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“Gladly!”

I look up with surprise to see Emily leaning against the doorframe seductively. She’s straightened her hair and is in a fitted dove-grey dress. My gaze follows her legs down to her black stilettos.

“Jesus!” I like the more relaxed style she’s adopted since coming to Bannock, but this . . . this is good too.

Emily smiles and glances down at herself. “Lewis asked me to help out again today. I brought this outfit with me but haven’t had a chance to wear it, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. It’s good to look professional, right?”

“Professional? Er . . . aye. Right.”

Emily is a very welcome distraction, and her outfit is delightfully enticing. But when, out of the corner of my eye, I spot the transaction history on my laptop screen, the panic returns.

Emily’s sultry expression vanishes. “Shit. Is everything okay, Ally?” She pulls over a chair and sits beside me, squeezing my arm.

“I think . . . I think this isn’t the right time to start the business with Aidan. And maybe it’s not the right time for all these hotel improvements either. Cat is still a student! Maybe . . . maybe we should be holding off on this stuff for one more year, until she’s self-reliant. That makes more sense, right? I mean, what if we end up getting into really bad debt? We could lose the hotel! This place is more than just a business—it’s the family home. I can’t—”

My breaths come quicker and quicker. I think I might be hyperventilating.

“Shh, shh.” Emily wraps me in her arms.

Despite my anxiety, it feels nice to be held like this. I let my head rest against hers and count my breaths, allowing some of the panic to ebb away.

Keeping an arm around me, Emily plays with the buttons of my shirt. “For such a big, powerful Scot, you worry an awful lot.”

“Er . . .” I don’t know how to reply to that.

She laughs. “It wasn’t an insult! It’s sweet. You care about your brothers and your sister—that’s why you worry. But listen to me: there will always be a reason not to do this. Right now, you’re saying it’s because Cat is still a student, but trust me, next year, you’ll think up some other reason to put everything off.

“Elspeth believes in your and Aidan’s business, as does Craig at the Glen Garve Resort, and as do I. Do you know why we all believe in it? Because it’s a great idea. And as for the hotel renovations, while Lewis has thrown in some ideas of his own, to some extent, it’s a case of finishing a plan your parents came up with and that they started. The function room was their idea—and again, it was a good idea.

“Don’t let your fears hold you back from being happy in life. Yes, there’s always a risk. Things could go wrong—something might happen that you’re not expecting. But do you know what is certain? If you don’t at least give it a shot, you’re never going to get what you want. Do you want to spend your life working long hours in here, in this place that doesn’t make you happy, thinking, What if . . . ? Wouldn’t it be better to take a chance—a chance at happiness?”

Shit, she always knows what to say. My breathing slows, my heart rate calming.

Emily glances at the open office door then stands, pushes it closed, and locks it. Coming back, she disregards her own chair and instead takes a hold of her dress, shimmying her hips from side to side as she draws the material up. Then, lifting a leg over me, she straddles my lap. A grin tugs at my mouth, but Emily places a finger to my lips.

“Shh, there’s something I need to say. I want you to stop letting your emotions get the best of you. If ever you’re struggling, come see me. I’ll help you calm down.”

Nodding, I glance down at her legs on either side of me then look back up at her. “Aye. And, er . . . how will you help me calm down?”

“Well . . .” Smiling, she plants a wee kiss on my lips and gently rocks back and forth over my crotch.

Fuck! Beneath her dress, it’s only her panties that separate her from me.

She pulls me into a deeper kiss, the sweet scent of her perfume intoxicating. As our tongues explore each other, I run my hands up her smooth legs and grip her arse, squeezing it. She squeals.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I say in a low voice. “How are you going to help me calm down?”

Emily bites her lip and runs her hands over my stubble. “There’s this great way of de-stressing that humans have been using for . . . well, as long as there have been humans.”

“Oh?” I tighten my grip on her arse and press her more firmly against me. “Tell me more.”

Her smile widens, and she wiggles her hips from side to side, eliciting a moan from me.

“Well . . . there’s a certain part of the male anatomy that fits into the female anatomy.”

“Aye? Is this the part you’re talking about?” With my hands still on her arse, I rub her up and down my hard length.

She gasps. “That’s . . . correct. And . . .” She stops, sniggering. “Oh, hell, I don’t know where I’m going with all this ‘anatomy’ stuff. Can we just get our clothes off now?”