Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss (4 page)

Alec glanced at the
snapshot on the screen. Brian was standing in the middle with Susan
on his right and the mysterious girl on his left.

“
She’s half-Asian,” was
the first thing he blurted out, right before an odd feeling
overcame him. There was something about the girl that bothered him,
a strange familiarity as though he had seen her somewhere
before.

“
I know,” Susan said in
exasperation. “And she doesn’t look like she’s from around here
either.”

Alec knew what Susan meant by
she’s not from around here
. The girl was not from their part of the world. She
looked out of place, standing there beside Brian with his clean-cut
suit, and Susan in her Fendi evening dress and sleek hairstyle.
From the photo, Alec somehow could tell the girl was trying to
impress Brian by dressing up, but failing miserably. Her long, dark
hair was a mess and her girly dress was long out of date and
fashion.

“
She’s very young,” he commented a moment later. As he
looked closer, however, he felt a knot forming in the pit of his
stomach.
It was
she
. She was the girl who
fainted on the plane a week ago, and
he
carried her to the
empty seat beside him. She was the girl who slept with her head on
his chest; the girl with
the
necklace.

His fingers tightened around the phone; a lurch of emotions
erupting inside him. He couldn’t believe it. It was she, his
childhood friend from the refugee camp.
Brian was dating her?
And she came all the way to the UK to be with him? This was
more serious than he thought.

“
I don’t suppose she’s much older than twenty-two. Do you
think that’s why Brian goes for her? Because she’s young?” Susan
asked, her fear vibrating in her shaky voice.

Alec glanced at his sister, a knot of dread dropping like
cement in his stomach.
God,
let this all be a mistake. Please, let it all be a
mistake.

“
Susan, you’re
not
old,” he commented.

“
I know, but most people think I’m older than I look. Maybe
it’s because I wear too much makeup. But I
am
a model,
Alec.”

“
Hmm.” He glanced at the
photo again.

“
Will you help
me?”

“
You know I will do
anything for you, but we have to be clear about this. What if this
is all a mistake? What if they are just friends?”

“
Friends? Alec, she’s
staying at his place. Who knows? They might be sharing a room and a
bed!” Alec swallowed. Susan hugged him and kissed his hard
cheekbone. “Please, Alec, help me.”

He laughed uncomfortably
as he moved back, asking, “What devious plan do you have in
mind?”

She bowed her head, the
blond curls dropping down to rest on her breasts. “You’ll think I’m
crazy.”

“
Why would I think that?”
he inquired, although he often said she was, and knew his sister
was quite capable of having a wild imagination. She could come up
with the most ghastly plan if the situation permitted, and he was
sure this was just another one of them.

“
Because the plan is
crazy,” she said, standing up, and ambling to the wine cabinet. She
took a bottle of wine out and poured herself a glass.

“
How crazy can it
get?”

She took a sip as she
turned to look at him. “Are you really going to help
me?”

Alec smiled, with a
knowing look. She hurriedly put the wine glass on the Maltese table
and rushed over to him. “Oh, thank you, Alec.” She hugged him and
kissed him three times on the cheek.

Alec could smell white
grape from the wine as she kissed him. That aroma mixed with her
strong Dior rose perfume was quite intoxicating.

“
I don’t know if it will
work, but you’ve seen her.”

“
Go on.”

“
I just want to separate
them, Alec. I want Brian to stay with me for a couple of weeks—just
me and him, getting to know each other. Then he might find that he
still loves me after all; and eventually believe that I can still
be a perfect wife for him.”

“
How do you propose we do
that?”

“
Well, I was thinking that
if I were to go to his castle in Scotland, instead of that girl,
then—” She hesitated, staring at his blue shirt collar.

“
You’re saying you will
switch places with this girl?” he asked, nodding at the picture on
the screen of the BlackBerry. “And what about the girl?”

“
Well,” she started,
touching his dark brown hair that was long overdue for a cut.
“That’s where you come in.”

“
Me?” He raised his
shapely eyebrows.

“
Mm.”

“
How?”

“
You will have to take her far away, somewhere that Brian
would never think to look for her, or worry that she might be
missing. He would probably go looking for her if she goes
missing.”

“
I’m sure her family or
close friends would know if she were missing.”

“
Oh no, that would never
happen.”

“
Oh? Why not?”

“
Because she’s alone. We
were talking at the restaurant. She said she’s from the south
island of some country. She’s here on holiday. She doesn’t know
anybody, except for Brian. So you see? It will be all
right.”

“
If this plan of yours is
to succeed, where do you suppose I should take her?”

She raised her eyebrows,
deep in thought for a moment. Then she said, “To one of your
estates, of course. What about Hasting Manor in
Scotland?”

“
You want me to take her
to Hasting Manor? Brian will be in Scotland.”

“
But he would never think
to look for her there, would he? I mean, it’s not like she knows
Scotland.”

“
Susan, I just want you to
be happy. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Susan smiled and said, “Of
course.”

Alec nodded. Again, he
glanced at the photo, a half smile on his face.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Ruby was
thrilled at the very thought she’d be staying in a castle that was
hundreds of years old. Just imagine, and all thanks to the handsome
Brian McArthur—the man she was hopelessly infatuated with. Grinning
like an idiot, she started imagining them spending time together.
Suddenly, a silly scene conjured images in her head. In the
morning, after their wonderful breakfast, they’d be going out for
long walks in the woods, enjoying the breeze, the sun, and the
beautiful scenery. She’d sprain her ankle in due course, and he’d
carry her back to the castle. Ruby had to giggle at that thought,
just imagining her small arms wrapped around his neck. In the
evening, they’d have a private dinner under the candlelight,
chatting about stupid things and getting to know each other. The
next day, they’d have a picnic in the large garden, while chatting
and laughing. The possibilities were endless, and she shivered
deliciously.

