The MacGregor Brides (7 page)

“Dad.” Laura cleared her throat, wiggled free of Royce and cursed the flush that burned her cheeks. “I was— We were—”

“Were what, Laura?” Dismissing her, Caine measured the man. “And you would be … ?”

“Royce Cameron.” A well-toned wolf, was Royce’s impression. He didn’t think the gray at the temples of the bronze hair would affect the man’s fangs whatsoever. “And I was kissing your daughter.”

“I’ve eyes in my head, Cameron,” Caine said, in a tone that would have made his own father swell with pride. “Security, right? Shouldn’t you be making someone’s business safe, instead of kissing my daughter in the middle of the morning?”

Royce tucked his thumbs in his front pockets. He hadn’t gotten around to shaving yet, certainly hadn’t intended to see Laura that morning. But he’d stepped out to do a few errands and found himself standing outside her office, he still wasn’t quite sure how. He was wearing a leather jacket that had plenty of battle scars, and jeans that were worn white at the stress points and frayed at the cuffs.

He had a pretty fair idea what he looked like to a doting father at the moment. A rich, doting father who wore Savile Row as if he’d been born in it.

“I’ve just come back from Hyannis Port. I spent the last two days there designing and discussing an upgrade of a security system for your father’s home.”

Caine’s eyes narrowed and flashed. “Is that so? Interfering old tyrant,” he muttered, striking straight to the core of the matter. “In that case, I imagine you’ve got your work cut out for you. We wouldn’t want to keep you from it.”

“Dad.” Appalled, Laura gaped at him. “There’s no reason to be rude.”

“Yes, there is,” Royce said mildly. “You look just like your mother. He’d know there’s every reason to be rude.”

“Well said,” Caine murmured.

“I’ll be back.” Royce strolled toward the door, pausing when he was toe-to-toe with Caine. “And I’m going to kiss your daughter again, Mr. MacGregor. You’ll have to get used to it.”

“If the two of you think you can stand there and discuss me as if I’m some sort of trophy—”

“We’re done.” Royce cut her off, flicking a glance over his shoulder before he walked out the door. “For the moment.”

“Arrogant son of a bitch.” Caine dug his hands into his own pockets and felt a smile twitch at his mouth. “I like him.”

“Oh, do you?” Running on full steam, Laura stalked from around the desk and, when she was close enough, poked her father in the chest with her finger. “You humiliated me.”

“I did not.”

“You did too. Standing there like a … a …”

“Father,” he finished, and took her chin firmly in his hand. “Do you think I don’t know what he’s got in mind? His hands were—”

“I know exactly where his hands were,” Laura fired back. “They were exactly where I wanted them. I’m not a child, and I’m not going to have the men in my family draw the wagons in a circle around me to protect my virtue. It’s my virtue, and I’ll do with it what I choose, with whom I choose.”

“Not if I beat you and lock you up, you won’t.”

She snorted. “You never laid a hand on me in your life.”

“An obvious oversight which can still be corrected, young lady.”

“Stop it.” Diana rushed in, closing the door firmly behind her. “Stop this shouting. They can hear you all over the building.”

“Let them hear!” Laura and Caine shouted together.

“Lower your voices, or I’m fining you both for contempt of court. Sit down, the pair of you.”

“He’s the one who’s out of order.” Laura tossed her head, but she dropped into a chair. “He embarrassed me in front of Royce, and he was rude. He came in here like some—”

“Father,” Caine interjected, but sat, as well.

“Neanderthal
father.” Laura sniffed, and turned her appeal to her mother. “Mama, I’m twenty-four years old. Does he think I’ve never been kissed before?”

“You’d better not have been kissed like that before,” Caine muttered. “Diana, the man had his hands on her—”

“Enough.” Diana held up her hands, shut her eyes until she could be certain her own temper was under control. “Laura, if you’re a hundred and four, you have no right to speak to your father in that way. And Caine,” she continued, just as he began to look smug, “Laura is an adult, a responsible, intelligent woman, and she can kiss whomever she pleases.”

“Now, just a damn minute—” Caine began.

“Don’t you shout at me,” Diana warned him. “If he was rude to Royce, he’ll apologize.”

“In a pig’s—”

“I’ll see to it,” Diana said between her teeth, searing her husband with a look. “But at the moment, it’s more important that the two of you behave yourselves. This is a place of business.”

