She didn’t recognize either of the two men. One looked like a bodybuilder. The other man was short with a stocky frame. He held papers in his hand, and when he spoke to Isabel in that nasally, whiny voice, she knew exactly who he was.
James Reid had crashed her party with a man he called his driver at his side. He thrust the papers toward her and said, “This is your last chance for the deal of the century. One signature, Miss MacKenna, and you will become a multimillionaire. Here, I even brought a pen.”
She dodged the pen he was waving in her face. She was having difficulty believing he had come all this way to give one last sales pitch. The man didn’t understand what the word no meant.
“Is there someplace quiet where we could talk? I’ll only take you away from your party for a few minutes,” he promised.
“I am not interested in selling the land to the Patterson Group. Now please leave.”
Reid made a big mistake then. He grabbed Isabel’s arm and jerked her toward him, inadvertently drawing the attention of Michael and his brothers.
Isabel pulled her arm away and took an intimidating step toward the rude man.
“Mr. Reid, I don’t know if you’ve been in a cave the last few weeks and aren’t aware of what’s happened with Glen MacKenna, or you think you can play ignorant and act like you’ve done nothing wrong—but either way, if I were you, I’d forget about Glen MacKenna and be more interested in staying out of prison.”
“I promised Patterson I would get you to sign . . . Wait, why would I worry about going to prison?”
“Apparently you and a few of your friends discussed getting rid of me. I believe Mr. McCarthy had it scheduled, and you were an eager participant.”
“What? Where did you hear such a crazy story?”
“You were sitting in a booth in Jolly Jack’s pub with your friend, or rather your coconspirators. A man named Archie Fletcher was sitting in the booth next to you. He heard the conversation and reported it. Inspector Knox Sinclair is in charge of the investigation, and he’s looking for you now. I think it would be a good idea to stay away from Scotland.”
“They don’t have any real proof . . . do they?”
What a stupid question to ask her. No denial, though.
“I know the inspector is looking for you.”
Reid’s face turned white, and she didn’t have any doubt at all that he was in that booth with MacCarthy.
Michael walked over to her, and when she turned, she saw his brothers standing behind him. They looked ready for battle.
Reid swallowed loudly. “I was just explaining to Miss MacKenna that, as soon as she signs these papers, I’ll be on my way.”
He wasn’t giving up. Michael started forward but stopped when she said, “I’ve got this.” Turning to Reid, she shook her head. “I can’t sell the property because I don’t own it. I probably should have mentioned that to you sooner.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I gave it away.”
“You can’t be serious. You would throw away millions of dollars?”
“Yes.”
Reid finally believed her. He looked devastated. Isabel thought he might start crying.
“I think you should leave now,” Isabel said.
Reid saw the look on Michael’s face and couldn’t get out of there fast enough. He and his driver all but ran to their car.
“I probably should have offered him a beverage,” Isabel said.
Michael laughed as he took hold of Isabel’s hand and said, “Let’s get out of here.”
“We can’t. It’s our party.”
“Let’s go to our tree.”
It took them quite a bit of time to circle the yard and get to the tree where Michael proposed. He sat, leaned back against the tree trunk, and pulled her into his arms.
“The next year is going to be busy,” he warned her. “I’ll be in training for half a year, hopefully graduate, and then be assigned. We won’t know where we’re going to live until then. Your life is going to be busy, too, recording with XO and dodging fans.”
“Are you ready for all that, Michael?”
“Absolutely. The next year may be uncertain and crazy, but there’s one thing I know for sure. Life with you, Isabel, will never be boring.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julie Garwood is among the most critically acclaimed—and popular—romance authors around, published in thirty-two languages worldwide with forty million copies of her books in print. She is the author of numerous bestsellers, including Fast Track, Hotshot, Sweet Talk, The Ideal Man, Sizzle, Fire and Ice, Shadow Music, Shadow Dance, and Slow Burn. She lives in Kansas City.
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