She bolted up suddenly as
a very important thought struck her. Rushing off the bed, she
grabbed her suitcase.

What should she wear when she arrives? A dress,
perhaps?
Gosh, she wanted to
look good for him. She hardly ever wore dresses because of the
unpredictable weather back in Dunedin, New Zealand. Four seasons in
a day, they always say; as it would be sunny in the morning, rain
in the afternoon, hail in the evening, and then sunny again with a
bitter, cold wind.

She unzipped the suitcase
and raided the contents. Suddenly, her cell phone did a
ding-dang-dong.

“
Wonder who it is,” she murmured as she reached over the bed
and grabbed the phone. She flipped it open and saw she had a
message from Alex. It said:
Hey, Rub, hwz ur big OE so far? U free? Can we chat on
fb?

Ruby bit her lip in
excitement. Finally, she was able to have a wee chat with her
friend. She quickly texted back an emphatic “yes” and jumped on the
computer that came with the internet connection in her motel room.
She logged onto Facebook and started chatting.

RUBY: Hey,
Alex, how’s things? You’re not having a great deal of morning
sickness, are you?

ALEX: Hey, you. Nah, not
really. Aren’t I lucky?

RUBY: Well, good for
you.

ALEX: LOL! I knw. So who’s
the guy?

RUBY: Wot guy?!

ALEX: The guy you’re
seeing in the UK?

RUBY: Oh that Nikita! She
just can’t keep her mouth shut. Don’t be silly. He’s just a friend
who is kind enough to show me around.

ALEX: Oohlala ... He’s
British, eh? Very nice. Hope to meet him when we’re
there.

RUBY: Maybe. LOL! Anyways,
I’m in Edinburgh now and off to see a grand castle
tomorrow.

ALEX: Lucky you. I knw u
really like that type of stuff so enjoy, aye?

RUBY: I will. So when will
you be here?

ALEX: In three weeks from
today. You will be back in London by then, right?

RUBY: Yes. Staying in
Scotland for one week then to Ireland, France and Rome. Then back
to England before flying home. Just in time to see you,
eh?

ALEX: Very good. Anyways,
got to go. Jay is nagging me.

RUBY: LOL! Bye
then.

ALEX: Bye, see ya
soon.

Ruby logged off, grinning
from ear to ear. She just couldn’t believe it. Alexandra
Stewart—that shy girl—managed to get herself a real hunky man and
now there was a baby in tow.

She threw herself on the
large bed and laughed. She just couldn’t believe it. Suddenly, she
bolted up, realizing she had something else to do. Now what was it?
Ah yes, finding a cute dress to wear.

She scrambled toward the suitcase and continued her search
until she found one she thought might be perfect. It was the one
Brian helped her pick out in one of those stores on Bond Street. It
looked wonderful on her when she tried it on. Brian himself even
whistled as she reluctantly and shyly came out of the dressing
room, encouraged by his persistent urging. No man ever whistled at
her before, and when he did so, he meant it as a compliment, which
caused her heart to soar with happiness.

The dress, however, was
too expensive for her. She was about to walk away when Brian
insisted that he buy it for her. She refused at first, but he
persisted and said if she wanted to repay him, she could allow him
to entertain her at his castle in Scotland.

She nearly fainted then.
Such a grand invitation was hard to refuse. It would be stupid and
unthinkable on her part to spend a large portion of her savings
coming all the way to Britain, and never getting to stay in a
castle—especially of the type she always dreamt for so long, ever
since she was a little girl, and her childhood friend, Alec,
described and drew his mansion for her.

Ruby picked up the day dress and excitedly rushed into the
bathroom. She slipped the soft material over her warm skin,
savoring the touch of the cool fabric. After smoothing it over her
slim body, she thought she looked rather nice. The olive-green
empire dress had short sleeves with a round neckline, and the
length of the skirt reached down to just above her knees, showing
off her shapely legs.
Perfect!
To complete
her look, she put on a nude pink lip-gloss before brushing her
long, dark tresses.

One thing about Ruby was
her lack of concern when it came to fashion; yet she always managed
to look quite pretty in her own way. She thought it was quite
amazing Brian was falling in love with a half-Asian woman like her.
To be honest, she looked almost pure Cambodian except for her very
fair skin. Her hair was shiny black, her nose straight, her lips
plump, just like her mother and four other sisters. Her dark
eyebrows were thick, and perfectly arched above her slightly
slanted dark brown eyes, and her cheeks were always
rosy.

She studied herself in the
mirror, imagining Brian’s delight when he saw her.

The sudden, loud ringing
of the motel phone jolted her back to reality.

Oh damn! Who could that
be?

She rushed back to the
bedroom and snapped up the receiver. “Hello? Ruby
speaking.”

“’
Allo, this is r’ception.
Yer ride’s ‘ere.”

Ruby blinked, finding it
hard to understand the regional accent in Scotland. The brogue was
quite thick.

“
I’m sorry, what ride is
that?”

“
There’s a man ‘ere, said
‘e’s takin’ ya to the Highlands. Will ya be checkin’ out
today?”

Ruby widened her eyes in surprise.
Was Brian’s castle up in the Highlands?
She didn’t remember him telling her
that, as she turned her attention back to the phone. “Yes, but not
today.”

“
Oh, I see. Could ya ‘old
the line fer a sec?”

Ruby waited while the
woman on the other end mumbled inaudibly. A moment later, she said,
“Ya still there?”