The Holiday (11 page)

Arranging to meet George and MacLeod
at the Castle, he drove home, parked his car, and headed directly to the pub.

George and the beast were at the
bar. MacLeod had a dish of Guinness between his paws, taking leisurely swipes
at it with his tongue. George chatted with Jimmy.

MacLeod must have sensed him,
because he barked once, hopped up, and ran to him. Rising on his hind legs, he
put his front paws on Colin's shoulders for a doggy hello.

Colin patted his roommate on his
head. "Good to see you too, old boy."

"There you are," George
called in greeting as he clapped Colin on the back and pulled up a seat at the
bar. "That dog is a babe magnet. I can't believe you haven't been hip deep
in the women since you've had him. I, for one, will be happy to doggy-sit him
whenever you'd like, and perhaps when my social calendar runs dry."

Colin ruffled the dog's scruff.
"Thank you for looking after him."

"Anything to help you get
shagged." Winking, George nudged him with an elbow. "Was it
fabulous?"

"I fumbled it,
actually."

"You?" George blinked
at him in surprise. "You never fumble anything. Ever."

"I did this time." He
thought about the polite kiss Leilani pressed to his cheek when he dropped her
off at Mel's last night and winced.

George and Jimmy exchanged a
look. "Right then," Jimmy said, slamming a shot glass on the counter.
He filled it to the brim with whiskey and pushed it toward Colin. "Take
that while I draw your pint."

"Do I look that
pathetic?" Colin asked his cousin.

"Yes."

Shaking his head, Colin down the
whiskey. It started with a bit of a bite, and then it pooled smoothly in his
belly. He waited for the warmth to kick in and make him feel better, but he
knew the only thing that'd make him feel better was Leilani in his arms.

He sighed.

Jimmy refilled the glass,
shooting George a knowing look.

His cousin nudged him. "Tell
me what happened. Perhaps I have a solution to your problems. I have a fair
hand with the maidens."

"Why is that, by the way?"

George shrugged modestly. "I
give them what they need."

Colin thought he'd done that. "I
proposed to Leilani."

"
Good Lord, man
." George reared back. "Warn a man before
you scare him like that."

"Is marriage so scary?"

"To some of us, yes."
George considered him soberly. "But to you it wouldn't be, and Leilani is
an exotic flower of the first order. I'd be tempted to take a walk down the
aisle if I were you too."

He slumped over his drink.
"It's not going to happen."

"She said no?
To you
? Britain's second premier
bachelor, after yours truly."

"Of course." Colin
smiled and nodded in thanks at Jimmy as he passed him the Guinness.

"So is she daft?"

"She's just not ready. I
should have seen that, but I pushed."

George nodded. "That's the
way you are. You see what you want and then go for it. Sometimes you have to
let what you want come to you."

"Is that what you do?"

"Not at all. We're a family
of hunters and conquerors from far back." He waved for another round.

"There has to be some middle
ground." Colin stared into his drink but all he could see was a bleak
future alone. "I gave her the Sea Pirate's diamond."

George fell off his stool, and MacLeod
yipped in surprise. "She said
no
to the Sea Pirate's diamond?"

"She said no to me."
And that stung his ego.

George regained his seat and they
sat quietly, each lost in his own thoughts. When Jimmy passed them another
round of whiskeys, including one for MacLeod, they wordlessly toasted and down
them straight away.

George held up a finger for
another round, and since the numbing feeling was starting to overtake Colin he
didn't bother to argue. Or he didn't bother to argue because he was beginning
to feel numb, and that was better than feeling the gaping hole in his chest
from missing Leilani. "Christ, and it's only been a day since I've seen
her and I feel like I'm dying."

"You love her. You must love
her. You took her on holiday to Carolyn, knowing the hornet's nest that was
going to rile. You proposed to her, and as far as I can tell you've never been
tempted down that road before. Good Lord, you gave her the Sea Pirate's diamond."

"I do love her." Colin
frowned. "I'm not sure I told her that."

George gaped at him. "You
proposed to her but you didn't say you loved her?"

