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“Maybe, but we’ll get it checked out, to be safe. As the one who found you and carried you here, I feel a certain responsibility to ensure you’re taken care of.”
“You can’t . . . kidnap me!” I spot Johnny’s cottage on the other side of the river and point to it. “Take me there! If I need to go to hospital, my brother can drive me.”
No sooner do I suggest this than I remember the celebratory whiskies Johnny poured. David won’t be able to get behind the wheel, and even if he could, Mum would insist on coming along, and I can’t think of anything worse. If the doctor wants to do an X-ray, they’ll ask me if I could be pregnant. What would I say? I could make Mum stay in the waiting room, but she always knows when something is up, and she’s an expert at sniffing out information. She’d find out somehow.
“On second thoughts, let’s go to the hotel. I want to see Emily, and Ally can drive me to the hospital if I need to go.”
Emily never learnt to drive, but I’m sure she’d keep me company in the car. Yes, that’d be infinitely better than going with Aidan.
“Grace, it’s honestly no bother. I’m quite happy to—”
“Nope! Thanks, Aidan, but take me to the hotel, please.”
He glances down at me, and a smile plays on his lips. “You’ve got a funny way about you, you know that? It’s cute.”
I’ve got a funny way about me? What does that mean?
“Please don’t tell me I’m cute. And are you going to take me to the hotel or not?”
“Aye, I am. And I didn’t say you were cute—I meant your manner is cute.”
Thankfully, before too much longer, we reach our destination, a charming old building with eight guest bedrooms over three floors, plus a few extra rooms for the McIntyre family. It also has a small restaurant, a tiny bar area called the snug, and a function room. It was in the function room that the engagement party took place, and it was in one of the bedrooms that Aidan and I—
Yeah, I’m not going to think about that right now.
Aidan carries me into reception, which is empty. There’s no one behind the desk.
“Hello?” he calls. “Anyone about?”
After a brief pause, Lewis McIntyre appears from the restaurant. The elder of Ally’s two younger brothers, he’s the new manager. He has the same chestnut hair and tall, strong figure as the eldest McIntyre, but while Ally has a certain ruggedness to his features, Lewis has almost model good looks. He’s dressed smartly in a shirt and trousers.
He takes in the sight of me in Aidan’s arms and raises his eyebrows. “Er . . . Grace? I didn’t realise you were visiting.”
“Where’s Emily?” I demand.
Lewis’s expression suggests there are a number of questions he’d like to ask, but he replies, “Upstairs, in her and Ally’s room.”
“Let’s go!” I command Aidan.
He heads for the stairs.
“Whoa!” Lewis holds up his hands to stop us. “Er . . . the thing is . . . since the restaurant was starting to quieten down, I told Emily I could handle service, and she could sign off for the night. The next thing I know, she and Ally are heading upstairs, hand in hand, giggling away to each other. I think they may be . . . you know . . . having some private time.” His cheeks redden.
It’s at this moment the third McIntyre brother, Jamie, makes an appearance, strolling in from the snug. Leaner than his two brothers, and also a little taller, he sports a perpetual mischievous grin. “What’s all this commotion, then? Oh, hi, Grace. Back in Aidan’s arms already? What’s going on, Aidan? You don’t normally go back for seconds!”
I shoot daggers at him. He’s always like this. He’s not even funny—just mean!
“Knock it off, Jamie,” Aidan says.
Jamie grins.
“Look,” I say, “I’d wanted to speak to Ally and Emily. Aidan thinks I need to go to hospital, and I thought they’d be able to take me.”
“I can take you,” Aidan mutters.
I ignore him and push on. “But Ally and Emily are . . . unavailable, so one of you boys will have to drive me instead. Preferably you, Lewis.”
“Er . . .” Lewis scratches the back of his head. “I’d love to help, but we’ve still got a few customers in the restaurant. I can’t really abandon them, I’m afraid.”
