Mason says this like it’s meant to be a treat, smiling in his practiced way. The wild-eyed, blood-spattered fighter of last night is gone.
“I’ll pack her off to one of my houses and introduce her to all the female cousins. They’ll keep her busy.”
The memory hurts just as much as when I’d first heard it, huddled in the hallway that night in nothing but his t-shirt.
“Okay,” I look down at my laptop.
He’s watching me with a little frown. “Are you worried about meeting them? I assure you, they’re all very kind. Unless you’re a MacTavish man. Then, their commentary is bound to be harsh.”
Sadly, at any other time I would be thrilled to meet them, to make friends. My only friend in Scotland is Niles at the coffee shop who is thrilled to see me and greets me with a new nickname every time. Yesterday’s was, “Good morning, ye spunky wee sprinkle doughnut!”
But this meeting of the female cousins is simply his next step in sending me away, now that he’s done his ‘duty.’
“Not worried,” I force a smile. “They all seemed very sweet at the reception.”
“Good.” He drops a kiss on the top of my head and I stifle a cringe. “They’ll be here to pick you up in an hour.”
I have just enough time for a shower and a valiant attempt at controlling my hair before I get dressed. Eyeing my skirt, I hold up a pair of shapewear to go with it. They’re tight and always dig into my waist, but my ass and hips have done nothing but increase in size since I moved here. I’m going to have to start running again. Mason has a gym on the third level of the house but I’ve never liked them. If I must sweat and wheeze, I want to be breathing in fresh air while I do it.
Scrunching into the shapewear and the skirt, I smooth it over my stomach. They’re probably all size twos, what did my friend Jessie used to call the bony ones? Oh, Almond Moms, “Because that’s all they consume to survive, six freaking almonds!”
“Stop it,” I lecture my reflection. “Curves are just as beautiful as skinny. I’m healthy. I don’t have to be a size two.”
“Where is my sister-in-law?”
It must be one of the twins. She’s loud, with a voice that carries and a Scottish accent thick enough to cut with a knife.
“She’s getting ready, Edin.” Mason’s tone speaks of long-suffering patience. “Let’s not charge up the stairs and drag her out of her room.”
A pause. “Wait,herroom?” This is a new voice and decisively gleeful about this bit of news. This isn’t something I want to be trapped into discussing at lunch, so I hurry downstairs to end that line of questioning.
“There you are, darling.” Mason manufactures a smile for me, but I can tell he’s not enjoying the cluster of women currently taking over the hallway. His hand settles on the small of my back, and it’s oddly reassuring, so I don’t step away. “Let me introduce you.”
“My sisters Edin and Eilidh.” They look so alike that I’m guessing they’re identical twins, though they’ve definitely chosen a different style. Edin’s silver-blonde hair is up in a high ponytail, and she’s wearing a dark blue suit. Eilidh is sporting a black tank top and an enormous pair of JNCO jeans.
“Nice to see you again.” I smile, trying to scrape together some confidence. They’re smiling at me, genuine smiles, not manufactured ones like their brother’s.
“This is Luna,” he continues. “She’s married to my cousin Kai, she’s an American, too.”
“We’re neighbors,” Luna says, smiling sweetly. “We’re directly across the green from you.”
“And I’m Arabella, then.” This cousin has huge brown eyes and her speech is very precise. “Logan and I have the house next to Luna’s.”
“It’s so nice to meet you all,” I say, clutching my purse. “And how lucky to have the kind of neighbors who I know will not be alarmed by anything.” Mason’s fingers are gently moving up and down my spine and it’s getting harder to concentrate.
They all laugh as expected at my weak little joke and Edin links her arm through mine. “Let’s get out of here. We’re taking ye to a grand wee place, it’s the back garden area of a chef’s house and he creates something new each day…”
I look over my shoulder at Mason and he nods with a practiced smile meant to be reassuring. “I’ll see you after lunch, darling.”
***
We make quite the procession, three Range Rovers with blacked-out windows, bristling with our bodyguards, outnumbering the five of us. Talon must see my anxiety because he loosens up enough to give me a brief pat on my shoulder before packing me in with Arabella and Luna, while Edin and Eilidh take the next car.
“I’m so happy!” Luna says, bouncing a little as she looks out the window. “This is my first big outing since having Skye. I might be chatty because I’m freaking out a little. Did I leave enough breast milk? She’s only six weeks, maybe it’s too soon and I-”
She’s sitting across from Arabella and me, and I note that Luna’s careful to face her when she talks. “Ye are turning into a mess,” Arabella says. “Remember when ye dragged me out of the house, kicking and screaming two months after Brodie was born? And this is your third baby! Am I going to act like this when I get pregnant again?”
“Three?” I angle a bit in the seat so I’m facing them both. “How long have you and… Kai, right? How long have you been married?”