"I told you I fumbled it. I
had it planned but it slipped out before I could stop myself, and then I
figured it was better to go forth instead of backtrack."

"I had it wrong." His
cousin shook his head. "You're the daft one here."

"It's entirely
possible."

"Of all the cousins, you
would have been the last one I'd pick as daft. Goes to show you. I should have
taken a bigger hand in this too."

"What do you mean,
'too?'"

George waved a hand elaborately.
"Do you think it was Mel's idea to roust you from your cozy roost? No, my
dear boy, I had a hand in that. But I see I should have done more coaching.
Don't you know the three tenets of a successful proposal?"

"Apparently not."

George leaned in. "Used correctly,
my method has a ninety-seven percent success rate."

"And you know this how?
Because as far as I can recall you've never been engaged."

"But my friends have. Did Leilani
actually say no?"

Colin frowned, trying to think
back. It was all a blur, but that could have been because of the generous pours
of whiskey. "I don't think so."

"Good. Then there's still
hope."

"I convinced her to hold on
to the diamond, in hopes that it'd change her mind."

"Or not." Crossing his
arms, George sighed dramatically and shook his head. "Have you learned
nothing from me, boy?"

"George, I hesitate in
reminding you, but I'm only five years younger."

"Chronologically, but in
matters of love I'm apparently light years more wise." George raised a
finger. "Number one for a successful proposal, set the scene. Where did
you propose to her?"

"In Carolyn's inn, in the
bed in our room."

"Christ, it's worse than I
thought." George dropped his head in his hands, gripping it like he was in
pain.

Colin frowned. "It wasn't
that bad."

"It obviously was if she
didn't say yes." George shook his head some more. "Never
ever
propose to a woman when she's
naked. Didn't you know that?"

"So what would you suggest?
Where should I have set the scene?"

"Over tea of course."
George looked at him like he couldn't believe he had to explain it.

"Right." He glanced at MacLeod,
who looked like he rolled his eyes.

"Number two." His
cousin held up a second finger. "Get down on your knee. Just one knee, two
knees are overkill and give the impression that you'll be subservient. No woman
wants a man who's weak."

Colin nodded as though it all
made sense. "And the third thing?"

"Tell her you love you, you
daft prick." George pushed his shoulder.

He tipped precariously over the
edge of his stool. "If you knock me over and I crack my head open, I won't
be able to employ your method."

"Or it might knock sense
into you." George pointed at him. "Tell me again, do you love her?
Really
love her?"

"Yes," he said with hesitation
or slurring, a minor miracle given the way his head was beginning to swim from
whiskey on an empty stomach.

"Then fix this and propose
to her properly." George scowled at him. "What are you even doing
here? You need to go after her."

"You're right. I do." He
pulled George's head close and smacked a kiss on his forehead. "Thank
you."

"Thank me by making me your
best man." He shook his finger. "Don't rush her. You need to make a
sneak attack since you blotched the first attempt. Get back in her good graces
first and then worry about formulating your next move."

"Right." He stood,
holding on to the bar top as the ground shift under him. "It seems as
though were on uneven seas."

MacLeod barked once in agreement.

He turned to his dog, who looked
to be having balance problems as well. "What do you say, dog? Shall we go
get the girl?"

MacLeod huffed and trotted
sloppily out of the bar.

"Sing to her," George
called after him. "Girls love a man who sings."

Colin waved a hand over his
shoulder. There was no way in hell he was singing. He'd go and calmly apologize
for being daft, as George had called him over and over, and request to date her
again—for the original terms. No strings.

"It'll work," he told MacLeod
as he tried to hail a cab. It had to work, because the prospect of living without
her was too bleak to contemplate.

A noise woke Leilani up. She sat
up, confused, and looked at the clock. Midnight.

"Leilani?" Mel's voice
came through the bedroom door followed by a knock. "Are you awake?"

"Just a second."
Pushing her hair back, she opened it.

Mel leaned in the doorway,
wearing a bright red silk kimono. "You're fully dressed."

