The Highlander's Hope - A Contemporary Highland Romance Read Online Free Page A

suspect she was onto something and was hoping he could figure out enough to beat her to the punch. 
    “ My dear, your recollection of events seems to be different from what actually happened.”  His smug smile only angered her further.
    People were starting to stare— and it probably didn’t help that she looked intent on committing murder.
    “You keep telling yourself that, but people are starting to see past your lies.  Before long, you’ll only have the undergrads to con and seduce into your bed.”
    H e leaned towards her, closing the distance between them so he was infuriatingly close.  “It was a bed you were more than happy to share with me, my dear.  Or have you forgotten all those lovely nights together?”
    Her skin crawled at the memory.  She had been stupid and naïve, but she was seldom a fool twice. “Why are you here? Or are you going to try and tell me it’s just a coincidence that you’ve shown up in the same town I’m in—the same hotel—when you’re a day’s drive from home.” 
    “ I cannot help where my research takes me.  Perhaps it is you who’s following me?  Why are you here?”  He perked an eyebrow in question, making her want to wring his neck. 
    In her desperation to throw him off her track, the words were out of her mouth before she’d thought them through.  “I’m here to visit my boyfriend, if you really must know. So don’t waste your time, James.  Go. Home.”
    She pulled herself upright, scoffed, and then walked away without another glance.  By the time she got outside, her heart was pounding a deafening beat, and her body was shaking. 
    How the hell had he tracked her to Dunmuir?  The only ones she’d told were the MacCraighs, since she was meeting with them, and Tansy, who’d nearly murdered James herself when that nastiness went down with her previous research project.  He must have followed her when she first came up.  Damn it!
    And now that he’d caught whiff of a find?  She’d never get rid of him—unless he actually believed she was here on a romantic getaway.  What had come over her, she didn’t know, but with luck, he might actually believe her and go back to Cambridge.  In the meantime, she’d channel her anger into finding the necklace.
    Before he got the chance to follow her to Iain’s, she got in her car and headed off, going for a bit of a drive first to make sure he hadn’t caught up to her.  She’d need to find another place to stay too, though that would have to wait until after her meeting with Iain. It’d be impossible to avoid James if they were staying in the same inn.  Problem was, in a place as small as Dunmuir and with the closest city nearly two hours away, she might be hard pressed to find a different place.  Perhaps she could grab a room at a bed and breakfast, though she suspected many of them might not be available in the off season. 
    When she pulled down the drive to the MacCraigh castle—for what else could it really be called—she found Iain hanging around outside with Duncan, the two of them playing fetch.  She pulled up next to his car and got out as Duncan rushed to her side in a full body wiggle.  She gave his head a good scratch before turning to Iain, whose attention was elsewhere.
    He tilted his head in the direction of her small spare tire.  “Ye shoul dn’t be driving around on that thing.  Ye’ll only end up breaking down again.”
    “Yeah, I’ve got to get it fixed.  Any place you’d recommend where they might be able to get it done quickly?” 
    Iain shrugged.  “Guess that’d depend on whether he’s got yer size tire in stock. If he has to order it, it could take a few days.”
    “I’ll have to take my chances on the spare then.  I have no other way of getting here.”
    “If that’s all, I could always come and ge t ye.”  As if that settled the matter, he moved onto the next topic of conversation.  “I went through some of our books last night—the old ones.