Page 51 of The Grump I Slept With
“The Highland Haven is officially coming to Braeburn,” Locke said. Maisie wrinkled her nose, and he laughed. “I’m still workshopping the name.”
“Yeah, you keep at it,” she said. “But you guys, this really is incredible news.” She tilted her head, regarding us. “I’m just buzzing for you. And I’m glad you can really stick it to Declan now.”
I huffed a laugh. If I was lucky, I’d never have to see the guy again. I was more than happy to have my last view of him be Locke putting him in his place. My heart did a little jig every time I replayed it in my head.
“We have to celebrate,” Locke was saying as I broke from my thoughts. “Let me take you to London today.”
“What?” I said, pulling out of his arms. I laughed awkwardly. “I can’t just take off to London.”
“Why not?” he asked. “Just a quick dinner.” He checked his watch. “If we leave now, I’ll have you back before bedtime.”
“Because I have room turnovers happening today and a bunch of guests showing up tomorrow, and I can’t just leave,” I said, trying to figure out how it would be possible to get us to Londonand back before bed. Even the fast train from Edinburgh took four hours.
“No, you should go,” Maisie insisted. “I’ve got things handled here.”
“Mase,” I said, laughing uncertainly. “That’s very nice but?—”
“I’m serious,” she said. “If I’ve learned anything after all these years of marriage, it’s that you have to make the time to celebrate your triumphs. So go. Have a great time. I’ll make sure we’re prepped for tomorrow.”
Locke squeezed my hip expectantly.
“Oh, all right,” I said. “But Iwillbe making this up to you.”
Maisie waved me off, carrying the towels toward the stairs. “Have fun!”
“Give me five minutes to change?” I said to Locke.
He nodded and I hurried to my room, changed into nice jeans, grabbed my purse, and met him back in the lobby. “So, how are we getting there?” I asked.
Locke just grinned at me, mischief flashing across his face. “Did you know Lochbrae has a private runway?”
We were flying.
That’s how Locke was getting us to London. But notjustflying. We were borrowing Weston’s private jet because apparently Locke’s jet was getting refurbished at an aviation depot near Oxfordshire.
I tried not to think too hard about any of that because it made my brain ache. I did, however, let myself enjoy the moment, giggling as I was handed a fancy mocktail by the lovely flight attendant. Might as well make the most of the experience. Who the hell knew when I was going to be on a private jet again?
“How long is the flight?” I asked.
“A little over an hour,” Locke said. “If I knew how much you’d enjoy yourself, I would have asked Weston to let me borrow the jet ages ago.”
Dad might not have liked flashy displays of wealth, and I was inclined to agree most of the time, but sometimes—sometimes—a girl liked to be spoiled. But this wasn’t even about being spoiled. This was about enjoying the win. “I just want to remember this moment,” I told him, “so that when our child is old enough, we can tell them all about how Mom and Dad secured the property deal and built something special to help Braeburn.”
Locke sipped his own drink. “I’m going to tell them about how I had to fight off your arse of an ex.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, there was no actual fighting involved.”
“I rode up like a knight on a white horse.”
I snorted. “Sure, you did.”
“Facing off against a dragon.”
“If anything, Declan’s more of a worm.”
“I’ll say,” Locke muttered.
I shot him a grin just as the flight attendant came over to offer me a selection of gourmet finger foods. Locke laughed at the way my eyes lit up. “The baby wants snacks, okay?” I told him.
