Miss Impractical Pants (15 page)

The officer released Andrew. “Well, lad, I’ll leave ya here with yer family…though I think you’d be safer coming with me. I hope they give ya what ya deserve. You should be ashamed, leaving a smart-looking woman by herself in the big city. If you
was
my family, I’d give ya a wallopin’ you’d never forget.”
             

Giving Lucas an encouraging nod, the officer left the room. Heath, the nervous hotel employee, gave him a few seconds’ head start,
then
bolted in the opposite direction down the hall.

The absurdity of the moment caught up with them, and they all burst out laughing—all except Andrew.

Katie was the first to speak. “What I don’t understand is why didn’t Mr. Scott just call me and tell me someone was coming?”

Sidney and Lucas exchanged confused looks.

“When he called me,” Sidney explained, “he said he had been ringing your mobile for an hour. He was worried something had happened and insisted I come fetch you.”

“I got the same call.” Lucas said. I’ve never seen Uncle Avery in such a huff.”

She felt a gush of guilt swirl inside her. “I didn’t realize I had been a source of such concern. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to be a bother.”

Lucas took a seat next to her on the bed. “Katie, you’ve been no bother at all.” It tickled her spine to hear him caress her name with his velvety accent.

“I was careful to keep my phone with me all the time because I knew Mr. Scott was so worried—
unnecessarily,
I would like to add on my behalf. I wonder why I didn’t get his calls.”

“Listen, do you hear something?” Sidney interrupted her contemplations.

They all listened—and heard the muffled sounds of George Michael singing.

“Isn’t that…
Wham
?” Lucas asked. “Where is it coming from?”

Katie’s face began to burn various shades of red as her bum vibrated “Wake Me
Up Before
You Go-Go (Jitterbug).” Lifting up one cheek, she pulled her cell phone out from underneath her, the tone growing louder. Suddenly her body was flaming hot. She wanted to die. These men, two of them scathingly handsome, had just watched what looked like the act of her pulling something out of her butt.

She answered the call, but before she could manage a hello, Mr. Scott was bellowing loudly enough for them all to hear.

“What the bloody hell is going on over there? Here I am worryin’ meself sick, and nobody will answer their soddin’ mobiles!” Katie could imagine Mr. Scott in his brown cardigan, pacing the hallway, mussing up what was left of his silver hair.

“Hi. I’m sorry I worried you. I guess I couldn’t hear my phone,” she replied, giving Lucas and Sidney a sheepish smile.

Mr. Scott bellowed a few more phrases that were gobbledygook to Katie, but gave Sidney and Lucas cause to chuckle. She looked up and shrugged at the two men, confused.

Lucas smiled
as he took the phone from her.
“
Hiya
Uncle, no need to worry. Sidney and I are both here with Katie.”

Katie found herself enthralled with Lucas’s polished English voice.

“No, no, everything is fine,” Lucas continued. “I bumped into Sidney at the hotel reception… No, she’s just fine… There was no problem at all, found her in her room… No, fine… Really, nothing wrong at all… Well, it turns out that my new
cousin
is a massively deep sleeper—that’s all.” Lucas cast Katie a playful wink. She reddened, hearing Mr. Scott howling with laughter all the way from the United States.

Lucas resumed, “Had a bit of a run-in with one of the police. Thought something dodgy was going on with so many blokes entering Katie’s room… Dead set on taking us all in, too… Yeah, yeah, Sidney, the hotel attendant, me, Andrew—”

At the mention of Andrew’s name Mr. Scott was again ranting loudly enough for the room to hear. “I’d like to have a few words with that lad! One thing we ask the lad to do—one thing—and he won’t even follow through with that!”

Andrew shifted from one foot to the other as Mr. Scott charged on.

“…Leavin’ our Katie to fend for
herself
in a new country! I regret that—”

Lucas cut him off. “Now Uncle, Katie is just fine, so don’t waste your energy on what could have been.”

The act was subtle, but Katie understood Lucas had intentionally stopped his uncle from speaking what would be damaging for both the subject and speaker. It was a small gesture of thoughtfulness, but enough for her to realize he was more than just hot body with a head for business.

Lucas added, “I was dead impressed with Katie’s quick thinking. She handled the officer brilliantly… Aye Uncle, I can see how she could be a handful.” He flashed
her a
teasing smile.

Despite the awkwardness of being the topic of conversation, she secretly relished Lucas’s approval.

Finishing the conversation with a promise to call the next day, Lucas faced Katie with a broad smile. “Well, that was an adventure!”

“Well then, now that everything’s sorted, I’ll take the Duchess back to Yorkshire.” Andrew strode forward, his cocky attitude fully intact. His eyes skimmed her body, lingering over her chest, before glancing at the two men. “And you two can get back to…whatever it is that you two do.”

There wasn’t time for Katie to decide if she would go with the awful Andrew before Lucas stepped between them. “What do you say we take Katie out for a bit of London nightlife? How about it, Sidney? I think we owe it to my new cousin to give her a better welcome than we’ve shown her thus far.”

Katie, awed by his use of the word “thus,” readily agreed. She was eager to know more about her new boss and Sidney Ainsworth. Andrew, on the other hand, she wasn’t so excited about and felt a stab of disappointment when she heard Lucas invite him along.