"I fell asleep
reading," she said, conscious of how rumpled she must look.

"Just as well." Her
friend's lips curved in amusement. "Colin has a message for you."

"Colin?" Leilani frowned.
"Did he call?"

"No, he's outside." She
breezed through the room and threw open the doors to the balcony.

Grabbing a sweater, Leilani
followed behind. Sure enough, Colin—and MacLeod—were on the street,
both rooting around on the ground. They looked unsteady on their feet, listing
from side to side.

"What are they doing
here?" Leilani asked herself as much as Mel.

"He was throwing dirt clods
at my window. I assume it wasn't actually my window he wanted." Her friend
smiled. "I believe they may be wooing you."

"Wooing me," she
repeated. A shock of warmth spread through her chest before she could remind
herself she didn't want that.

Liar
,
the voice of her conscience whispered.

Okay, maybe she wanted it a
little, but not when it came attached with a ring.

MacLeod lifted his head as though
he scented something. He looked up
and huffed once. Then he lost his balance and stumbled into Colin. 

"You're supposed to help me
find something to throw at Leilani's window," Colin said, staggering to
the right as he reached for something.

The dog barked and nodded his
head toward the balcony.

Colin glanced up. "Oh.
Thanks."

"Are they drunk?" she
asked Mel incredulously.

"It's looks that way,
doesn't it?"

She glanced at her friend.
"You sound very amused by that."

"Oh, I am, love." She
leaned her elbows on the railing as if preparing for the show. "Do you
know I've never seen him like this? Colin is the master of his universe. He
manages everyone and everything quite admirably. But I always suspected this
side of him existed."

"What side is that?"

"This passionate side.
Apparently he just needed you to wake it up. Well done, you."

"Is it?" She bit her
lip, not so sure.

Colin leaned down to confer with MacLeod.
The whispering was muted, but then he stood, looked right at her, and began to
sing. "Some day, when I'm awfully low, when the world is cold, I will feel
a glow just thinking of you, and the way you look tonight!"

Leilani gaped. "Is he
singing Frank Sinatra?"

"If you could call that
caterwaul singing." Mel raised her fingers to her mouth and let out a
shrill whistle.

As if encouraged, MacLeod joined
in, howling in unison. Colin patted his head and belted his heart out.

She glanced around at the other
houses, worried that the police were on their way to arrest Colin for
disturbing the peace.

She couldn't have that. Leaning
over the railing she whisper-screamed at him. "
Colin
. Colin, stop that."

"'Cause I
loooo-ve
you"—he shouted,
throwing his arms open—"just the way you look tonight!"

"He's not half bad for a
stuffy banker," Mel said, clapping.

Were the British all insane? Shaking
her head, she tried again. "Colin, stop singing."

"Not until you forgive me."
He turned to MacLeod. "What should we sing next?"

She sighed, disappointed with herself
for making him feel like he'd done something bad when all he'd done was ask for
what he wanted. He couldn't help it if what he wanted clashed with what she
did. "I'm the one who should be asking for forgiveness, Colin."

That stopped him cold. He faced
her again. "You should?"

"Yes, of course."

"You're not angry with
me?"

"No."

There was a long pause. "Can
I come up?" he finally asked.

"Yes."

He muttered something to the dog
and then hoisted himself up the tree outside the house.

"What are you doing?" She
gaped at him. "You'll fall and break your neck."

Mel laughed quietly next to her.

"Shouldn't we do
something?"

"Yes. I'm going to let MacLeod
in, because he's much to sensible to think he's a monkey." Still
chuckling, the other woman threw a sly grin over her shoulder as she left the
room. "Goodnight, love."

"They really are
crazy," she mumbled to herself, turning back around to check on Colin.

He'd made it level with her
balcony and was eyeing the distance between the branch and the railing. He
looked at her and shrugged. "I'll have to jump."

"No, you don't—"

But before she finished, he
pounced. She let out a startled shriek as his hands hit, his legs dangling. She
grabbed his wrists to keep him from falling while he searched to anchor his
feet.