Breaking Rules: The Scottish Billionaire Book 2 by Parker M. S

Author:Parker, M. S.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Belmonte Publishing, LLC
Published: 2020-05-23T16:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Lumen

Something had been off with Alec since we’d gotten to the restaurant. He wasn’t being rude or anything, but he seemed annoyed for some reason. Not so much that Mai or Hob noticed, but either he was getting worse at hiding what he felt, or I was getting better at reading him. Maybe a little of both.

The food and service were excellent. I only had a single glass of wine, but that had more to do with my lack of fondness for wine than it did about the quality. At least, I assumed it did. The others didn’t complain about it, anyway.

Mai was brilliant, and once I admitted that to her, I was going to owe her big time. She asked questions, told stories, basically filled the silence when it threatened to become awkward. Instead of focusing on things she wanted to know about Alec, she talked about her own life, posed questions to Hob and me, tried to keep the conversation all inclusive. It seemed to be working too.

“I told them to be careful, but no one listens to the resident,” Hob continued his story. “So they pick this kid up and, just like I warned, he vomits all over them.”

“Really, Hob? That’s the story you decide to tell at dinner?” Mai smacked his arm. “You couldn’t talk about the boy who got the pencil eraser stuck in his nose?”

“His vomit had glitter in it!” Hob said with a laugh. “Come on, that’s hilarious!”

“You and I have very different ideas of what’s funny,” I said, shaking my head.

“Like your stories are any better,” Hob countered. “I still cringe when you two bring up that guy who refused to use a towel.”

“Not as much as we cringed,” Mai said. “Trust me, that was not a pretty sight to be walking in on.”

“Thanks for sharing that experience with me,” I said dryly. “It was once in a lifetime.”

“What about you, Alec?” Mai asked. “Or is the business world not as entertaining?”

He gave Mai a half-smile. “I’m afraid I don’t have many fun days at work. Mostly spreadsheets and talking to the board.”

“I’ll bet your daughter’s a trip, right?” Mai said. “Lumen says she’s a precocious one.”

And just like that, he really smiled, one of those big smiles that made my insides go all warm and gooey. I loved seeing that expression on his face. That was a special one, just for Evanne. No matter how closed-off he could be with his emotions, he never closed himself off from her. He was a good man, but a great father, even if he didn’t always think so.

“She is a canty one,” he said, his accent thickening. “Full of laughter and a wee bit of mischief.”

“Lumen, will you loan him to me,” Mai said suddenly. “I just want him to read things in that accent. I promise I’ll give him back.”

We laughed, Alec included, but something in his eyes made me doubt that his heart was really in that humor. I needed to get him back to talking about Evanne.

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