Andrew was not as gracious toward Lucas. “Thank you, no. I can think of more enjoyable things to do than spend the evening with two old sods and a pain-in-the-arse duchess.” His gaze brushed over Katie again before he turned and walked out.

“So, Sid?”
Lucas urged, shaking off Andrew’s rejection. “Are you up for taking my new cousin out tonight?”

“You know, I think I would fancy a night out for a change. But first, we have to get the lass out of this hotel and settled somewhere more suitable. I’ll bring her round to my place, if that’s all right with you. Mrs. Albright will enjoy having someone new to make a fuss over.”

After obtaining Lucas’s permission as though Katie were his charge, Sidney turned to her and asked if she would mind being his guest for the evening.

“Of course I’d love to, as long as nobody fusses over me,” Katie said. “I don’t want to be an inconvenience.”

“An inconvenience?”
Sidney exclaimed.
“Goodness no, child!
My home is so dull these days. It would be a welcome pleasure to have a bit of your liveliness about the place.”

Lucas gave her a reassuring nod, indicating Sidney was not just being polite.

“Right then.
Lucas, we’ll see you round my place in about an hour,” Sidney directed. He turned to Katie. “I’ll have Geoffrey pull the car around while you get your things together. And welcome to London, my dear!”

Katie felt her heart flop wildly in her chest when he led her out to the “car,” which was not a taxi, but a vintage Rolls-Royce.

“Ah, and you must be Katie.
Lovely to meet you.
I’m Geoffrey,” said the man, obviously a personal employee, standing next to the vehicle.

She stopped short at Geoffrey’s cordial address. His chipper Irish brogue didn’t correspond with his appearance:
a middle
-aged Barney Rubble on steroids. Except where Barney Rubble seemed friendly and easygoing, Geoffrey’s stoic expression radiated a definite “back off” vibe.

“Thanks, nice to meet you, too!” she replied brightly, trying to decipher which was the more accurate read—his tone or his face.

He eyed her proffered hand before clamping it in his own. Shaking hands was part of Katie’s business as a realtor, and she’d been commended more than once on her strong grip. But for some reason, she felt the need to significantly increase the pressure with Geoffrey. He made a long assessment of her, and though she wanted to let go and run and hide behind Sidney, she flexed her jaw and kept a vice-like hold on his hand. Slowly the tension in his face melted and the suspicion dropped from his eyes. He gave a quick nod, which Katie did not mistake as acceptance, merely a chance at it.

“Lucas, lad, let me help with that.” This time Geoffrey’s expression matched his warm tone. He dashed toward Lucas, who lumbered outside trying to negotiate
all of Katie’s
luggage.

Sidney wrapped his arm around Katie’s shoulder, giving her a side hug. “Don’t mind Geoffrey,” he whispered. “He’s just overprotective. He’ll warm up once he gets to know you.”

She could only offer Sidney a weak smile—she had her doubts. But she didn’t have the capacity to think about Geoffrey now, not when she was about to ride in this stellar vehicle.

Lucas wandered over to Sidney’s other side. Katie’s thoughts about the Rolls must have been obvious, because Lucas grinned and said, “Ol’ Sid here is quite an eccentric.” He put an arm around the man’s shoulder and touched his head against Sidney’s. A small gesture, but it was obvious by the way Sidney beamed that it meant everything.

For the second time in the crazy hour she’d known Lucas, she was impressed with his thoughtfulness. He seemed to have all the manners of an old-world English gentleman, but he was modern-day hot.

After helping Sidney and then Katie into the succulent vehicle, Lucas leaned in, one long arm resting on top of the car, the other on top of the partially opened door. “You two have a lovely drive.” He winked at Katie, giving her a sexy smirk that probably wasn’t meant to be sexy. “I’ll meet you on the hill in about an hour.”

“That’s a fine boy, that one.” Sidney sighed as Geoffrey pulled away from the curb.
“Known him from a wee bairn.
He and his Uncle Avery, birds of a feather those two, up until…” He seemed to be debating whether he was saying too much. “Let’s just say that our Lucas and his Uncle Avery
are
the apple of each other’s eye—just about broke the boy’s heart when Avery went off to America.”

Katie couldn’t resist this golden opportunity to finally know more about Mr. Scott. “Mr. Ainsworth—”

Sidney’s hearty chuckle was stolen straight from Santa Claus himself.
“Ho, ho, ho!
Bless me! ‘Mr. Ainsworth’ is me father, God rest his soul. Just call me Sidney.”

“Okay, Sidney...will you tell me about Mr. Scott?” She looked up just in time to notice Geoffrey shoot a wary glare at Sidney from the rearview mirror.

Sidney appeared not to notice. Instead, he seemed to be concentrating on Katie. His sigh was weighty. “Our Avery keeps so much locked inside. Has he not told you anything about himself?”

Katie looked away only for an instant, but it was answer enough.

“I see.” His countenance was unreadable. It took a moment for him to process her request, but just as she’d hoped, he said, “Then I’ll tell you what it is Avery Scott keeps bottled up…poor bugger.”