fiona
look like a very promising investment.
“Me, too.” A drizzle of rain had joined the stiff wind and
glossed her cheeks. Most women he knew would be squinting against it and
worrying about their hairdo. Fiona tipped back her head and let the mist kiss
her skin.
He had every intention of kissing her himself, as soon as
possible. “We’d better go back. I think Dougal has had enough excitement for one
morning.”
“Of course. I’m dying to see more of the castle now that I’ve
had a good night’s sleep and my brain is functioning again. I barely even
remember what happened yesterday.”
He wanted to laugh again. That kiss was so fresh in his mind he
could almost taste it. Was she trying to claim she was so addled by travel and
lack of sleep that it had happened by accident? Strangely, that fueled his
desire to seduce her all over again. He could rarely resist a challenge. “I wish
I could race you back.”
“I’d win.” Confidence shone in her face, brighter than her
wind-slapped pink cheeks.
“I know these horses a lot better than you. Maybe I
deliberately gave you the slower one.”
“I’m sure you did, but I’d win anyway.”
“How?” Dougal started dancing under him, probably sensing his
fierce desire to take her up on the challenge right this minute.
“Sheer determination. It will get you almost anything if you
have enough of it.”
He laughed. “We’ll have to put that to the test.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
So was he. She might think she could beat him, but that was
only because he’d given her room to make that mistake. No one ever got the best
of James Drummond unless he wanted them to for some strategic purpose of his
own. If she beat him it was because he’d let her, for reasons she might never
guess.
What would she think if she knew that he was planning their
wedding? A grand affair in the old chapel on the estate, with guests flown in
from all over the world. Then an ostentatious party in Singapore to woo future
business partners and impress them with his new “family man” status. He’d plan
and execute the entire affair like the rollout of a new business. Fiona Lam
would have no idea what hit her.
* * *
The exhilarating morning ride left Fiona buzzing with
excitement. She couldn’t wait to do it again. Sadness sneaked in around the
edges of her pleasure, since this adventure—like her mini-affair with
James—would be short-lived. For a few brief seconds, astride her powerful and
generous horse, she’d allowed herself to imagine what it would feel like if this
was her real life. Her imagination had gone galloping off with her, and she’d
had to reel it harshly back in. She was hardly cut out to be lady of a Scottish
manor, and the locals would no doubt be appalled that a girl with no pedigree
whatsoever had usurped their laird.
She wanted to laugh. She was planning to usurp their laird. No
one here would ever even know about it, though. She’d get that factory back and
disappear
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