Nairie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand after biting into her omelet. “How are things at the inn?”
I waved it off. “It’s nothing. Got it taken care of.”
Nairie stared at me and rested her chin on her hand. “You know you can be honest. You don’t have to pretend to have everything handled all the time.”
“It’s handled.”
Nairie rolled her eyes. “You did this all the time when we were younger.”
I was about to ask her what she meant, but when I bit into my omelet, a burst of spicy, delicious flavors exploded in my mouth. “Dear god.”
Nairie looked up and smiled knowingly.
“This is amazing. What is this?” I scooped another serving into my mouth.
“Just spicy sausage and egg.”
I hummed my approval. “Sorry, what were we talking about?”
Nairie laughed, and her head tilted back with the motion, the timber of her voice still raspy and sexy from waking up after a night of drinking. “Tell me what’s going on in your life. I want to know.”
“It’s nothing. Just some upkeep at the inn.”
“Sounded stressful.”
“Running the inn has been a blessing and a curse.”
“How so?”
I didn’t typically vent my frustrations about work or life to anyone. People came to me with problems, and I solved them because that was how it had always been. Even though I wasn’t the eldest brother, I was the most reliable, the most levelheaded, and I always got shit done. Angus, on the other hand, found others to do his dirty work for him and never followed through on his promises.
I especially kept Nairie and Elspeth in the dark about my personal affairs or stress. They were so young, and I wanted to pretend I was just a normal kid when I came to visit. But it was hard keeping to myself around Nairie now. It was her unassuming nature and patience that made it difficult not to divulge every secret. Put this girl in an interrogation room, and criminals would probably admit to every misdeed without even realizing it. She was innocuous in the way she asked things and didn’t even know the power she held with her innocent gaze.
But after these past couple of days and seeing Nairie in a new light, my curiosity was piqued. How would she respond to hearing some of my troubles? How would she handle some of the darker revelations I rarely spoke aloud, even to myself? Would she run away, or would she face it head-on?
“Me and Mum are still learning how to run this business on the fly. We’ve never done it before, and although it’s been successful so far, there are a whole new set of pressures. Like marketing, renovating, guestservices.”
“Do you have a manager?”
“You’re looking at him.”
“You always did take on the world.” She smiled sadly.
“Once we start making a little more money from the inn, I can hire someone else full-time. But after four years, we’re still catching up from all the renovations that apparently will never end. And even though running a farm sounds fun, the animals are constantly getting into trouble. Ginny the pig got lost and found three times in the span of one thirty-minute conversation. And don’t get me started on guest complaints. One room is too hot, the other is too cold, or the decor isn’t rustic enough. Mum also insists on still leading the hiking tour. Her back isn’t what it used to be, but she refuses to let anyone else help her.”
I didn’t mean for this to turn into a full rant, but once I got started, it was hard to stop. I continued for another five minutes as Nairie silently listened, refilling my coffee or plate without losing focus on everything I was saying. It was comforting having her full attention. She didn’t offer solutions or suggest alternative methods for dealing with any issues. She just nodded and let me vent.
Once I was done, Nairie eyed me. “Anything else on your mind?”
I snorted and drank my coffee. I wanted to tell her that seeing her every day had given me a constant hard-on, and all I could think about was our kiss.
“Can’t think of anything else.”
“What are your days like back home?”
I scratched my beard and dug into my secondhelping of food. “Since I got out of SAS, I’ve focused all my attention on the inn. Mum and I even moved on-site to some of the individual cottages separate from where the guests stay just to be closer.”
“Do you have any friends?”
