Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss (5 page)

“
Yes.”

“’
E said there must be
some misunderstandin’. “E’s supposed ta take ya up today, this
afternoon.”

“
Oh, I see,” Ruby replied. “There must be some kind of
misunderstanding on my part then. I thought it was in two days
time. Please tell him to wait there. I will be as quick as I can.
I’ll just pack up first before I check out. Thank you.”

“
I’ll tell ‘im then.
Bye.”

“
Bye,” Ruby said as she hung up.
Oh, God!
She
took a shaky breath and ran her fingers through her long hair. “No
time to think,” she said, rushing off to the bathroom. She gathered
all her belongings, then flew back and dumped them into her
suitcase, before zipping it up. She quickly tidied the bed and
found her sandals. Luckily, she was an organized person, always
putting her things back into her suitcase after she finished using
them, so her packing didn’t take very long.

She shoved her sandals on,
took one last scan around the room to make sure she hadn’t missed
anything, and left, dragging her large suitcase behind
her.

Awkwardly, she ran toward
the main building and struggled into the reception area with her
suitcase in tow. As she came in, the first thing she noticed was
the man standing near the front desk. He was very masculine and
tall, dressed in jeans and T-shirt. His clothing fitted him so
perfectly, she could, even from the distance, see the shape of his
hard, muscular body. She involuntary shivered in
response.

Was he watching her?
She couldn’t tell because he was wearing a pair of dark
sunglasses. Try as she might, she couldn’t ignore him. He was so
masculine and dominant.

She nervously walked
toward the front desk. As she did so, she could feel his eyes on
her. She stopped at the counter and smiled pleasantly at the
receptionist, the woman whom, she assumed, she spoke to on the
phone just moments before.

“
Hi, I’m checking out,
thanks.”

The receptionist glanced
at her for the briefest of seconds. She took out some papers, did
some number punching on the keyboard, glanced at the hunky man
standing near the desk, smiled sweetly at him, fluttered her
non-existent lashes a few times at him, and did more number
punching.

“’
Ave ya got yer credit
card?”

Ruby could only understand
the words “credit card.” The rest sounded like a mumble of
incoherent noises to her. She nodded and took out her wallet from
her handbag, swiping the card on the machine.

“
Thank ya. Would ya like
yer receipt?” the receptionist asked, glancing at the
man.

“
Yes, thanks,” Ruby said,
taking the receipt.

“
That’s yer man there,”
the receptionist said.

“
I’m sorry?”

“
The man I phoned ya
‘bout. That’s ‘im.”

“
Oh.” Ruby turned and
scanned the room, purposely bypassing the hunky stranger with his
arms folded across his chest. She did that for two reasons: a)
because he was too handsome for her to handle having eye contact
with; and b) because she really couldn’t believe a gorgeous
stranger like that man—the type who looked like he was on top of
the world and could even own the world—might possibly be her
driver.

Taking a good look around
the room, she saw no one else, and turned back to the receptionist.
The woman raised an eyebrow at her, and Ruby knew what she was
thinking.

Really, how any woman
could miss a man as outrageously handsome as this one in such a
small room, not to mention, he’s the only male in here, was beyond
her.

Ruby knew the woman must
have thought she was either blind or a lesbian.

Lesbian
—she was not!
But blind, perhaps just a bit, since she was shortsighted and could
not see without her glasses or contact lenses on. Somehow, the
stranger reminded her of the kind Scotsman who helped her in the
airplane. She had to admit, however, she never really got a proper
look at him either, and of course, being so sick and worried about
her condition, eyeing up a handsome stranger was hardly foremost in
her mind. But somehow, he had the same effect on her. She felt a
sense of safety and excitement; that was also mysterious and
forbidden.

The receptionist nodded
her head toward the stranger, and Ruby got breathless just looking
at him. He was so tall that she had to tilt her head to view at him
entirely. She cleared her throat and said, “You’re here to take me
to Brian?”

He abruptly stepped
forward, causing her to jump, as he grabbed her suitcase and strode
out the door.

Ruby frowned, wondering if
she would be safe in the car with him. But seeing as he was Brian’s
man, that had to mean she could trust him. The problem arose when
she suddenly sensed a nagging feeling, which told her something
wasn’t right. She realized she hadn’t seen his eyes yet. Eyes,
being the windows to the soul, told a lot about a
person.

He didn’t smile or say
hello either. Most taxi drivers back home would have had the common
courtesy to say hello when you met them, or entered their
cars.

Outside, she found him
putting her suitcase into the boot of the car. She walked over to
him and said, “It’s not a taxi car.”

He slammed the boot shut
and strolled to the passenger side. “Nay, it’s not,” he said,
opening the door for her.

She could understand him!
Ruby had to blink at that revelation. His voice was deep and
resonated with a deliciously nice Scottish brogue. She felt a
delightful tremor rushing through her body. Then she remembered the
Scotsman back in the plane who had a similar voice to this man; and
she wondered if she were going mad for thinking they could be the
same person. How could they be? This man worked for Brian as a
driver. The handsome Scotsman? Well, she didn’t know what he did,
but he certainly was not a driver.

She studied the way his large, strong hand touched the
car’s door as well as his confident stance, indicating to her that
no amount of arguing or persuasion would hinder his intent.
What? Such strong power from a mere
driver?

She moved towards the car;
and once she was seated, he shut the door. As she pulled on the
seatbelt, she glimpsed him strolling back into the motel reception.
A moment later, he returned and slid into the driver’s seat before
starting the engine.

