Page 67 of Love Bomb

They’d forgotten Rona had lock picks.

“Nobody needs to play Betty’s love slave,” Bain said lobbing the keys at Darach. “Rona’s hotel key is on there too. You can take turns watching from the church. Two in the church, one asleep in the hotel. It’s closer than our house to the folly and you can walk up the high street, so you won’t give yourselves away by driving to the church.”

Conall grinned. “Anybody else feel like we’re going on a spy mission?”

His brothers stared at him again. He rolled his eyes and went back to foutering about on his laptop.

“Right,” Bain said. “We have a plan. You three monitor Benson Security at the folly while I stay here and look after Rona.”

“I don’t need loo—” Rona started.

Bain clamped a hand over her mouth and felt her giggle against his palm.

“She’s far too delicate to be left alone tonight,” he told his brothers sternly. “Plus, I need time to go over the folly specs we got from Dougal.”

“Aye,” Kade drawled. “We can see she’s a delicate wee flower.”

Bain nodded solemnly. “This whole experience is taking its toll on her.”

Rona dramatically rolled her eyes.

“I thought you were going to go over the files tomorrow.” Darach frowned at him.

“No time like the present,” Bain said as he glared at Rona, who was making circles on his palm with her tongue. At least she wasn’t biting him.

“Fine,” Darach said, getting to his feet. “But you owe us.”

“I always pay my debts,” Bain said with a straight face.

That produced much mocking, but at least his brothers left. Once the door was closed behind them, Bain removed his hand from Rona’s mouth, and wiped his palm on his thigh.

“Gross,” he said.

“You’re a big wimp who just didn’t want to sit in a cold church and stare at security guards, who’ll be doing nothing all night long,” she said.

“Not true.” He picked her up and plopped her in his lap, smiling when she squealed. “I just wanted to stay with you.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Because you think you’ll get lucky?”

“I’m already lucky,” he said, brushing her hair back over her shoulder.

“Cheesy,” she said.

He’d meant it, but whatever. “Now you have me all to yourself for the rest of the night,” he drawled. “What will you do with me?”

Her eyes went dark. “I know exactly what to do with you,” she said.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

They watched Pride and Prejudice—the movie, not the TV show, because there wasn’t enough time for the BBC adaptation. Rona curled into Bain’s side, snuggling on the lumpy sofa that she was sure used to belong to his parents. It brought back memories of when she used to live in Invertary.

She’d often forced Bain and his brothers to watch kids’ movies with her, and they’d all piled onto the sofas while Bain’s mum supplied them with snacks. Looking back, she could understand why his younger brothers had put up with her movie demands, but for some reason Bain had always hung around too.

Of course, he’d also complained that she ruined every movie they watched with her running commentaries. It was a habit that hadn’t changed as she’d grown up. Poor Tom had suffered through many a movie rant over the years.

“See that?” she told Bain during Darcy’s atrocious first proposal. “That’s what you sounded like when you told me you’d kissed me against your will and better judgement.”

Bain clearly wasn’t shamed, as he should have been. “I looked a whole lot better doing it though, didn’t I? What is with that guy’s hair? It’s just wrong.”