“Tell that to her.” Caine wagged a finger at Laura. “She’s the one who was conducting personal business, practically on her own desk.”

“We were not on the desk,” Laura fumed. Though they could have been, she thought, might have been, in another minute. “Royce just dropped by to see if I’d be free for lunch.”

“Hah!” was her father’s opinion.

Laura slapped a hand on the arm of her chair. “You sound just like Grandpa.”

“Oh, that’s fine.” Insulted, Caine sprang to his feet. “I get yelled at when I have a perfectly reasonable reaction to seeing my daughter being swallowed whole by a strange man, but you have no objection to having your grandfather pick out what he obviously considers a suitable stud for the next line of MacGregors.”

“Caine.” Diana moaned the word, sinking to the arm of a chair herself.

“What? What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

“It’s plain as the burr in the old man’s voice,” Caine told her. “You’re the eldest granddaughter, you’re of marriageable age. It’s time you were doing your duty,” he continued, mimicking Daniel’s voice, “finding a suitable husband and getting children of your own.”

Laura’s mouth worked for several seconds before she could manage to speak. Then all that came out was a low, whistling scream.

“See?” Pleased he’d made his point, Caine hitched up the knees of his trousers and sat back.

“He’s picked him out.” Temper had Laura’s breath strangling in her throat. “He sent him to me. He—he selected him so I could … so I could
breed.
”

“Well …” Satisfied he was off the hook, Caine examined his cuffs. “That’s a bit cruder than he’d have intended.”

“I’ll kill him. With my bare hands.”

Caine sat up, enjoying himself now. “Which one of them?”

“Grandpa. You’d best make funeral arrangements.” She snatched up her coat and briefcase. “I’m taking the rest of the day off. I have to drive to Hyannis.”

“Laura—”

“Let her go.” Caine grabbed Diana’s hand as Laura stormed out. “He deserves it.”

“Lord, how did I ever get tangled up in such a family?”

“You wanted my body,” Caine reminded her. “Couldn’t keep your hands off me.” He kissed her fingers. “Still can’t.”

“I’m going to give it more effort.”

“Diana.” He turned her hand over, pressing his lips to the palm in a way that both of them knew undid her. “I was just looking out for our little girl.”

“She’s grown up on us, Caine. It happened too fast.” She lowered her head to his. “It’s so hard to keep up.”

“I just don’t want her rushing into anything with some … Cameron Dad’s picked out.”

“Laura chooses her own,” Diana said quietly. “She always has. What did you think of him?”

“I don’t know.” He rubbed his wife’s knuckles over his cheek. “It was hard to tell. I had this red haze in front of my eyes.” Then he sighed. “I liked him.”

“So did I.”

“That doesn’t mean he can … right here in the office, Diana. For God’s sake.”

“Oh, you mean the way we did.” She tucked her tongue in her cheek. “Disgraceful.”

“That was different.” His brows drew together when she continued to smile at him. “All right, all right. Maybe it isn’t so different.” He slid a hand up her legs. “So, you want to try the desk? See if it still works?”

“I think we’ve given the staff enough to gossip about for one day.” She leaned closer until her lips brushed his. “We’ll wait until everyone’s gone for the day.”

“I love you, Diana.” He cupped his hand at the back of her neck to linger over the kiss. “A thousand times more than I did the day you walked into my life.”

“We’re lucky. All I want is for our children to be as lucky.” She brushed her hands through his hair,
adoring the way silver threaded through gold. “Caine, she’s going to skin Daniel alive.”

“I know.” His grin was quick and wolfish. “I’m really sorry I’m going to miss it.”

There was nothing, Daniel MacGregor thought as he leaned back in his massive leather chair in the tower office of his personal fortress, like a good cigar.

And since his wife was out of the house for a few hours, he could sneak a smoke without the worry of being caught.

Ah, she had his best interests at heart, bless her. But a woman just didn’t understand that a man needed a good cigar in his hand, the roll of it between his fingers, to help him think, to plan.

Which reminded him, he had to bribe one of the children to smuggle in another box. He was running low.

Content, master of his castle, he eased back in the well-worn leather of his favored chair and blew smoke at the ceiling. His life was as it should be, he decided, and he was nearly old enough now to relax and just enjoy it. As soon as he got the grandchildren settled, saw them happily tending to their duties to provide new blood to the MacGregor line, he would be content to while away his days just as he was doing this morning.