“
How long will it take?”
she asked, staring at the side of his strong, firm jaw.

“
Not too long.”

“
Thanks,” she said, wanting to add,
for not telling me anything.
She turned to look out the side window, wondering why
Brian didn’t come to get her himself.

The car smoothly pulled
out of the parking lot and into the busy streets. Ruby was lost in
her thoughts as the car drove out of Edinburgh, and not long
afterward, into the peaceful countryside.

She was fascinated. The
rural scenery seemed mystical or like something almost untouchable
as she watched it pass by. She found it not much different from New
Zealand after all. There were green rolling hills upon green
rolling hills, and forests thick with pine trees.

Her mind switched to
Brian. Perhaps it was meant to be. She and Brian first met only six
months before, when he came down to New Zealand for a holiday. Of
all the things he needed to do, the most important was to get a
dental check-up.

“
It’s been over six months
since my last dental appointment,” he explained. Ruby always
admired guys who had good dental hygiene, and after treating him,
she confirmed that he was such a man, since his teeth were perfect.
After that, he asked her out a couple of times before they
exchanged contact details. When she mentioned visiting the UK six
months later, he came to her rescue.

“
Are you
thirsty?”

Ruby glanced at the
rearview mirror and saw the driver’s dark sunglasses staring at
her.

“
How much longer will it
be?” she asked, already losing track of time.

“
Are you
thirsty?”

He was very good at
ignoring her questions. “Yes, I’m thirsty.”

A few minutes later, he drove into a sleepy village. As the
car slowed down, Ruby got excited. She pushed the automatic button
to turn down the window and popped her head out to look around.
There were historic cottages like the ones in
Miss Marple
and
Hercule
Poirot,
the TV mystery
series, which she and her three best friends really loved. It was
like a dream for her to actually be here and see them for
real.

He parked the car near
what looked like a convenience store and got out. She stepped out
to stretch her aching legs; and when he disappeared into the shop,
she took a short stroll to the small park.

She loved the peaceful scenery, the gentle breeze, and the
historic village. She loved everything about the place. She
breathed in the fresh, sweet air and stretched out her arms. She
smiled and closed her eyes, offering her fair face for the sun to
kiss. When she fluttered her eyes open again, she saw him watching
her. At least, she thought he was watching her.
Those damn sunglasses.

She rushed back and got
into the car. He slid in and offered her a bottle of
water.

“
Thanks,” she said, noticing that he had already removed the
lid for her.
How very
thoughtful of him.
She took a
sip as he drove out.

“
The sun’s nice today. Is
it always so nice at this time of the year around here?” she asked
as a way to make conversation.

No reply.

She took another sip.
Fine, if he didn’t want to talk, that was fine with her. Better
yet, she could get back to her daydreaming about Brian.

Another sip.

She started to feel sleepy. Uh-ho! She hoped that damn
fever she endured on the plane didn’t come back to strike her now.
She tried to keep her eyes open, but it was very hard. She was not
tired, s
o why this sleepiness
now?
She glanced at him, and
saw him watching her through the rearview mirror.

She frowned. “So tired,”
she murmured to herself in confusion before blacking
out.

Alec turned his eyes from the tranquil view of the countryside to
that of the young woman in the back seat. He watched her as she
murmured, “So tired.” Then she closed her eyes and her head fell
sideways. He knew the drug was working.

The car came to a screeching halt on the side of the empty
road. He took his sunglasses off and swiftly stepped out, opening
the door on her side in order to study her.
Damn it!
She looked so young and fragile, especially in that Fendi
dress of hers.
Was he doing
the right thing?

Moving in, he arranged her
so that she lay more comfortably across the length of the seat.
Then he got back into the driver seat and drove out.

It was an hour later when
the car entered Hasting Estate, and by the time he drove into the
courtyard of Hasting Manor, it was already dark.

An elderly man, dressed in
a kilt and green jersey, rushed toward the Maybach as it maneuvered
around the Cupid water feature to the front of the
manor.

“
Master Hasting,” the
elderly man said in his thick Scottish brogue.

Alec came out of the car
and rushed around to open the passenger door. He lifted Ruby
out.

“
Well, I say—” The butler
stared wide-eyed at the unconscious female.

“
Has Mrs. McKenzie
arranged a room for my guest yet?” Alec asked, strolling into the
manor.

“
Aye, of course.” McKenzie
nodded, following Alec.

At the door, they met Mrs.
McKenzie, the butler’s wife, who smiled and curtsied at Alec.
Beside her stood a footman, a parlor maid, and three other
housemaids, arranged nicely in a line.

“
Master Hasting,” Mrs.
McKenzie said in a thick brogue. “Yer lassie ‘as fallen
asleep.”

“
David, take Master
Hasting’s car to the garage,” McKenzie said to the footman. David
nodded and ran out of the manor.

Alec climbed the stairs to
the second floor while Mrs. McKenzie followed him. He went into one
of the rooms on the left and placed Ruby on top of the large
bed.

“
She’s a tiny, wee thing,
ain’t she?” Mrs. McKenzie commented.

He took her sandals off,
covered her with the duvet, and stood back, both hands on his hips.
“Tiny wee thing,” he murmured under his breath.

“
Will there be anythin’
else I can do?” the housekeeper asked.

“
Where’s the key to this
room?”

The housekeeper raised her
brows. “Oh.” She took the key ring from her pocket, found the key
she wanted from the thick bunch, and gave it to him.

“
Thank you. You may go
now.”

Mrs. McKenzie nodded and
strolled out.