“You’ll pay for this, dominatrix,” he murmured back, winding his arms around her and hauling her up for a kiss.
Sophia threw her arm around his neck, slanting his head to deepen the kiss.
“Hey! You two!” Victoria yelled and Valentina ended, “Get a room.”
Alistair stopped the kiss and Sophia turned in his arms, grinning, “You’re jealous. Get a boyfriend.”
Gabriela, sat between the twins, sighed rapturously, calling everyone’s attention. “Don’t they look like Beauty and the Beast?” she asked her aunts.
Sophia laughed out loud and Alistair frowned at the little girl and growled, “Who is the Beast, little Fairy?”
An innocent smile lighted Gabriela’s face, “You, of course. Who else?”
Christ! Alistair slapped his hand on his forehead as the twins doubled over with laughter. I deserve that.
Friday, April 16th, 2010.
6.01 a.m.
An incessant low ringing woke Alistair.
Careful not to wake Sophia, he disengaged her from his body, rolled to the edge of the bed and fumbled on the bedside table for the phone. “MacCraig,” he answered quietly.
“Wake up and move your ass, Alistair Connor.”
He looked at the digital clock and frowned, “This better be good, Tavish Uilleam. It’s six in the morning.” He sat up on the bed and rolled his shoulders. Fuck. I’m tired. Too many women to dance with in only one night. He smiled remembering how much fun he’d had with Sophia and the twins at Castel, one of the most exclusive Parisian nightclubs, where a select clientèle of locals and celebrities danced, mingled and spent the night away. They left the club at three o’clock in the morning.
“Are you listening?” Tavish barked through the line.
Alistair raised, shaking his head to whisk away the remains of sleep. “Sorry. I’m still sleeping. What did you say?”
Tavish huffed impatiently on the other side of the line. “Where are you, Alistair Connor? On Mars?”
Alistair stretched and smiled remembering Sophia’s words, “On cloud nine.”
“Jesus Christ, man. Turn on the TV. All the airports are closed and flights have been cancelled. That fucking volcano in Iceland has been spewing out fire and smoke for days and last night it got worse. It’s not safe to fly back in the G6. I sent you Munro an hour ago.”
Alistair scratched his head as he walked to the bathroom, not at all worried. “Really?”
“What happened to you these last few days?” Tavish was taken aback. It was a long time since he’d heard his brother so relaxed and content. “You didn’t even called to check how things are.”
“I’ll tell you later. Call Father and Alice. I’m heading to Airgead and I want everyone there. Inform staff that we are going to celebrate.” He laid the phone on the sink and put it on speaker as he talked with his brother for a few more minutes.
Alistair grinned at his image in the mirror. He had a whole new life in front of him and nothing, not even an erupting volcano hurling its anger at the world, would stop his happiness.
Chapter 29
Scotland, Highlands, Gairloch Bay. Airgead Caisteal.
Friday, April 16th, 2010.
1.42 p.m.
“Welcome back, my dear.” Lachlann kissed both her cheeks and, unable to stop himself, hauled her into his arms and hugged Sophia fiercely. He released her, still keeping her in front of him, and put his big hands on her shoulders. Very seriously, he ordered, “Next time, Alistair Connor does something stupid, you call me. I’ll put him back on track.”
Ah, now I know why Alistair and Tavish are so domineering. She smiled at him, “I promise, Lachlann.”
One by one, Alistair’s relatives greeted Sophia and Gabriela as if they were long time friends. They had all come out to the steps of the fifteenth century castle, with its impressive Palladian and Gothic style, four high towers and cannon balls on display, standing on the shores of Gairloch bay.
Gabriela turned to Lachlann and asked, “Can you take me to the towers?”
“Of course, my dear,” he picked her up in his arms, silently thanking God that she and Sophia were back in their lives. “I’ve arranged lots of fun things for you: we’re going to pick shells on the beach, swim in the loch, walk in the woods and spy on the fairies in the evening, right?”
“Right!” She clapped her hands and kissed him, before turning to Sophia who had tears in her eyes as she watched the scene. “Right, Mama?”
“Right, my angel,” she rasped through her closed up throat, “anything you want.” She breathed and took in the castle again. “I couldn’t have imagined that Airgead would look so modern,” she mentioned to Alice, “it looks like Galewick Hall.”
“That’s because of a fire in the nineteenth century that destroyed a great part of the castle. The seventh duke employed the same architect, adding a third floor, Sophia,” Leonard explained.
“The Airgead estate covers fifty-thousand acres. We are blessed here; there is excellent brown trout and salmon on the spate rivers. And the bay is filled with squat lobsters, crabs, octopus, starfish, and much more,” Tavish complemented. “Some of our shellfish ends up on plates of the best restaurants in London. And we offer some of the finest hill and woodland stalking available in Scotland.”
“It’s a must for anyone who loves nature, Sophia,” concurred Alice. “And the gardens are incredible too. Airgead’s gardens receive over seventy-thousand annual visitors, between April and November.”
Beyond the lush lawns of the estate entrance, bordered by ancient sequoias, there were extensive gardens with an outstanding mixture of red and white rhododendrons and azaleas, beautiful cherry trees, various shrubs and other plants.
“It’s truly amazing,” said Sophia looking around.
“Oh, no. Not this garden,” smiled Alice. “The one at the back, near the loch. That’s really incredible.”
“Come on,” said Alistair taking Gabriela from his father’s arms and snatching Sophia’s arm from Alice’s. “You can continue this chit-chat inside. I’m hungry and I bet this little girl is too.”
“I want to choose the fish I’m going to eat and I want to see the aquarium as you promised,” Gabriela put her arm around Alistair’s neck and her fingers played with his hair. “Aren’t you going to cut your hair?”
“Ah-ah,” Sophia interrupted before he could answer. “Alistair Connor isn’t cutting anything. I like it like this. He looks like a highland prince from centuries past.”
Promoted from warrior to prince. Alistair smiled down at Sophia. It’s getting better.
“Prince Charming with long hair?” Gabriela cocked her head back to look at Alistair while she combed his hair.
Sophia grinned at Alistair and enlaced her fingers in his, “My prince charming.”
“Mm,” Gabriela had pulled his hair into a ponytail and was seriously analyzing his face. “The Beast has a ponytail, so I guess you can have long hair.”
Christ! What’s the problem with these women that they love that ugly beast? “I’m not the beast, wench,” he groaned.
Gabriela smiled unfazed at him, “Can I put a blue ribbon in your hair too?”
Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Nae. “I-”
“Aye, you can.” Lachlann allowed and Tavish laughed from behind as they entered the entrance hall. “He’ll love it, Gabriela.”
Sophia stopped dead in her tracks, craning her neck to be able to see it all. “This is... dramatic.”
The dark Armoury Hall was large and its central ceiling soared up to display the Airgead earldom crest etched on it. Small lights evenly distributed complemented the enormous iron chandelier in the center. On either side were the other crests that belonged to the MacCraig family. Breathtaking displays of arms adorned the walls, with especial attention given to antique Scottish claymores, dirks and sporrans.