With happy thoughts and a good Cuban.

His plans for Laura were working out right on schedule. If the tidbits of information he’d managed to shoehorn out of her cousins were anything to go by. And he’d crowbarred a bit more from Royce Cameron himself.

“Boy thinks he’s cagey,” Daniel said to himself, and passed some time blowing smoke rings. “Can’t outcagey the MacGregor.”

Oh, Royce hadn’t said a great deal. Yes, he’d met Laura and her cousins. Indeed she was an attractive woman. He’d agreed it was a wonder that some smart man hadn’t snatched her up.

Played it close to the vest, had Royce Cameron, Daniel thought now. But he’d read between the lines, he’d watched the boy’s eyes.

Smitten, that was what he was, Daniel thought with a chuckle. Hooked good and proper.

He thought a spring wedding would be suitable, unless he could push them into a winter one. Best not to waste time making babies, after all. He missed having babies about.

Laura would make a lovely bride, he mused. She had the look of her mother, and Diana had been radiant when Caine finally talked her into that walk down the aisle. Of course, the boy had taken twice as long to do it as he should have, but it had all worked out in the end.

Now, the next generation needed a bit of a push. He’d give the grandsons a bit more time to season, but it was time to nudge those oldest girls along. Daniel considered himself a wily nudger.

Thinking of Laura, wearing the MacGregor wedding veil and walking on Caine’s arm down the aisle, brought a mist to Daniel’s eyes. Such a beautiful girl, he thought. Such a sweet-natured child. Such a loving—

“MacGregor!”

The voice boomed out and nearly had Daniel snapping his cigar in two when he jolted. He choked on the smoke he’d just inhaled and frantically waved his hand to clear the haze of it out of the room. With great regret, he stubbed the best part of the Cuban out while his name reverberated through the house.

“I know you’re here. I’ve come to kill you dead.”

Grimacing, and moving with surprising speed for a man just past ninety years of age, Daniel shoved the ashtray and stub in the bottom drawer of his desk, flicked the lock, then yanked open the window, still waving at smoke.

“You!” Looking glorious in full fury, Laura strode through the doorway, her finger jabbing. “The nerve of you!”

“Laurie, sweetheart, what a nice surprise.” He stood by the open window as freezing air rushed in, a bull of a man whose red hair had gone snow-white, whose beard was full and lush, whose blue eyes had never faded. And who was shaking in his boots.

“Don’t you ‘Laurie, sweetheart’ me.” She slapped both hands on his desk. “Pick a stud out for me, will you? What am I, a broodmare?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ve driven all the way from Boston.” He beamed at her while his mind calculated at the speed of light. “We’ll go down and have some tea.”

“You won’t be able to swallow it after I strangle you. Did you think I wouldn’t catch on to what you were doing?”

“Doing? I was just sitting here.” He waved a huge hand toward the desk, and was careful to keep it between them. “Doing some paperwork.”

“I can get my own man when I want one.”

“Of course you can, darling girl. Why, you’d have to beat them off with a stick, looking the way you do. Why, when you were no more than minutes old and I held you in my hands the first time, I said to your father, ‘This is the most beautiful baby ever born in this world.’ So long ago.”

He heaved a long, deep sigh, and braced a hand on the back of the chair, as if he needed the support getting into it. “It makes me feel old. I’m an old man, Laura.”

“Don’t pull that on me. You’re only old when you want to be old. Schemer, scoundrel.”

He blinked, tried his best to pale as he patted a hand to his wide chest. “My heart. My heart’s palpitating.”

She only narrowed her eyes. “I can fix that. Why don’t I just stop it for you?”

“Maybe it’s just breaking.” He hung his head. “Breaking in two because my favorite granddaughter would speak to me so. Disrespect,” he said weakly. “Nothing carves an old man like the sharp tongue of his favored grandchild.”

“You’re lucky I’m speaking to you at all. And don’t think for a minute you can wiggle out of this by playing that old tune. You’re healthy as a horse, and at the moment I think you have less sense than one.”

Now his head came up, and his eyes glittered with temper. “Mind that tongue of yours, lass. I’ll only take so much, even from you.”

“And I’ll only take so much, even from you. How could you embarrass me this way? For God’s sake, Grandpa, you hired him for me.”